Budget Beauty From the Fridge

Summer is here, and the produce departments have fantastic prices on a number of beauty aids.  Yep, that's right, the produce department!  You can find moisturizers, cleansers, masks, and peels for a song, all right in the veggie isle.  The best part is that you can grab a healthy snack while you're there.

As the dog days of Summer heat everything up here in Texas, I find myself not only wilting from the heat, but facing more than one skin problem.  Something cold, natural, and cheap is just the thing to make this beautiholic smile.  Enter my good friends avocados, grapes, strawberries, and bananas.  If some of my "treatments" happen to make their way into my mouth while I'm basking in their beautifying goodness then no harm, no foul.

Here are some of the benefits of these budget friendly face foods:

Avocados:  hydrate, help give "mature" skin a boost, and provide a softer, smoother look.  Mash 1/2 avocado and apply to the face for 15 minutes, then rinse for a moisturizing bonanza


Grapes:    a fantastic anti-oxidant, grapes contain resveratrol, and help boost skins natural collagen production.  You can slice a grape in half and rub the cut sides over your (clean) face and neck for an instant pick-me-up.

Strawberries:  brighten skin, reduce the appearance of pores, and exfoliate dead skin cells, and give skin a vitamin c soak.  Mash a couple of strawberries and apply to the face for no more than 5 minutes for a natural peel.  Be careful rinse within 5 minutes (or less), as strawberries have a high acid content and can burn skin if left on too long.

Bananas:  provide a plethora of vitamins and minerals, and make a wonderful skin smoothing mask.  Mash 1/2 banana and smooth on to the face and neck.  Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water

You can boost the effectiveness of any ingredient above by adding a tablespoon of honey to the mashed pulp.  Honey provides additional moisturizing, and tastes delicious!

WARNING:  If you have any food allergies, be very careful with botanical beauty aids!  Even if you don't have allergies, I suggest testing a small amount of these goodies on the inside of your elbow before slathering them on, just in case.