How 5 Famous Hollywood Celebrities Use Baking Soda In Their Beauty Routines

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Hollywood celebrities are well known for having megabucks to splurge on all kinds of beauty treatments, agree? So it’s a little incredulous that they should even want to dabble in DIY homemade beauty remedies. Come on and get real, people! But despite being cynical, I think there could be some truth in reports that some of them resort to kitchen ingredients like a less than $2 box of baking soda. I mean it is cheap, easily accessible and best of all, a real multitasker! So little wonder the simple insignificant ingredient has found its way into celebrities’ beauty routines.

Okay, some of you have asked me if baking soda is the same as baking powder as both are found in similar sections at the supermarket. Well, both are raising agent for cakes and bread but they are chemically different. Baking soda is a sodium bicarbonate—a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder with a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda.

Apart from baking, baking soda is a useful ingredient in the kitchen and often used as a cleaning agent as well as odor absorber. But because it is alkaline and can regulate pH balance, baking soda is a great ingredient for our skin too.

So now that we’ve got the facts about baking soda out of the way, let’s take a look at how it is being used by the Hollywood celebrities.

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Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts who is famous for her bright smile actually said she owes it to her grandfather’s tip of using baking soda. “I brush my teeth with baking soda. My grandfather would put a big heaping mound of it on his toothbrush. He had only one cavity in his entire life.” I don’t suppose she uses it every day but it’s possible that she uses it once in a while.

Catherine Zeta-Jones
Even Catherine Zeta Jones is said to whiten her teeth with baking soda but the Hollywood beauty takes it further by using one to three pureed strawberries mixed with a half tablespoon of baking soda followed by a brushing of regular toothpaste to keep her teeth healthy. Okay, apart from the fact that strawberries contain malic acid which is believed to be a whitening agent, I think dear Catherine doesn’t like the taste of baking soda alone. (If you hadn’t tried it, it taste salty and weird.)

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Emma Stone
Actress Emma Stone told France’s ELLE magazine that she uses the kitchen ingredient to exfoliate—to scrub her face and get rid of dry patches.

Queen Latifah
Baking soda is also said to be one of Queen Latifah’s favorite beauty secrets and it came from her grandmother. Like Emma, our queen uses baking soda to exfoliate.

Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks apparently shared in her talk show on how to make an exfoliating cleanser by adding baking soda to the everyday cleanser. She also recommended mixing baking soda with a little water and apply it to the skin as a mask no more than three times a week to combat acne.

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My experience with baking soda
Personally, I have used baking soda in different ways. I really started using it to brush my teeth and was quite happy with the results. Baking soda can indeed brighten teeth by a shade or two as it is able to remove temporary stains caused by drinking tea and coffee. But because it is abrasive, it shouldn’t be used daily.

I rarely use baking soda to exfoliate my face but it does a fine job as an exfoliant and works wonderfully as a microdermabrasion dupe. All you need is to add water and make a paste, then rub it on your face very gently. The trick is not to scrub hard and not to use it too often (just like how you only need microdermabrasion once in a while). Alternatively, mixing baking soda with other ingredients like oat flour will help lessen the abrasiveness.

Baking soda is also good to be used as a deodorant base. I made one using just some water and a few drops of tea tree essential oil. But while it is effective, it is unsightly as it does leave white stains on the clothes.

Finally, I used to add baking soda to my dry shampoo but since I’ve found the perfect combination in using arrowroot powder and rice powder, I have left the ingredient out of my recipe.

Have you tried using baking soda in your beauty routines? If you haven’t, are you inspired to try?

Comments

  1. Jen says:

    Hi, I know you fully believe in what you’re posting, but actually baking soda is really really bad for skin. It’s so alkaline it destroys the natural acidity of the skin and leaves it open for water loss and irritants, which leads to dry, sensitive and acneic skin.

    I love your blog and I’m not trying to be mean, I just really don’t want you or any of your readers to be damaging their skin long-term.

    Thanks for reading.

  2. mf says:

    Thanks Sesame, this article is very helpful indeed!

  3. Sesame says:

    Glad you think so. ?

  4. Sesame says:

    Hi Jen, thanks for the comment. I think I did make a qualifier that you should not scrub too hard and not to use it often (just like how micodermabrasion itself even with the professionals aren’t great but it’s okay once in a while). I even mentioned that for brushing teeth. I think it really depends on skin type. Some people have issues using oats or honey even. I know many readers using baking soda too because they’ve shared with me. I do wonder if using commercial gadgets like an exfoliating facial brush or peel is better than this? But I remember reading Dr Oz and Dr Mercola recommending baking soda for hair and face too.

    Forgot to add that I used it one stage quite frequently for my nose and chin area to eliminate blackheads. It was good actually. But I do believe that it’s always good to use everything with care (not carelessly) whether DIY or commercial products. I don’t know if you read this but I had a post cautioning readers about going DIY here: https://www.vivawoman.net/2012/09/diy-beauty-a-word-of-caution-about-homemade-recipes/

  5. Carrie says:

    I have tried using baking soda paste to remove blackheads on my nose once but it wasn’t successful. I found the paste tricky to put on, and the results weren’t promising :S I was rather disappointed as I have very apparent blackheads. Maybe I wasn’t doing something right, but it was quite effortful for me so not sure if I will try again LOL Though the teeth-brushing seems easy enough, I might give it a go one day.

  6. Beauty Salon Karama says:

    I have tried using baking soda for black heads.It was very effective for me.But I also suggest to use it often.

  7. Sesame says:

    I had some success but not totally so am not surprised if it didn’t work for you. Also, have to use it a few times. In your case, maybe a nose strip works better. https://www.vivawoman.net/2014/06/diy-beauty-how-to-make-your-own-nose-pore-strip/

    For teeth brushing, I recommend you add the baking soda to the toothpaste. Taste better!

  8. Sesame says:

    Yes, maybe twice a week would be sufficient.

  9. Chichi says:

    I have used backing soda several months ago as a shampoo, once pure and another time mixed with one egg.
    It was to harsh for my hair. As Jen said above, it’s very alkaline so if you use it, make sure to balance acidity with vinegar.

    Thanks for your blog, Sesame!

  10. Ximage says:

    Who would have thought Julia Roberts actually uses baking soda to whiten her teeth, i use it plus a little bit of bleach once a month too. Celebrities use same thing then regular people as well why because they people too haha.
    Ximage last post is: All Naked Pics Of Kate Upton Leaked Nudes With Video

  11. Barbara Wilson says:

    Baking soda is really great for my hair. Thanks for sharing great tips. Keep up your good works!

  12. Barbara Wilson says:

    These tips are wonderful. I’ve been wondering what your hair care regime is like on the road. Do you twist up your own locks? How do you find beauty shops for black hair overseas?

  13. Glenda's Note says:

    Hi Sesame, I’ve heard about using baking soda for skin but never heard about it for teeth, maybe because I’m lack of info about this ?
    By the way, my cousin was looking for a teeth whitening product yesterday, maybe I should tell Her that She should try this at home & luckily those 5 celebs fact obviously will make Her pretty sure that this method is effective. No need to waste money on such expensive product at all ?
    Thank you for sharing this with us, Sesame.

    Xoxo,

    Glenda
    Glenda’s Note last post is: 6 Reasons to Own a Microdermabrasion Machine (and 3 Reasons Not To)

  14. Sesame says:

    For teeth, it only erases temporary stains like from eating or drinking. You still can’t get pearly white teeth from using baking soda. Also, I don’t think it should be used daily.

  15. Glenda's Note says:

    So, it doesn’t replace a teeth whitening products at all? How many times a month it should be used in your opinion, Sesame?

  16. Sesame says:

    You can start by using 3 times a week them slow down to twice a week and then finally once a week.

  17. Evelyn M. Speaks says:

    Hey Sesame

    Nice post!!

    Baking soda is a versatile and natural substance that is made from sodium carbonate, soda ash, or sodium bicarbonate. It is a known fact that baking soda has numerous uses including baking, deodorizing, everyday cleaning, and best of all beauty.

    Baking soda is also used for beautiful, shiny, and more manageable hair, sprinkle a quarter-size of baking soda into the palm of your hand and mix it with your favorite shampoo. Shampoo your hair as normal and rinse thoroughly. The baking soda and shampoo mixture will help remove product residue allowing your hair to be cleaner.

    Thanks for sharing this post!!

    Looking for more posts

  18. Celebrities says:

    I surely did not think of baking soda, i thought they spend who knows how much money to stay beautiful and shine on the red carpet.

  19. Melissa says:

    I love using baking soda on my face from time to time. I had no idea this was something that Hollywood stars do…that’s funny! Makes sense though:)
    Thanks for sharing.
    Melissa

  20. Jackie says:

    No, I don’t use baking soda but I have used dry shampoo quite often mainly because it’s more cosmetically elegant, smells better and its less messy since I use an aerosol spray. Baking soda could be good in a pinch tho when you are out of dry shampoo and just need a quick fix me up but too messy for every day use imo

  21. instagram says:

    I also see many people using baking soda as a ingredient for deodorant. Gonna try brushing my teeth with it. Thank you for sharing the post. I have never known that there are many celebs use it.

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