My grandma is my idol. She’s funny, sassy, and full of life. She’s the kind of woman who opens a bottle of Jack Daniels at 11 am on Easter morning to get the party started. At home in her tiny condo in Ohio, she spends her days reading medical and health magazines, clipping articles to mail to my mom. Anytime anyone in my family has any sort of ailment, my grandma is sure to come up with one of the strangest solutions. But to her credit, her odd home remedies usually work.
Here are seven of her unusual, yet easy remedies for some of the most common bothers.
1. Drink Chamomile Tea to Soothe Cramps
Photo by Rosalind Chang
Girls, do your periods repeatedly have you bent over in pain? My grandma swears that a cup of hot chamomile tea with a touch of lemon will make those cramps disappear. According to WebMD, chamomile tea contains the chemical Glycine, which relieves muscle spasms and can also act as a nerve relaxant.
2. Rinse with Vinegar to Cure Dull Hair
Photo by Kelsey Kuscher
Ever wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and think, wow my hair is disgusting? Well, my grandma thought that about my hair, so she made me wash it with vinegar, and voila, my hair was transformed from dull to shiny. The vinegar creates this shine by closing the cuticles of your hair, which makes it easier for each hair to reflect light.
3. Eat Greek Yogurt for Fresher Breath
Photo by Justin Schuble
Sometimes my breath can take down a whole group of people, or so I’ve been told. Her solution? Greek yogurt, and it’s not just because she’s Greek. The yogurt actually attacks bacteria that breeds on the tongue, leaving you with a fresher, cleaner mouth.
4. Chug Grape Juice to Ease Joint Pain
Photo by Vi Tran
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I’m too young to have joint pain.” But after a couple hours of running, the joints in my knees and ankles sometimes feel like I’m 84 years old, and an 8-oz glass of grape juice works to calm everything down. Although there are no scientific studies to verify the juice’s effectiveness as a painkiller, grape juice does contain antioxidants shown to be beneficial to overall health.
5. Slather on Honey to Help Fight Acne
Photo by Nadia Alayoubi
What’s more annoying than random acne breakouts? My face will be perfect one day, and the next it’s covered with red splotches. I’ve tried just about every over-the-counter medication to fix my acne, but nothing seemed to be working, until my grandma suggested honey. Just a few drops of honey over the irritated area, left for about 3 minutes, does the trick. Honey not only works to clear pore blockages, but also removes the infectious microbes that may contribute to acne in the first place.
6. Massage Olive Oil into Dry Cuticles
Photo courtesy of @Lena on Flickr
Too cheap to get a manicure? Olive oil will make your cuticles smooth in no time and save you the trip to a nail salon. It works by penetrating the skin and nail to help repair damage and soften the skin along the cuticles.
7. Apply Egg Whites to Enlarged Pores
Photo by Chelsea Choi
There’s no need to spend a ton of money on creams to tighten your pores. A face mask consisting simply of egg whites reduces the size of pores (without breaking the bank). Albumen, the fancy name for egg whites, removes sebum and dead skin cells, which leaves the skin clean, smooth, and firm.