10 weird celebrity beauty trends that will shock you
If bird poop fell on your face while walking in the park, you would die from embarrassment, but your favourite celebrity might add it to their new skincare routine.
Celebrities spare no expense when it comes to their appearance.
We love a good self-care routine as much as the next A-list star, but how far will you go to improve your beauty routine?
When it comes to celebrities and their quest for perfection, the answer is to the moon and back.
Seriously, if moon dust could reverse ageing, we're pretty sure a lot of stars would be on the first SpaceX and Blue Origin commercial spaceflight to get their hands on some.
So, when we heard that 'Irresistible' hitmaker Jessica Simpson was consuming a drink that contained snake sperm for good vocals, we can't say we were too surprised.
A little grossed out but not surprised.
This got us thinking about all the weird self-care and beauty trends celebrities have tried over the years.
Here's a look at the 10 weirdest and grossest of them all.
1. Bird poop facials
If bird excrement fell on our faces while walking in the park, we would literally die from embarrassment.
While your grandmother would call it a bird blessing, your favourite celebrity might decide to add it into their new skincare routine.
Victoria Beckham and Tom Cruise were reportedly big fans of a £100 (R2,500) geisha facial made from nightingale droppings.
"When Victoria was in Japan recently, she was admiring the local women’s clear skin and discovered it was down to these facials. She tried it and loved how great her skin looked. She also uses a cream derived from nightingale poo at home," a source told Closer magazine in 2008.
Hey, if it is good enough for Posh Spice, it is good enough for, uhm, any and everyone but us.
2. Salmon sperm facial
At 56, Jennifer Aniston is one of the most enviable faces in Hollywood.
Would you believe us if we told you that her secret to glowing skin is a salmon sperm facial?
We don't know what's weirder, putting sperm on your face or, uhm, you know what, let's just stop right there.
Aniston swears by her salmon sperm facial. In a 2023 interview, she told the Wall Street Journal that her aesthetician recommended it to her.
One year later, she admitted on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' that she had no idea how the sperm was extracted from the salmon.
“But don’t I look like a salmon? Don’t I have beautiful salmon skin?” the 'Friends' star teased.
We have to admit that salmon do have beautiful, sleek and shiny scales!
3. Snail slime
This skincare trend dates back to Ancient Greece, where, dare we say, it should have stayed.
Snail mucin has been used for serums and facials for many years.
It gained popularity in the early 2010s, and just about every beauty and skincare brand was finding ways to incorporate it into their products.
It's supposed to hydrate and heal the skin, and celebrities like Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba, and Drew Barrymore have all tried it.
Before you run outside and start throwing garden snails into a bucket, we don't recommend putting random snails on your face.
Leave that to the beauty experts who know how to properly sanitise them.
Or maybe don't, because ewww!
4. Placenta facials
Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Madonna and Harry Styles are said to be big fans of placenta facials.
While we wouldn't put it past some celebs to put their newborn baby's placenta in a blender, many stars prefer the sheep placenta facial.
It's said to be nourishing and hydrating – but with a hefty price tag of over $500 (about R9,050), it better leave our skin as smooth as a baby's bottom.
5. Candle-cutting split-end treatment
Spilt ends are every woman's nightmare. They make your hair look dry, brittle and unhealthy.
Most people hate to lose length, but a big chop is usually the answer to a head full of split ends. Unless you're a celebrity – then you use a candle to burn them off!
Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio swears by the candle-cutting hair treatment, also known as velaterapia.
The technique of singing off split ends with a candle reportedly originated in Brazil during the 1960s.
It sounds a bit risky to us, but who are we to argue when Ambrosio literally has shampoo advert hair?
6. Bee sting facial
When Gwyneth Paltrow isn't selling $75 (R1,420) candles that smell like a vagina and creating cool phrases like "conscious uncoupling", she's getting her face stung by bees.
"Man, it's painful," the Goop founder said about her bee sting facial treatment. Well, duh!
"It’s a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy. People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It’s actually pretty incredible if you research it," she told the New York Times in 2016.
I think we have done enough research to know it is a big n-o!
7. Faux freckles
Gone are the days when high school kids were teased because they had a face full of freckles; these days, freckles are a must-have beauty trend.
Hailey Bieber and Megan Fox are two of many celebrities who have put faux freckles on their faces.
The trend gained popularity nearly 10 years ago and never went away.
We don't know if that is a good or a bad thing.
It isn't exactly gross, but if overdone, it can look like a hot mess.
Watch the video below to see how Bieber achieves the look using a freckle pen (Bic gel pens were found shaking).
ALSO READ: Freckle tattoos are a thing!
8. Leech therapy
Leech therapy is where we draw the line.
Snails are a maybe, but leech therapy is a hard no. The treatment involves leeches being placed on your face to literally suck the blood out of you.
It is supposed to improve blood flow and blah, blah, blah. We stopped listening when the words leech and blood were mentioned.
However, Demi Moore and model Miranda Kerr love it!
9. Strawberries as toothpaste
Strawberries taste good with some whipped cream and melted chocolate, but apparently they're not just for eating.
Catherine Zeta-Jones uses the juice or pulp of strawberries to brush her teeth.
Why? Because they can whiten your teeth.
Strawberries contain malic acid, which helps lighten stains on your (not so) pearly whites.
It's worth a try, we guess.
ALSO READ: Would you pay R115 for toothpaste?
10. Vampire facial
We swear this is where the madness began, with the queen of turning weird beauty habits into trends – Kim Kardashian.
The SKKN by Kim beauty founder made vampire facials popular in 2013. The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy allegedly helps reduce wrinkles and minimise scarring.
According to the Skin Body Health Clinic, "the vampire facial is a non-invasive treatment utilising the clients own blood to enhance collagen growth and healthy new tissue regeneration."
What's up with Hollyweird's blood and sperm obsession!?
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Main image credit: Instagram/@jlo