Bizarre Beauty Regimens

Recently I discovered that my 25 year old brother does shots of olive oil because he heard it will give him better skin and hair.  That's right:  my brother does shots of olive oil. If you think this is as bizarre as I do,  you will be surprised to hear of some of the strange beauty regimens that are out there.  Just Google it and you'll see what I mean.  Everything from bird poop facials in Japan (ewwww!) to bull semen for your hair (double ewwww!!!) is out their to meet your needs.  The market is huge for some of these products.  Jessica Simpson even had a whole series called the Price of Beauty about bizarre beauty rituals from around the world.  I also found a great article on Oprah.com about what beauty means in different cultures around the world (check it out at http://www.oprah.com/style/Beauty-Around-the-World).

Researching this topic did make me think that we all have our own strange habits that we think will make us better looking, thinner and/or healthier.  My recent obsession has been to keep my hair from thinning (it runs in my family), so I found something called Ultra Sil.  It is basically Silca supplements that you take to make your hair, skin, bones and teeth healthier.  I started taking this after a month long trip to Ireland during which the water pH wreaked havoc on my hair, to the point where it was coming out in clumps.  I couldn't stand the thought of losing so much hair before I even hit 30, that I went to the health food store to find some magic supplement to help.  I was surprised how much it helped and now my hair is actually stronger than it has ever been.

I know taking a natural supplement is  pretty tame compared to the other possibilities out there, and I really can't see myself actually trying some of the crazy products out there.  I'm more about having a good diet and getting the most sleep possible.  Its working for now, so no bird poop facials (yet!).