Rubbing coffee on thighs to combat cellulite and applying baking soda on teeth to make them whiter are among the weird and wonderful beauty secrets employed by women, a survey has revealed. Other tricks of the trade include rinsing hair with raw eggs or beer to make it appear shiny and dabbing toothpaste on spots and insect bites to help heal them.
The research, which delved into the beauty regimes, habits and rituals of 2,000 women found one in ten would be prepared to try any bizarre tips if it made them look better.
10% said they were always a sucker for the latest beauty fad - sleeping in socks full of moisturiser and brushing talcum powder through hair are also common.
The extreme lengths to which women go to were revealed following a comprehensive study involving 2,000 women by skincare experts Simple.
Women in the survey also said they would be prepared to shell out £79 on average for the latest, all singing and dancing wonder product.
A UK spokeswoman for Simple said:
''This bizarre list of beauty tips and tricks just shows the lengths some women will go to look beautiful and how confusing some of these tips are.
''Women have a different approach to products and beauty tips, some like to adopt the latest innovations and others prefer to stick to what they know.
''We wanted to poll women to find out what alternative beauty treatments they use and what their approach is to the latest 'must-have' products.
''At Simple we believe that taking care of your appearance should be straight-forward and uncomplicated."
More conventional remedies to stay looking youthful include drinking plenty of water, milk and cranberry juice, the survey found.
Other unconventional remedies include rubbing strawberries on the face to minimize the appearance of freckles and adding sugar to soap to exfoliate.
Wrinkle busting tips were listed as sleeping on your back to avoid lines on your face and investing in a silk pillow case.
The poll also delved in to women's opinions of harsh cosmetic procedures, with one in five females saying those who went under the knife to stay youthful were vain and self-absorbed.
Nearly a third even said they have 'more money than sense'.
When asked what the key to looking young was, three quarters of women said it was maintaining a healthy diet.
Two thirds hailed drinking lots of water as the key to keeping youthful, but 57% said it was simply down to the genes you were born with.
A third attributed it to a good daily beauty routine and religiously removing make-up.
A dedicated 14% said they even go the lengths of eating particular foods in order to stay young with broccoli being the most popular, followed by oily fish.
Two thirds said they find conflicting claims from beauty products confusing although ten per cent said 'anything was worth a shot'.
A spokeswoman for Simple added:
''This survey shows many women are prepared to go to extreme lengths to find the right beauty regime.
''Many women are prepared to go to extreme lengths to fight the ageing process and that is their choice.
''But our advice would be to follow a healthy lifestyle instead of being pressured to try the latest fads or any invasive surgery.
"We believe it's not just about what you put on your skin that matters, it's also how you feed your skin through diet, how you exercise and deal with stress which plays a part in helping skin look as naturally healthy as possible.
"But our advice would be to adopt a healthy routine and your skin will thank you for it - you only have one skin, so look after it."
 TOP 50 BEAUTY TIPS BY UK WOMEN
1.           Cucumber on eyes to freshen them up
2.           Drink 2 litres of bottled water everyday
3.           Toothpaste on spots
4.           Tea bags on tired eyes
5.           Brush talcum powder through hair to freshen it up
6.           Sleep in socks filled with moisturiser for soft feet
7.           Pinching cheeks to give a natural blush
8.           Shave legs with hair conditioner
9.           Lemon juice on highlighted hair
10.         Drinking plenty of milk
11.         Toothpaste on insect bites
12.         Nail polish in fridge
13.         Baking soda on teeth to make them whiter
14.         Vaseline on eyebrows
15.         Lipstick on cheeks when you run out of blusher
16.         Final hair rinse in vinegar
17.         Spray hairbrush with perfume
18.         Fish pedicures
19.         Cold teaspoons applied to eyes to reduce puffiness
20.         Using honey as a face mask
21.         Super glue broken fingers nails rather than rip them off
22.         Steam face in water with fresh herbs added
23.         Vaseline to smooth out frizzy hair
24.         Heat up eye lash curlers before using them
25.         Sleep on back to avoid wrinkles
26.         Add sugar to soap to exfoliate
27.         Rinse hair with beer
28.         Iron long hair to make it flat (before straighteners were invented)
29.         Lemon juice to whiten tips of nails
30.         Kept eyebrow & eyeliner pencils and lipsticks in the fridge
31.         Pouring milk in to the bath or on skin
32.         Apply whisked eggs to hair to make it shiny
33.         Whitening toothpaste to get rid of fake tan on palms
34.         Mix a drop of serum with foundation to make skin glow
35.         Massage an ice-cube over your face to reduce wrinkles and acne
36.         Use the cold setting on hair dryer to set mascara
37.         Sleeping on a silk pillowcase to reduce wrinkles
38.         Tomato ketchup on hair to reverse hair dye
39.         Pumpkin and coconut oil on your hair to give it a moisture boost
40.         Coffee as a body scrub to beat cellulite
41.         Mash up avocado and use as a body scrub
42.         Having a cold shower to make boobs appear bigger
43.         Burst an evening primrose oil capsule and apply to spots to make the them heal faster
44.         Antihistamine to reduce flushed cheeks
45.         Rub fresh strawberries in your face to get rid of freckles
46.         Using cranberry juice to boost hair shine and enhance colour
47.         Adding peppermint oil to lip gloss to enhance pout
48.         Brewer's yeast mixed with water to bleach facial hair
49.         Soot from a spent match on a make-up brush, for smoky eyes look
50.         A spritz of lemonade on damp hair to give hold and texture
