Fruit & Your Face ♥

The best thing for your skin, especially the skin on your face, is something 100% natural.  You need something gentle and effective, something that won't irritate your skin, and something that can help prevent skin issues in the future.  You also need something full of vitamins, minerals, and natural moisturizing properties.

It's really (really!) hard to find products that are completely natural, with nothing man-made in them at all.  But there's one thing you can always count on to help revive that natural beauty inside of you -- fruit!

There are plenty of ways to use fresh fruit to get great skin right at home, and you don't need anything else other than what's probably already sitting in your cupboards and fridge.  Here I'll make a quick and simple list of fruits and which skin types & conditions they are best used for:

Acne

Lemons

Apples

Strawberries

Grapefruit

Kiwi

Dry Skin

Bananas

Guava

Olives

Melons

Discoloration / Dark Circles

Tomatoes

Grapes

Orange

Tangerine

Wrinkles / Sagging

Any Citrus fruit

Papayas

Blueberries

Pineapples

These fruits all contain antioxidant properties, and also can help naturally cleanse and refresh your skin.  Another reason these fruits are great for your skin's health is because they contain alpha-hydroxy acids.  Find out why AHA's are good for your skin here.  For more information on how these fruits and others are helpful for your skin, check out this article from DivaVillage.

For some awesome home-made facial recipes using all natural ingredients like fresh fruit, check out these articles:

Exfoliating Grapefruit Facewash
Refreshing Banana & Orange Face Mask
Cucumber & Melon Face Mask
Deep Cleansing Lemon Face Scrub

Have fun and stay cute ♥ xoxo

Your diet's relationship with your hair and skin ...

Everyone is well aware that our diet has almost everything to do with our body's health. What a surprising number of people don't know, is that your diet also has quite a lot to do with your skin and hair's health too. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can make shiny hair look dull and limp, and can cause blotchy and clammy looking skin all over. (Ewies.)

I admit, I will eat unhealthy things from time to time, because not only am I weak willed, but I have a butt as big as Mars, and it takes a lot to keep that badonkadonk bouncing efficiently. Though I cram the occasional (3) burger(s) down my chute, I still make sure that most of my week is filled with foods stocked with natural goodies that will keep my skin and hair looking healthy.

For example, if you want to keep your hair and skin naturally moisturized, add natural foods to your diet rich in fruit and vegetable oils. Try adding lots of olives, avocado, peanuts, almonds, and salmon to your diet for starters. Eating enough of these foods can even help cure cases of eczema!

When it comes to vitamins and minerals, there are some that are specifically suited to heal and repair skin and hair. Vitamins E, C, A, K, and B complex are all super best friends of your skin and hair. Adding lots of foods to your diet that contain these vitamins (like oranges, radishes, cranberry) can seriously improve your skin and hair health in no time!

Changing your diet can even help get rid of skin and hair conditions that you may already have. I already mentioned eczema (let me add that many products on the market today to treat eczema contain avocado, almond, coconut, and peppermint oils!), and there are also plenty of diets out there tailored to cure things like acne, psoriasis, spotty hair growth, and excessive sweating.

I have two articles that you should take a look at if you care at all about your smooth skin and luxurious hair:

10 Foods for Healthy Skin
5 Foods for Healthy Hair

Also, you should try to make yourself more aware of the toxins that are in many of today's food products. You could end up just as appalled as me to find out that half of the food in your cupboard is, in large enough doses, somewhat poisonous. That creeps me out, but that's a rant for another day. Drinking lots of water can help rid your body of some of the toxins, and can also help curb hunger. Of course, water helps keep your skin and hair hydrated too, so drink plenty! (As much as you possibly can without peeing every four minutes.)

Though it sucks hardcore, eating less of the things like ice cream, pizza, burgers, and fries can severely improve your health in every single way. I know they're delicious, believe me, but there's nothing more important than being smart and pretty...and you don't look very smart and pretty shoving pizza in your mouth with oily skin and dry, dull hair.

Happy holidays, stay cute and healthy and don't forget to send me cookies ♥