Fruity Beauty Treatments

Next time you feel in need of some pampering, head not for the beauty salon but for your fruit bowl instead! Like centuries of beautiful women before you, discover the goodness to be had in the fruits of nature.

A quick glance along the shelves of beauty products will show you that many of them boast a natural fruit base, but, if you take a closer look at the list of ingredients you’ll find that real fruit makes up a very small percentage of the total content.With today’s woman wanting a more natural, environmentally-friendly and ethical approach to beauty care, what better place to begin than at home with everyday fruit and veg?

Many fruits contain vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants, all of which can help your skin. So let’s begin with the favourite of old wives’: a slice of cucumber placed on each eyelid for 15 minutes really does help reduce puffiness. Similarly slices of kiwi will help to eliminate any dark circles under your eyes and give you a wide-awake feeling, while slices of avocado applied regularly under each eye for about 20 minutes will gradually improve the appearance.

Exfoliation

Exfoliation is getting rid of the old dead cells on the surface of your skin. Skin cells are constantly being replaced but the new young cells can be hidden by the dull dead ones. There are many fruit masks you can make easily at home that will help this removal process.

• It’s recommended that you treat your face once a week.
• Wash and pat dry your face before using any of the treatments.

Orange

Squeeze the juice and pulp from half an orange into a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons polenta and mix well. Spread over your face and, using small circular movements, rub the skin gently for 2 – 3 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and splash with cold. Moisturise.

Alternatively, to make a good mask for oily skin, combine the juice and pulp of an orange with an egg yolk. Apply to damp skin and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse off.

Banana

To tone and moisturise your skin peel a banana. Mash it with a teaspoonful of honey and apply to your face. Leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and splash with cold.

• Bananas help fight wrinkles!

Pineapple

Pineapple is an excellent cleanser and exfoliant. Blend together half a cup of fresh pineapple and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Apply to your face and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, splash with cold and pat dry.

Kiwi

Kiwi contains more vitamin C than any other fruit and vitamin C is very good for your skin, helping to rejuvenate and hydrate it. Kiwi is also rich in vitamin E, which helps in healing damaged skin tissue.

Peel a kiwi fruit and pop in the blender. Peel half a cucumber and add that to the blender along with about 5 strawberries. Whiz together then add a spoonful of oatmeal and whiz again. If it’s still very runny, add a little more oatmeal. Apply to your face and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, splash with cold and pat dry.

Avocado

Avocados were used by ancient civilisations as a beauty aid and their value is scientifically-proven today. For super-soft skin, peel and mash half an avocado and apply to your face. Leave it on for about 15 minutes before rinsing with warm water and patting dry.