10 tips: How to use sugar as a cosmetic or pharmaceutical product

While baking powder has the reputation for being a true multitasker around the house, sugar is often pigeonholed as something that's only good for baking and sweetening coffee. But the naysayers are actually wrong, since sugar has so many more uses beyond the obvious ones, as the following 10 examples show...

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1. Healing wounds

A study has shown that sugar in its purest form can be used to treat wounds. It does so by cleaning the wound and speeding up the growth of blood vessels. Even doctors use this method from time to time when the situation calls for it. While you should always try to use medical wound care products, sugar can be a useful alternative in emergencies.

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2. Stain remover

To get rid of particularly stubborn stains, it's recommended to create a paste made of two teaspoons of sugar mixed with some water to use on the spot first. Apply the paste to the stain and leave it to work its magic for half an hour. Next, wash your clothes as you usually would.

This method works particularly well on grass stains, as the sugar breaks down the plant cells and the green pigment chlorophyll is washed out with the sugar. The sugar paste is also effective against stubborn paint or coffee stains.

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3. Face peel

To create your own homemade face peel, mix one tablespoon of sugar with one tablespoon of rice flour and one tablespoon of milk. Make sure your face is clean when you apply the paste and gently massage it into your skin in a circular motion for five minutes. Leave the paste to dry and then wash it off using cold water. If used regularly, your skin will appear cleaner and smoother.

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4. Lip peel

What works for your entire face can be particularly beneficial for your lips, too. Dip your finger in water, then in crystalized sugar, before massaging it into your lips in a circular motion. The individual sugar crystals create the peeling effect, which is particularly good for dry or scaly lips.

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5. Body peel

For an affordable body peel, all you have to do is mix three tablespoons of olive oil with four tablespoons of sugar. Again, massage the mixture onto your body in a circular motion and wash it off with warm water.

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6. Smooth feet

As you can see, sugar is suitable for skin peels due to its crystal form. After body and face, it's of course time to turn our attention to our feet. To create the peel, mix sugar with peppermint oil. The sugar gets rid of dead skin cells (which is why it's good for healing wounds), while the peppermint oil softens the skin.

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7. Extending the shelf life

To keep baked goods like cookies fresher for longer, store them in resealable containers, such as a Tupperware box, and add in a few sugar cubes before closing the lid. This works for storing cheese too.

It's likely that similar properties to those that make sugar good for wounds come into effect, preventing the buildup of microorganisms on the food.

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8. Hand lotion

Using the same principle as before, you can use sugar-based skin peels to wash paint or engine oil from your hands. As with the previous skin peels, all you need to do is mix sugar with an oil — e.g. olive oil — and wash your hands with it.

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9. Treating insect bites

Our first tip describes how sugar can be used to treat wounds. This also works for insect bites, including wasp stings. Simply apply a sugar cube to the bite or sting. This will help to lessen the effects of the sting and ease the swelling.

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10. Keeping cut flowers fresh for longer

Cut flowers stay fresh for longer if you add a mixture comprising three tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of vinegar to their water. The vinegar prevents bacteria growth while the sugar gives the flowers an energy boost.

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As long as not too much of the stuff is contained in our food, sugar can be extremely useful and even do our health some good. Give some of these tricks a try and see what you think!