7 Pantry Staples That Double as Beauty Products

Sometimes softer, smoother skin and silky, shiny hair can be helped by everyday essentials you find in your kitchen pantry. These staples double as beauty boosters in a pinch—and can get noticeable beauty results.

What’s even better: you can add these pantry staples to your favorite Pharmacopia better-for-you products to double up the benefits depending on your skin care or hair care needs.

Here are the beauty gems you can find in your kitchen cupboards—and how to use them.

Pantry Staples With Big Beauty Benefits

1. Olive oil is rich in antioxidants like vitamin E, as well as powerful plant-based compounds like squalene and oleocanthal that can nourish and hydrate skin. Since olive oil is an emollient with occlusive properties, it’s hydrating and helps support the skin’s natural barrier to help prevent moisture loss.

Olive oil can also be used on the ends of hair as a deep conditioner and works great for hair prone to dryness or frizz, or curly, coarse hair. When used directly on fine or straight hair strands, it can weigh hair down, making it look greasy. You also want to avoid using olive oil directly on your hair or scalp if you have dandruff as olive oil may promote the yeast that could make dandruff worse.

 With olive oil, less is definitely more, why it’s best to use only a few drops of olive oil on skin or hair. Try using it as a skin-nourishing  boost by mixing it into your favorite Pharmacopia Body Lotion, which already has skin-softening shea butter and jojoba oil. If you’re using it on your hair, apply to strands and leave on for up to 15 minutes. Then suds up with your favorite Pharmacopia Shampoo and rinse out.

And don’t forget that our Tangerine Lip Elixir uses  olive oil as one of its super moisturizers to heal and repair lips! It’s just one reason this Lip Elixir is super hydrating and nourishing for lips (as well as cuticles and skin in general).

2. Coconut oil is best when it’s cold-pressed extracted (aka virgin), as none of the fatty acids and antioxidants inside have been lost to processing. It’s because of these potent plant-based ingredients that coconut oil is so amazing for skin and hair.

For example, coconut oil makes an effective cuticle moisturizer or foot cream. (Just be sure to apply socks after massaging into feet so it can soak in without getting on your floors or rugs!)

When it comes to hair, the beauty of coconut oil is that—unlike other oils that sit on the surface of the hair shaft—coconut oil penetrates deeply into the hair shaft, helping your luscious locks to be softer, smoother, and shinier with less fly-aways.

Don’t have coconut oil handy in your pantry? You can find hydrating coconut oil in our Citrus and Verbena Body Washes, which leave skin feeling fresh, nourished, and smooth. Coconut oil is also a key ingredient in our Citrus and Verbena Shampoos, which nourish the scalp, boost shine, and leave hair silky smooth.

3. Honey is chock-full of beneficial nutrients and antioxidants (thanks to all the pollen nectar the bees collect!) and has healing benefits, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. And because honey is a humectant, it can pull moisture from the air to the skin or hair. This is just one reason it has skin- and hair-softening benefits.

To use it as a deep conditioner, try mixing a generous dollop of honey with a little warm water to make it less sticky, massage into the scalp and pull the remaining amount through hair. Leave on for up to two minutes. Then wash out with your favorite Pharmacopia shampoo, and add a little bit of your favorite Pharmacopia Conditioner to hair strands as a leave-in conditioning detangler. Keep in mind that when used on the hair, honey can help boost shine, but can also have hair lightening side effects.

Another favorite way to use honey: Mix with granulated sugar and a bit of our better-for-you Lip Elixir for a hydrating lip exfoliator. (Check out the recipe!)

4. Oatmeal also has skin-softening and skin-soothing benefits thanks to its key ingredients vitamin E and beta glucans, a plant-based fiber. These ingredients help oatmeal bind to the skin, locking in moisture. Oatmeal also has powerful plant-based antioxidants called polyphenols, which contribute to the potent anti-inflammatory and anti-itch properties of oatmeal on the skin.

The best place to use oatmeal is in the bath with lukewarm water. Pour half a cup of oatmeal directly into running water, mix around, and then soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Since oatmeal is a gentle cleanser, you don’t need to wash off afterward but can instead just rinse. Gently dab skin dry and massage in Pharmacopia Citrus, Verbena, or Argan Oil Body Lotion—with skin-soothing aloe vera and chamomile extract—to help lock in moisture and soothe the skin for hours afterward.

Oatmeal is also gentle enough to be used on facial skin as a scrub or in a mask. We’re loving this soothing do-it-yourself oatmeal face mask.

5. Granulated sugar is so finely ground that it makes the perfect addition to our Body Washes and even our Lip Elixir as a gentle exfoliator. Because it dissolves as you use it, sugar is gentle and won’t irritate the skin if applied in gentle movements.

You can use granulated sugar to slough away dead skin on the feet and elsewhere on the body. Just mix into our Body Wash, massage in gentle circular motions, and rinse off. Then follow up with our Pharmacopia Body Lotion.

To use on the lips, add granulated sugar to a little bit of our Lip Elixir, massage in circular motions, and gently wipe off. Then rinse lips with lukewarm water before applying a layer of our Tangerine Lip Elixir.

6. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a naturally occurring mineral that’s gentle on skin, which is why it can be used in a variety of ways for the skin and scalp.

Because baking soda acts as a gentle exfoliant, it can be mixed with lukewarm water to wash the face and get rid of oil, grime, and dead skin cells. To use baking soda as a skin cleanser, simply mix baking soda with a little lukewarm water to form a paste, then massage into skin and rinse. One trick to boost the skin benefits: try adding honey and oatmeal to the paste before massaging into skin.

A kitchen hack to try: baking soda can also be used to get rid of berry, beet, or turmeric stains on hands after cooking. Simply add a little baking soda to some suds from our plant-based Body Bar or Body Wash and massage into your hands to return them to their normal skin-toned hue. Just rinse afterward.

Another favorite beauty hack: Add a cup of baking soda to bathwater, along with 10 to 20 pumps of Pharmacopia Body Wash and 1 to 2 cups of Epsom salt. This helps increase  the skin-soothing and detoxifying effects of a bath.

And since baking soda attracts and absorbs grease, it can be used as a natural, better-for-you dry shampoo. Simply massage a little baking soda into the scalp before brushing it out.

7. Coffee is rich in antioxidants, one of which is caffeic acid. It’s also shown to have microbial benefits. These are both reasons why caffeine makes a powerful detoxing exfoliant for the feet. Simply draw warm water for a foot bath, mix cooled coffee grounds with your favorite Pharmacopia Body Wash and rub gently  into feet. Rinse off, and then massage Pharmacopia Body Lotion from heels to toes for smoother, softer feet.

Whatever pantry staples you add into your beauty routine, consider that they’re simple ways to elevate your results—without a lot of cost or effort. The pantry essentials mentioned here are also natural, which is why they’re synergistic with the Pharmacopia products you’re already using and loving. Combining kitchen essentials with our better-for-you body care products is definitely a beauty win!