{Poll} Bizarre Celeb Beauty Rituals: Would you try them?

*Sigh* the things FOFs do for beauty! And these 5 FOF celebs take it to a whole new level… Read about their bizarre beauty rituals, see what a dermatologist thinks, then vote: Would you try it?

Call it vinotherapy. Actually, that’s what top resorts in Spain, Portugal and France are already calling pricey beauty treatments where wine residue is rubbed into the skin. In The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets,  Kym Douglas and celebrity journalist Cindy Pearlman write that Teri Hatcher uses sediment from red wine to polish her skin in the tub. “I scoop them up and use them as an exfoliant,” says Teri. “The only bad thing is you can’t drink the whole bottle of wine.” According to the authors, polyphenols found in grapes get blood flowing.

Dr. Krant says: “Scrubbing and massaging get blood flowing on their own, so it’s not clear if she is getting the benefit she expects from the red wine itself. Proanthocyanidins from red grapes have been shown to have real health benefits from their antioxidant properties when ingested, but the anti-aging effect from topical use has much less scientific evidence behind it.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

—————————————————————————————————–

Milk does a body good…but what about a face?  Cindy Crawford thinks so. The Daily Record reports that the almost-FOF supermodel mixes milk and water and sprays in on her face to keep her skin hydrated. Milk baths have apparently been around for centuries; historical beauties including Cleopatra and Elizabeth I of England indulged in the lactic luxury. Everybody’s mooin..er..doin’ it.

Dr. Krant says: “Milk contains lactic acid which does contain some exfoliative and skin-softening properties. Milk fats also help moisturize and keep skin supple.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

—————————————————————————————————–

Ever wonder how some celebs get that “baby-faced” complexion? Just ask FOF diva Madonna, who reportedly uses a face cream made with human placenta. The product is called EMK Placental, and according to BeautyUndercover.com, Madonna and a slew of other A-listers are using it. Placenta “helps oxygenate your skin…improve natural cellular renewal and… protects your skin from the assault of environmental stress, UV radiation…and the natural aging process,” according to the EMK Placental product website.

Dr. Krant says: “Placenta contains many growth factors and vitamins. It has been studied for wounds, but there has been little to no scientific proof of its affect on intact, healthy human skin.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

—————————————————————————————————–

Almost-FOF actress Sandra Bullock has become the butt of tabloid jokes for her bizarre beauty ritual. Glamour UK reports that Sandra uses hemorrhoid cream under her eyes to reduce puffiness. “I didn’t realise that putting hemorrhoid ointment on your face is acceptable in the beauty business,” says Sandra. “But apparently, butt cream helps lines around the eyes!” Sandra says it’s true….so, no butts about it.

Dr. Krant says: Preparation H from the 1950’s did contain an ingredient, Bio-Dyne (R), that helped de-puff, but that ingredient has been removed from the modern version of the cream–in the United States. Bio-Dyne does still come in the Canadian preparation. So it’s not just any hemorrhoid cream that can do the trick. Makes you wonder which one Sandra is using….

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

—————————————————————————————————–

Debra Messing doesn’t throw a hissy fit about her eye wrinkles… No, she just uses snake venom to smooth them out. That’s right, this almost-FOF actress uses an eye cream which contains snake’s venom as an active ingredient, according to The Sun, “The venom slows the reponses of the face muscles, creating a wrinkle-free effect.”

Dr. Krant says: “Venom has not been proven to penetrate through healthy, intact skin to the deep layers where the target muscles lie. This product likely has no scientific benefit (in the manner claimed) at all. In order to get the muscle-weakening benefit, the only proven treatment is still injected botulinum toxins (Botox) and Dysport, and a new one coming out soon. Sorry, needle-phobes.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

—————————————————————————————————–

Talk about a detox. MSNBC reports that actress Demi Moore uses “highly-trained medical leeches” to keep healthy. “It detoxifies your blood,” she told Letterman.  Demi explains that these blood sucking vermin, “have a little enzyme that gets released into your blood… and your health is optimized.” Um, okay… “I feel like I’ve always been someone looking for the cutting edge of things that optimize your health and healing,” she says. Despite Demi’s loyalty to leeches, we predict this beauty trend will be sluggish to catch on…

Dr. Krant says: “Leeches have been used for centuries in medical treatments. Hirudo medicinalis, or medicinal leeches, likely the ‘highly-trained’ species Demi is referring to, are used effectively by surgeons to aid in wound cleaning, reconstructive surgery and other advanced treatments, but currently there is no proof that leech therapy has any anti-aging properties. Do not try this at home since uncontrollable, prolonged bleeding and infection can be undesired side effects.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Dr. Jessica J. Krant is a dermatologist based in New York and the founder of Art of Dermatology, LLC. She is also Assistant Clinical Professor of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City.

Images via Zimbio