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Beauty Secrets From Around the World

From sake baths in Japan to rinsing hair with rosemary-infused water in Greece, these are the best-kept beauty secrets from around the world
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Glossy Hair From the Philippines
Filipina women are known for having the kind of hair every woman dreams of: beautiful, long, shiny and healthy-looking. While they are blessed with great hair genes, they also take care of it to keep it strong. Their hair salve of choice? The aloe vera plant. They massage the juice into their scalps and rinse it. Besides adding shine, aloe vera juice contains anti-inflammatory properties that can relieve an itchy scalp and reduce dandruff.

Try this: Jason Hair Smoothing Aloe Vera Shampoo and Conditioner, $9.48 each. This soothing shampoo and conditioner set is made with 84 percent aloe vera and contains spirulina maxima extract, which promotes hair growth.

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The African Cure for Acne
Washing yourself with black soap seems counterintuitive, but it's a beauty regimen African women (and men) have relied on for ages. Black soap is made with the ash of cocoa pods, plantain skin and palm leaves, and then mixed with palm oil, coconut oil and shea butter. The formula is specifically for oily skin and is used for treating acne, eczema and psoriasis. It also contains high levels of skin-loving ingredients vitamin A, vitamin E and iron, which help nourish skin and fight against free radicals.

Try This: Shea Moisture African Black Soap, $4.99. This natural organic soap clears up acne and some report it helps with skin conditions like keratosis pilaris and rosacea.

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Deep Clean Your Hair Like a Grecian Goddess
Women in Greece have been brewing this beauty secret for centuries: rosemary tea for their hair. Greek women say that it deep-cleans hair and removes product buildup. The recipe is simple. Just boil fresh rosemary in water, let it cool, and strain out the rosemary. Then, pour the water over your hair for shiny, bouncy hair.

Try This: Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil, $16.50. This treatment restores moisture and adds shine -- and it's especially great for taming thick, course hair. Add a few drops to wet hair daily, or add a cap full of the oil to wet hair for a more intensive treatment.

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The Dominican Secret for Tough Nails
In the Dominican Republic, you'll be hard-pressed to find a woman with weak or splitting nails. Her secret? Dominican women rely on garlic to keep their nails healthy and strong. They chop up garlic, add it to a bottle of clear nail polish, and let it steep for a week (Eventually, the scent goes away). Garlic has natural antibacterial qualities, so it keeps away fungus, too.

Try this: Barielle Growth Activator for Natural Nails, $16. This nail strengthener is formulated with garlic enzymes to stimulate nail growth, and safflower seed oil to repair existing damage, which is good news for those of us who get acrylic or gel nails on the reg.

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Insanely Soft Skin the Korean Way
A Korean spa isn't exactly relaxing, but you will walk away with the softest skin of your life. The process involves stripping down and letting a Korean lady slough off a couple layers of your skin with a rough mitt. It's a little unpleasant, but by the time you're done, layers of dead skin will be stripped away, revealing brighter, softer, baby-like skin underneath. Koreans visit them weekly, and have been for generations.

Try This: MicrodermaMitt Body Mitt, $29.95. Duplicate the spa experience (minus the nudist colony feel) with this hard-working washcloth. Made of all-natural floss silk, this body mitt will buff away dead skin and help prevent ingrown hairs.

BY EMILY WOODRUFF | JUL 5, 2016 | SHARES
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