Kitchen Ingredients That Beautify

Photography by Nathan Cowley | IG @hunnyluv.shades

You’ve heard that kitchen ingredients are the best to use on your skin, so we’re here to expand upon what you’ve heard! Here’s a list of basic beautifying food ingredients to cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate, and nourish your skin!

Don’t have time to hop into the kitchen and take care of your skin? This is a sign that you might be too busy to take care of you, which is a sign. Take care of yourself!

Note: Please consult with your physician and/or naturopath if you have specific skin conditions you are being treated for, or have allergies, before using any new ingredient on your skin. If you are concerned about how your skin will react, do a patch test first (put a small amount of ingredient on a small area of your skin and see how your skin responds).

Almonds
Almonds are packed with vitamin E, so they’re great when used externally or when eaten (for health)! To make a soothing face mask, mix almond powder with oatmeal and milk, apply to the skin, let sit, then massage the mixture off in gentle circular motions using warm water. You can also reduce the darkness of under-eye circles with almond oil!

Aloe Vera
Have an aloe vera plant, but don’t know what to do with it? Put it to work! Aloe vera has amazing healing properties to help replenish and rejuvenate the skin you’re in. Cut off the top third of the leaf, cut off the spines, remove the top and bottom layers, scoop out the gel to use, and store Apply the aloe gel to the face and body to deeply hydrate and heal! It accelerates the healing of burns, its healthful plant compounds can delay the signs of aging, and prevents wrinkles.

Baking Soda
Baking soda, mixed with some water or organic virgin coconut oil, creates an exfoliating paste to slough off old, dead skin cells so your skin can breathe and rejuvenate. Use only a pinch of baking soda with water or organic virgin coconut oil, mix in your hands, and gently massage your face in a circular motion. Rinse off and follow-up with a soothing organic toner (rose water is our favorite) and hydrate.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon is not only great in hot chocolate and on top of apple pies, it’s also great for fighting and clearing up acne! It’s got potent medicinal properties and antioxidants (polyphenols). With acne, it helps to dry the topical layer of the skin, increase blood circulation, and bring oxygen to the top layers. Mix a 1/4 teaspoon of high-quality cinnamon (the lower the coumarin amount, the better) with a 1/2 teaspoon of honey, smear mixture onto acne, leave on overnight, and rinse off in the morning. Interested in a natural lip plumper? Mix a tad of cinnamon powder with coconut oil and rub into your lips. It will warm up your lips, bringing blood and oxygen to the skin’s surface, and voila… Hellooooo, Angelina!

Coconut Oil
We could write up an entire post, just on coconut awesomeness alone!
Coconuts are naturally anti-fungal and antibacterial, so they can do so much good for the hair, skin, nails, and more. Sunburned? Blend the water of one coconut with the meat of the coconut in a blender, spread all over the face and shoulders, leave on for 30 minutes, and gently remove with a warm wash cloth. Don’t have an actual coconut, but have a container of organic virgin coconut oil on hand? Use as a hair mask as it can penetrate the hair like no other to fully hydrate and penetrate the hair shafts (rinse with cold water when you’re done). It also adds shine, tames frizz, and helps rid your scalp of dandruff. We can’t tell you how wonderful coconut is for our skin! We use it to remove makeup, cleanse, and hydrate the skin—- simply by gently rubbing coconut oil into the skin, placing a warm washcloth on top of our faces until the cloth cools, and wiping off any access oil. If you’re acne-prone, coconut oil can balance the skin, but it can also clog pores if not combined with another ingredient (essential oil or other). As a delicious lip scrub, blend a tad of coconut oil with sugar and honey, gently rub in a circular motion onto the lips, remove any access mask with a warm washcloth, and apply a natural lip butter—- like coconut oil!

Cucumbers
Not only are cucumbers great for de-puffing your under-eye area, cucumbers are a natural skin lightener and toner! Fade freckles and smooth out wrinkles by gently rubbing grated cucumbers on your face. Blend with some freshly-squeezed lemon and filtered water and drink to hydrate your body and clear up your skin.

Eggs
Reduce fine lines under the eye by applying egg whites, letting it dry completely, and rinsing off with cold water every other day. Run out of hair conditioner? Whip up 2 egg whites with olive oil, thoroughly massage into damp hair, leave on for 30 minutes, and rinse off completely with cold water.

Honey
Honey is naturally antibacterial and full of antioxidants to help improve the condition of skin and lips, boosts your complexion’s glow as it soothes and moisturizes, and the antioxidants naturally help with anti-aging. SUH-WEET! Apply a high-quality honey (we use Makuka and other varieties of raw honey) to your lips, let sit for 15 minutes, rinse off, and apply a little coconut oil to moisturize your pout. For a magnificent mask, apply a teaspoon of high-quality raw honey all over the face, let sit for 10-15 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water, and pat dry. For acne prone skin, mix 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with the 1 teaspoon of honey, apply, let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water, and pat dry.

Lemons
Lemons are highly underestimated and can do wonders for the skin and hair. Drink a squeeze of fresh lemon in warm water in the morning to hydrate and nourish your body. Cut a lemon in half, add some sugar to the lemon, and exfoliate your elbows, knees, and heels. Lemon is also known as a natural bleaching agent, so one can even out their skin tone. To add shine and bounce to your hair, combine the juice of 1 lemon with a glass of strained tea water, and use it as a rinse after washing your hair.

Papaya
Did you get sunburnt and not have any aloe vera on hand? Gently apply frozen mashed papaya to the sunburned skin and let sit as a mask for 30 minutes. Papayas have powerful enzymatic properties, so eating papayas will also help clear up your skin (as well as help with any digestive issues).

Potatoes
Breaking out? No problem! Slice a raw Russet potato and cover your face, including the eyes, with the slices. The high content of starch will serve your skin as a natural skin tightener, freckle lightener, and toner. The potato slices you’ve put on your eyes will sooth the skin around your eyes and can serve as a de-puffer.

Sugar
Sugar is an excellent exfoliant with deeply-hydrating properties! Mix a teaspoon of sugar with raw organic honey and a squeeze of lemon juice, gently massage in circles onto the skin until the sugar dissolves, rinse with lukewarm water, pat dry, and moisturize. The same formula makes a majestic lip scrub, too!

Tomatoes
Tomatoes are acidic and have high amounts of vitamin C and potassium in them. They can help naturally balance oily, porous skin. Slice a tomato in half and rub the halves on your face to shrink pores and cleanse the greasiness away.

Turmeric
Turmeric has been used for years as an ancient medicine for its medicinal properties. We use it on our faces to even out skin tone, brighten our complexion. Mix 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric with 1 teaspoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of honey, spread all over the face, let sit for 15 minutes, rinse off with lukewarm water, and pat dry. Turmeric root can be used to heal scrapes and wounds, too! When a scrape / wound closes up a bit, cut a turmeric root in half and rub one half over the scrape over and over again. It will leave the skin an orange color, but it’s healing properties will be worth it!

Water
Drink up! Consuming 64 oz of water a day can help minimize fine lines and wrinkles, and help brighten the skin as it deeply hydrates!

What are your favorite natural ingredient to use on your hair / skin? Comment below!