Let’s learn about the many uses and benefits of lemon juice. There are so many uses for lemon juice, that we will be here all day listing them. And, since I’m sure you’ll be bored by the first 10 or so, we’ll just touch on the most surprising and helpful tips. The number one most popular use is, of course the yummy lemonade drink on a warm summer day. Not the most helpful or surprising, but certainly the most yummiest.
As I’ve already written in my other frugal tip article, lemon juice is great on the skin. When the natural oils on our skin blocks pores, acne forms. The ph level and the level of acid in lemon juice makes it a great mild antibacterial cleanser for acne prone skin. For blackheads, it is recommended to rub the juice of a fresh lemon with a cotton ball or your fingers at bedtime on a stubborn pimple and rinse well in the morning. It is also an efficient and cost effective way to remove dead skin cells to brighten up an oily complexion. It’s also been known to diminish the appearance of acne scars and age spots.
I use lemon juice on my hair when it gets dull or too greasy from over conditioning, I pour some lemon juice from a cup on my hair after shampooing. It brightens it up and adds a little bounce to it.
Did you know, lemon juice is an effective antibacterial for cleaning wood cutting boards? Or, how about the way it shines wood furniture with a touch of olive oil? And, it’s aromatherapy uses to mood enhancement? I already use it for polishing my furniture, but may have to get some cute little decorative dishes to pour some in to sniff for when I need a lift in my mood.
When I don’t have a scrub sponge for cleaning off burned food, I take a half of a lemon, dip it in some sugar and scrub away. This tip I use quite frequently since I often burn food. As my husband says, “You can’t cook from the living room.” I get a bit distracted at times.
Don’t throw away those rinds, either. I like to cut them into quarters and shove them down my garbage disposal to deodorize it. And, sometimes I put some rind in with my homemade potpourri.
Obviously, lemon juice is lemon juice. But the bottled kind has been sitting on a store shelf a lot longer than a fresh lemon and has lost a lot of nutrients. Whenever possible, use fresh.
One tip that I found while researching for this article was to rub a freshly cut lemon on fingertips to whiten them. I am excited to try this tip. But first, I must go to the store; I am out of lemons.