"beauty products" news and stories

Sunburst Trout Farm's caviar. Photo: Fred Sauceman, Flickr.

Cosmetologists have long raided the kitchen cabinet to make everything from cucumber lotion to egg white shampoo, but Sunburst Trout Farm's Sally Eason believes her new trout caviar skin cream is unprecedented.

"I always heard caviar was the best thing for your skin," says Eason, whose family has been raising mountain trout in western North Carolina since World War II. Laughing, she adds: "I'm hoping I'm going to look like I'm 22."

Caviar beauty treatments aren't new, but none of the products currently on the market are made from golden trout roe. Sunburst Trout Farm has a history of extracting value from trout eggs, having pioneered trout caviar in the early 1990s. The tangerine-hued eggs have since surfaced at ritzy restaurants and on Jacques Pépin's television show.

But in 2007, Sunburst's processing plant was destroyed by light-fingered arsonists who made off with 670 pounds of the farm's treasured roe.

If your face feel moisturized after cleansing with the avocado leftover from guacamole, then the next thing you need is honey, which is a great moisturizer for the skin on the face. No wonder Cleopatra took baths in milk and honey! Though these claims haven't been fully proven, honey may also have antioxidant properties, which means it can protect from the sun's harmful UV rays, and anti-bacterial properties, which means it's great for acne.

By itself, honey can be used as a facial mask. In addition to moisturizing, the honey tightens pores to give the skin a smoother look. Simply cover your cleaned face with a hot, wet washcloth to open the pores, then apply honey to the skin. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

Honey can be combined with a few other ingrdients for a mask as well. For regular skin, mix 1 Tbsp honey, with 1 egg and apply to face as a mask. If skin is dry, simply leave out the egg white and use the yolk only. If skin tends to be oiler, use only the egg white.

As an anti-bacterial acne fighter, simply dab plain honey on the blemish that has been cleaned, and leave on for 10-15 minutes.

Because it is a moisturizer, honey conditions hair. Mix ½ c. honey with ¼ c. olive oil and apply to hair. Leave on for 30 minutes, which seems long, but perfect for sitting down with a cup of tea sweetened with honey. Shampoo and rinse as normal.

To be covered in future posts:

• Mayonnaise (yes, Stefania, that even includes Miracle Whip!)  
• Eggs
• Cucumber
• Oatmeal
• Olive Oil
• Bananas
• Potaoes