7 Genius Ways You Can Use Hydrogen Peroxide
I don’t think anyone’s medicine cabinet is complete without the mandatory (and oft ignored) bottle of hydrogen peroxide. One of the cheapest household supplies, hydrogen peroxide or H2O2 has a ton of beauty uses that you may not be aware of. But before we move to that, here’s a little info on this wonder product. This colourless liquid looks exactly like water but is a little more viscous than it. Its powerful oxidising properties makes it a great bleaching agent as well as a disinfectant, which is why it works so well in cleansing cuts and wounds, getting rid of bacteria, viruses, and yeasts. Now over to its surprising beauty uses:
1. Get rid of bad breath
Bad breath can be caused by bacteria as a result of build-up of tartar. Use hydrogen peroxide if you run out of mouthwash. Half a minute of swishing H2O2 will eradicate foul breath effectively. You can also use this once a week, if you have minor problems with bad breath. Don’t use it too often and DO NOT ingest it.
2. Whiten your teeth
Like I mentioned earlier, hydrogen peroxide is a wonderful bleaching agent. It whitens teeth rather well. Make a solution of equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water and swish it around for 60 seconds. You can do this every other day. It also helps in reducing inflammation of the gums and bacteria build up on the teeth, and soothes toothaches.
3. Treat acne
Just like it disinfects cuts and wounds, hydrogen peroxide can be used in the area of a breakout to kill bacteria. You can also use it like a toner on a breakout-prone zone like your chin, jawline or cheek to prevent the nasty bacteria from giving you pimples.
4. Clean your make-up brushes
We know that make-up brushes can breed some serious bacteria. What better way to clean them than soaking them in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water? Do this only with your synthetic brushes though. Clean your natural hair make-up brushes with these options . You can also use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect your toothbrush.
5. Brighten yellow nails
We’re all guilty of wearing nail polish a little too often and not giving our nails the breather they deserve. Wearing nail polish for really long and using dark polishes can stain your natural nails and make them yellow. Soak your nails in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide or rub them with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide to whiten them.
6. Prevent BO
This happens to the best of us. How many times have we rushed out of a bath only to realise (in dismay) that we’ve run out of deodorant? Just wipe a cotton ball saturated with hydrogen peroxide on areas that are most likely to cause odour. You can also use this if you have sensitive skin and can’t stand chemical-laden deodorants.
7. Clean feet
Now who doesn’t find the thought of soaking feet in a tub of warm water after a long day enticing? Throw in a little hydrogen peroxide and you’ll have yourself a detoxifying foot soak. It will clean fungus-causing bacteria under your nails and soften corns and calluses (an inevitable side effect of wearing heels).
