Clever uses for mayonnaise you’ll wish you knew sooner
Don’t hold the mayo! It can be a great ingredient to have around: you can spread it on skin for an instant facial, slather it on your car to get it clean and more. Want to know what to do with mayo? Keep reading!
Condition your hair
Hold the mayo… and massage it into your hair and scalp just as you would any fine conditioner! Cover your head with a shower cap, wait several minutes, and shampoo. The mayonnaise will moisturise your hair and give it a lustrous sheen.
Treat yourself to a homemade facial
Why waste money on expensive creams when you can treat yourself to a soothing facial with whole-egg mayonnaise from your own refrigerator? Gently spread the mayonnaise over your face and leave it on for about 20 minutes. Then wipe it off and rinse with cool water. Your face will feel clean and smooth.
Strengthen your fingernails
To add some oomph to your fingernails, just plunge them into a bowl or mayonnaise every so often. Keep them bathed in the mayo for about five minutes and then wash with warm water.
Relieve sunburn pain
Did someone forget to put on sunscreen? To treat dry, sunburned skin, slather mayonnaise liberally over the affected area. The mayonnaise will relieve the pain and moisturise the skin.
Remove dead skin
Soften and remove dead skin from elbows and feet. Rub mayonnaise over the dry, rough tissue, leave it on for 10 minutes, and wipe it away with a damp cloth.
Kill head lice
Many dermatologists now recommend using mayonnaise to kill and remove head lice from kids instead of toxic prescription drugs and over-the-counter preparations. What’s more, lice are becoming more resistant to such chemical treatments. To treat head lice with mayonnaise, massage a liberal amount of mayonnaise into the hair and scalp before bedtime. Cover with a shower cap to maximise the effect. Shampoo in the morning and then use a lice comb to remove any remaining lice and nits. To completely eradicate the infestation, repeat the treatment in seven to 10 days.
Give your plants some shine
Professional florists use this trick to keep houseplant leaves shiny and clean. You can do the same thing at home. Just rub a little mayonnaise on the leaves with a paper towel, and they will stay bright and shiny for weeks and even months at a time.
Remove crayon marks
Did the kids leave crayon marks on your wood furniture? Here’s a simple way to remove them that requires hardly any elbow grease: Simply rub some mayonnaise on the crayon marks and let it soak in for several minutes. Then wipe the surface clean with a damp cloth.
Clean piano keys
If the keys to your piano are starting to yellow, just tickle the ivories with a little mayonnaise applied with a soft cloth. Wait a few minutes, wipe with a damp cloth, and buff. The piano keys will look like new.
Remove bumper stickers
Time to get rid of that old bumper sticker on your car? Instead of attacking it with a razor and risk scratching the bumper, rub some mayonnaise over the entire sticker. Let it sit for several minutes and wipe it off. The mayonnaise will dissolve the glue.
Get tar off your car
To get road tar or pine sap off your car with ease, slather some mayonnaise over the affected area, let it sit for several minutes, and wipe it away with a clean, soft rag.
Gum be gone
It is inevitable that every single child will eventually get gum stuck in their hair. Instead of busting out the scissors, open the fridge and grab some mayo, as the natural emulsifiers of mayonnaise may help soften the gum making it easier to remove, thus leaving their precious locks intact.
A clean WD-40 alternative
Don’t have any WD-40 on hand to silence that squeaky door? No worries, because mayonnaise does the trick as well and without the inevitable oil drips on the floor. Just put a dab of mayo into any squeaky door or cabinet joint or hinge and let the magic properties of this delicious oily condiment go to work.
Written by From Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things, Reader’s Digest (additional reporting by Jeff Bogle). This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.