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Bizarre Celebrity Beauty Habits

By Lauren Valenti


Photos courtesy of Getty

Much like their Hollywood counterparts of yesteryear, today’s stars often adopt unorthodox methods of keeping themselves coiffed to perfection. Here, we give our two cents on some of the weirder celebrity primping techniques that have come to our attention.

Suki Waterhouse

The secret to Suki’s beach babe waves and fringe? An icy pour of soda pop. “I don’t like my hair when it’s washed—it’s fine and limp—but Coca-Cola makes it tousled, like I’ve gone through the Amazon or something.”

The Verdict: Coca Cola helps hair cuticles contract, thus amplifying the natural curl. However, it’s also used to help fade unwanted hair color, which means it’s probably not a good idea for ladies who dye their hair. We say stick to a non-sticky, curl-enhancing cream.

Related: 7 Mistakes You’re Making When You Blowdry Your Hair

Shailene Woodley

To cleanse her body inside out, Woodley looks to the indigenous practice of eating clay to clean bacteria and heavy metals out of her system.

The Verdict: Clay will help rid you of toxins, but chances are your body is already doing all the heavy lifting. Occasionally eating the fine-grain substance (try kaolin clay) can be healthy, but really isn’t necessary for today. Skip.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow has one of the most enviable smiles in Hollywood, due in no small part to oil pulling. Essentially, it’s an ancient Ayurvedic dental practice where you swish around a tablespoon of oil in your mouth for 10 to 20 minutes on an empty stomach to improve oral health and draw out toxins.

The Verdict: The benefits don’t necessarily outweigh that which you might get from your daily mouthwash. Not to mention, if done improperly you run the risk of loss of sensation/taste in mouth and excessive thirst.

Jennifer Lopez

We’ve all basked in the one-woman miracle that is J. Lo’s body so naturally, when it comes to her diet secrets we’re all ears. One trick she has is smelling grapefruit oil to reduce appetite, and thus, body weight.

The Verdict: Studies have shown that smelling the oil for 15 minutes, three times a day can help lessen your appetite. However, if you’re going to use this technique, we advise that you use it to curb unhealthy cravings, rather than skip meals.

Catherine Zeta-Jones

The secret to the actress’ lush, brown mane will have you reaching inside the fridge for a cold one. “I condition my hair with honey and beer,”confessed Zeta-Jones. “I smell like the bottom of a beer barrel for days afterwards but it’s very good for the hair.”

The Verdict: Beer is filled with vitamins and proteins that enrich hair and make it shinier. However, it will inevitably leave your coif smelling like your local watering hole. But hey, if that doesn’t deter you, we say go for it.

Lady Gaga

Gaga may only be in her late twenties, but she’s all about giving herself a daily face lift using tape as her pick-me-up. “I wash my face, I pin my hair back and put on a wig cap and I ask, ‘How am I going to form my eyes today with this tape?,” she told the Mirror newspaper. “How will I pull back my neck with tape?’” She also uses the sticky adhesive to remove makeup.

The Verdict: We admire her creativity but have to file this one under: don't try ever. Your face and neck house your body's most delicate, wrinkle-prone skin and what masks imperfections today, could be what's causing it over time. If you're that dedicated to a transformation, invest the time and effort into harnessing the super powers of makeup.

Lisa Rinna

Considering the beauty world’s perpetual obsession with a full pout, who hasn’t wondered about the secret behind Rinna’s? The actress revealed that rubbing a dash of cinnamon on the lips is all it takes.

The Verdict: Cinnamon enlarges the lips by causing a small inflammatory reaction, which isn’t totally kosher, but as long as you’re not abusing the technique, we say it’s okay for special occasions.

Related: 21 Genius Lipstick Hacks You’ve Never Tried

Sandra Bullock

Hemorrhoid cream isn’t something we’d proudly display in our medicine cabinet, but we’d reconsider if Sandy told us to. The actress swears by Preparation H to keep her under-eye bags at bay.

The Verdict: In case you haven’t noticed, Bullock clearly holds the secrets to the fountain of youth—considering this is one of them, we say go for it—but under one condition: you use it sparingly. As The Dermatology Review suggests, it should be used with caution and infrequently, only for those rare instances where you must look your best.

Halle Berry

Berry can go for any kind of pricey cellulite treatment she wants. Instead, she takes a D.I.Y. approach by simply adding coffee grinds to her body wash for a good scrub.

The Verdict: With all its antioxidants, caffeine is a key ingredient to fighting cellulite. When applied topically and rubbed into the skin, it works as a stimulant that dilates the blood vessels, thus tightening the skin. We hail this yet another reason coffee is a religious experience.

Zoe Saldaña

It’s not totally unheard of but Saldaña and the ladies in her family swear by a mayo hair mask to keep their hair nourished and shiny.

The Verdict: If you can stomach the smell of massaging mayo into your strands and leaving it on your head for at least ten minutes, give it a try. However, you can save yourself the trouble by simply using a moisturizing hair mask.

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

The Jersey Shore star is infamous for many things, not the least of which is using a pet store staple as a natural exfoliant. “Some exfoliants have rocks in them, and it makes your skin really smooth,” she explained during an interview with Conan O’Brien. “Cat litter is like a substitute for that.

The Verdict: We’re always ones for a deep pore cleansing treatment, but worry that with rocky litter, you run the risk of over-exfoliating, which could cause permanent damage to the skin.

Related: 30 Ways To Rock Rainbow Hair

Victoria Beckham

Given that Beckham can have virtually any skin treatment on the planet she’d like, there must be *something* to the infamous sheep placenta facial she swears by.

The Verdict: Research has shown that the placenta of mammals contains nutrient-rich stem cells that repair and revitalize cells, so there’s definitely something to it (just look at Posh’s glow). However, even if you’re ready and willing, it’s going to cost you a couple hundred dollars. So, we may recommend a more conventional, wallet-friendly option.

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