Eggs are one of the most important ingredients in your kitchen: from soufflé and cookies, to pasta and fried chicken, they’re a cornerstone of Western cooking. However, the versatile egg’s practicality isn’t confined to the kitchen. From arts and crafts to DIY beauty products, you’ll find that the egg has potential way beyond your morning omelette.
Photo by Nancy Chen
1: Conditioner
Both egg whites and yolks make great hair conditioners thanks to their proteins and fats, respectively. Beat an egg with some olive oil, rub the mix in your hair and wash out after 20 minutes.
2: Anti-aging scrub
Egg whites can restore your skin’s natural beauty. Using them as your daily face wash will tighten your pores and help fight off wrinkles.
3: Moisturizer
It may sound strange, but rubbing egg yolks into your skin can make it soft and silky.
4: Paper Mache
Because of their stickiness, you can easily turn egg whites into paper mache glue. Just mix egg whites, corn starch and water for newspaper sculptures that would make your middle school art teacher proud.
Photo by Justin Shannin
5: Arts and crafts
Egg whites can also double as an all-purpose adhesive. Use beaten egg whites as your would Elmer’s for arts and crafts in a pinch.
6: Seed starters
If you’ve got a green thumb, mostly intact egg shells can be repurposed into excellent seed starters. (Pro tip: make sure to poke a hole into the bottom of the shells so water can pass through).
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7: Plant food
Houseplants can be brought back from the verge of death with simple nutrients like calcium, which egg shells are conveniently chock full of. Instead of discarding the water left over from hard-boiled eggs, use it to water your plants.
8: Leather polisher
Your leather jacket looking a little dull? Rub it softly with egg whites and then clean with a damp towel to restore lost luster.
Photo by Justin Shannin
9: Jewelry oxidizer
Thanks to their oxidizing sulfur, egg yolks can help clean silver jewelry. Put hard-boiled egg yolks and your tarnished earrings into a plastic container overnight and wash with soapy water for hassle-free maintenance.
10: Clothing whitener
Crushed up eggshells can help whiten clothes without damaging fabrics like bleach. Wrap crushed up eggshells in cheesecloth and throw the pouch into your washer to give your shirts and socks some shine.
Photo courtesy of ShtfPreparedness.com
11: Cleaning abrasive
Steel wool and other abrasives are too tough for non-stick surfaces. Luckily, eggshells mixed with soap and water can do the trick without ruining expensive cookware.