As they say you are what you eat! Well if you are what you eat you also are what you put on your skin. Although it may seem a little quirky there are plenty of ways to boost your beauty naturally using and products you can find right in your kitchen! I was doing research and came across a fruit I didn’t even know could be used as a beauty remedy, PAPAYA. Yes, who knew but this amazing tropical fruit is not only great in a fruit salad, but it can help brighten your skin naturally, treat wrinkles, age spots, remove dead skin, and even treat ACNE.
Papaya is a fruit native to South and Central America. If you did not know papaya is a very nutrient dense fruit packed with beta carotene, vitamin A & C, iron, calcium, folate, potassium, fiber, and more. Just eating it will make your skin glow–but the coolest thing is that the nutrients in it are also very beneficial to maintaining flawless skin. A small papaya contains around three times the daily recommended value of vitamin C –which is essential for maintaining collagen and keeping our skin soft and youthful. The Vitamin A helps your body when forming new skin cells, and it contains a beneficial enzyme that not only eases digestion but also exfoliates the skin and removes dead cells. Because of this papaya is a common ingredient in a lot of anti-aging and anti-acne skin lines and it’s conditioning abilities make it great to use in creams, shampoos, and conditioners. The skin of the papaya has been used to heal wounds and even get this–surgical incisions! It can also be used to ease swelling and to combat dry skin.
Here are a few papaya beauty remedies you can whip up at home. For acne: try making a papaya mask using one teaspoon of honey, one egg (for those who are not vegans), and one teaspoon of papaya oil. Mix the ingredients and apply to your skin. Also for deep cleansing apply a papaya mask followed by papaya vinegar heavily diluted in water afterwards. Leave the mask on for ten to twelve minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. For age spots & acne you can use the fleshy side of green papaya skin from a mature green papaya on problem spots. For wrinkles use papaya to get rid of old skin cells, which can make wrinkles deeper. Use a papaya powder which you can find in health food stores to smooth out your skin. For a general natural beauty glow, I like to keep it simple and mash or blend some papaya and mix with honey or plain yogurt to make a mask and leave on for 10 minutes. Make sure when using papaya to not leave on for extended periods of time or the acidity may irritate your skin. If the home remedies are too hippie-esque for you, don’t worry, you can always find some great natural products with papaya as a main ingredient. So, yes, papayas can be added to your beauty routine, but don’t forget that just eating them is good for beauty as well! -XoXo Raw Girl
P.S. When you eat papayas, you can use those seeds for something. Apparently the seeds when consumed in small amounts on empty stomach regularly can kill parasites!
P.S.S. For more natural beauty ideas check out this past post 9 Ways to Get More Bang for your Beauty Without Spending A Buck: http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/03/01/9-ways-to-get-more-bang-for-your-beauty-without-spending-a-buck/