Would You Put Urine On Your Face For Better Skin?
In the eternal search for DIY beauty options, there are always new trends popping up that make you want to step back, scratch your head, and grimace.
“People are seriously doing this to themselves?!”
Past trends include crushed-up Oreos as mascara, and bird-poop as face masks.
The latest trend — that’s actually one of the oldest…?
Go into your bathroom.
Pee on a bunch of cotton pads, and then rub that fresh urine all over your face.
New kind of bathroom humor?
Urine-therapy is surprisingly not a new-age, holistic practice that people like Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah are touting. In fact, it’s actually an ancient Eastern tradition, believed to heal external ailments using the body’s natural antibodies released in our urine.
As expected, there are some guidelines to washing or treating your face with urine.
1-2-3’s of Putting #1 on Your Face
1. You should only use your own, um, brand.
2. You must use it immediately to avoid bacteria contamination — the fresher, the better!
3. If you are prone to UTI’s, have diabetes, or take oral medications which can react with the skin in unexpected ways, DO NOT TRY THIS. (Your urine may contain some things you don’t necessarily want all over your face.)
Not as disgusting as it sounds?
Urea is one of the main components of urine, and has been a common ingredient in skincare products for many years. Although the Urea used for commercial skincare products is obtained from animals and not humans, it has been used historically to hydrate the skin, exfoliate away dead cells, while giving skin a brighter appearance, smoother texture, and a healthy glow. Urine also has minerals, salts, hormones, antibodies, and enzymes, which can potentially benefit the skin.
Naomi Fenlin, owner of About Face Skin Care in Philadelphia notes that there haven’t been enough recent studies evaluating the use or Urea, so it’s hard to measure the true effects. “It’s probably not going to have any miraculous benefits, but it’s also unlikely to do much harm,” she says.
Until recently, Urea was a regular skincare ingredient, but as antiaging technology and science advances, it’s being used less and less.
“Medicated cleansers and anti-acne treatments are far superior to urine,” Fenlin adds. (Additionally, the smell of new cleansers and acne products are definitely going to be superior.)
If you’ve gotten this far and are still pee-curious, here are your instructions:
- Go to the bathroom and collect the specimen in a cup or jar.
- Saturate a cotton pad with the urine, and sweep it over your face like you would a toner.
- Let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse off with soap and water.
- Apply moisturizer and sunscreen.
If you want beautiful skin so badly that you’d be willing to wipe pee all over your face, please know that while this likely won’t hurt you — your time and energy are better spent elsewhere. Applying urine to the face isn’t nearly as effective as today’s skin care treatments and products, but if you are going to try this, please for the love of god, wash your hands afterwards.