Bird droppings

That’s right, a facial made from nightingale poo mixed with rice bran and water is all the rage in Hollywood. In fact, this skin treatment is an ancient Japanese beauty tip that has apparently just made its way into Hollywood recently. If you think it’s disgusting, remember that there’s no extreme that people wouldn’t go to in order to look their best. Plus, it comes out of nightingales, not chickens. That’s bound to count against the overall degree of grossness, especially given the fact that it does work. In case you’re wondering how and why it works, it’s because of two of its ingredients: urea, a nitrogen-rich substance, and guanine, an amino acid. These two lock in the moisture in the skin (urea) and add a subtle glow (guanine).

Yeast

While we’re on the subject of natural treatments, here’s another one shared by Hollywood insiders: dry yeast and lemon juice. This mixture can rid you of pimples in no time. It works by drying the thing and restoring your complexion to flawlessness. In case you’d rather use your yeast for making bread, you can go for just lemon juice mixed with some water. This means squeezing half a lemon, not buying ready juice from the store and using it on your face. The acid in the lemon will tighten the blood vessels and soak into the skin to deal with the infection. The yeast will nourish your skin and prevent overdrying. These two can also be used to cure acne outbreaks – even Hollywood celebrities are not immune to this pest.

Perfect eyes

Some of the tricks Hollywood beauties use to get rid of puffiness and that tired look around the eyes involve aloe vera and raw potatoes. The aloe vera gel, applied underneath the eyes, works miracles like a quick-acting temporary firming film. With potatoes, here’s what you can do: put one in the fridge for an hour or so, slice it and soak it in cold water for a minute. Then put the slices over your eyes and leave them for five or ten minutes. Raw potatoes contain astringent ingredients that suck out the excess water from your skin and thus deal with the puffiness. In addition to that, in case your eyes are irritated, the starch that’s in the potato will take care of this and add some smoothness to your skin.

Quirky tips from the past

If you think bird droppings facials are extravagant Hollywood beauty secrets, look at what some of the stars in the golden era of Hollywood did to look prettier. Elizabeth Taylor, for example, shaved her face. That was because she suffered from a condition that’s characterized by increased hair growth all over the body. Even after the condition subsided, she continued shaving, perhaps out of habit. Rita Hayworth went even further in the hair department and had her hairline surgically moved up, so her forehead would appear larger. Marlene Dietrich, on the other hand, is rumoured to have had some of her molars removed to highlight her cheekbones, even though she herself denies this in her autobiography.