Beauty secrets from around the world

5. Germany: Footbaths

6. Russia: Kefir

Few of Anna Kalashnikov’s clients can believe the Russian-born aesthetician and registered holistic nutritionist is 51. One of her secrets? Each night she drinks a glass of homemade milk kefir, a fermented drink similar to yoghurt that originated centuries ago in the Caucasus Mountains.

It’s a tart brew that may take some getting used to, but if you do like it, kefir is rich in probiotic organisms, low in calories and high in calcium, protein, nutrients and vitamins (particularly B vitamins). Scientific studies have shown it also promotes healthy digestion and inhibits microbes like E. coli, salmonella and other common diarrhoea-causing bugs. “Kefir is the elixir of youth,” says Anna. “It makes your digestive system work so much better and it makes your skin glow.”
Anna makes her own by adding a starter culture of kefir grains to milk, then leaving it in a jar on her kitchen counter. In Slavic countries, she says, kefir is also used topically in a wide range of beauty treatments, including a bath soak, massaged into hair as a conditioner, as treatment
for dandruff or oily hair, used to remove makeup, or left on the face as a skin-brightening masque.

Beauty recipes

Kefir is found in health food stores, or you can try making your own by adding a starter culture of kefir grains to milk and leaving it in a covered glass jar. For beauty recipes using kefir, as well as tips on how to make it at home, visit kefir.biz/beauty.htm

7. Iran: Threading

Beauty recipe