The famous beauty Cleopatra soaked in baths of fresh milk to keep her skin fresh and youthful. Now we know why milk baths worked such wonders for her: milk’s lactic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid, which naturally dissolves the glue that holds dead skin cells together. Milk helps to cleanse our skin of its dead, dry surface layers, revealing the fresh new skin underneath.
The end of the summer is a perfect time to take an alpha-hydroxy acid bath, because it pulls all the fading tan cells away.
Cleopatra’s Beauty Bath
This ancient beauty formula is as easy as, well, pouring milk into a bath.
Ingredients
2 to 4 cups of fresh milk or buttermilk (dried milk is an option; just add ¼ cup) Add milk to the bath water as the tub is filling. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Gently rub your skin with a washcloth or loofa to slough off the dead skin. Rinse your body thoroughly after soaking.
Caution: Skip this bath if you are allergic to milk or are lactose intolerant.
By Annie B. Bond, best-selling and award-winning author of five green living books, thousands of blogs, and all the tips in the Greenify Everything app. Called “The Godmother of Green” by Martha Stewart Sirius Radio.