This is the eighth installment of my monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have tested. Sorry this is late, Christmas festivities slowed down the beauty testing!

In Cecil B. DeMille’s ancient Rome epic “The Sign of the Cross” (1932), Claudette Colbert plays the cruel, seductive Empress Poppaea.   The VERY pre-code film features Claudette Colbert bathing lavishly in donkey’s milk in a pool size tub.  A little trivia: In reality, Colbert wasn’t bathing in donkey’s milk, but powdered cow’s milk.  The scene wasn’t very pleasant for Colbert to film, because the milk spoiled under the hot studio lights and smelled bad, according to IMDB.

Claudette Colbert in Sign of the Cross (1932)

After “The Sign of the Cross” inspired this beauty tip, I did some research on the benefits of milk baths.  The protein and fat in milk helps make skin feel soft.  Milk is also a natural exfoliant, according to She Radiance.

I have to say, this is one of those beauty tips (like the champagne hair rinse)  that I feel pretty ridiculous for trying but is really fun.  Here is what I did:

1. I showered earlier this morning, the milk bath was NOT a substitute for a shower or bath.
2. I bought a gallon and a half of two percent Southern Home milk from Bi-Lo.  Some websites said you only needed to add four to six cups, but I wanted as much milk in my bath as I could afford. I certainly wasn’t going to fill the whole tub with milk, though, because that would have been too expensive.
3. I filled the tub with warm water and dumped the gallon and a half of milk into the tub.  You can heat your milk on the stove, but after the cold milk and hot water mixed, the water was at a good temperature.
4. Soak in the tub. I wasn’t really sure how long to bathe, so I soaked for about 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Dry off with an old towel and rinse out your tub with water.  I didn’t notice the bad milk smell that was warned. However, to be on the safe side I rinsed out the tub so my bathroom wouldn’t smell like sour milk.

To review:  After the bath my skin felt smooth and not as dry as it had before. Apparently the milk baths also makes you taste good, because my dachshund is licking my arm as I type.
In the future I may only put a half-gallon or a few cups in to save money. I do suggest this, it was fun and ridiculous a the same time.

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