7 Beauty Uses For Bananas

7 Beauty Uses For Bananas

Bananas: delicious and full of potassium. But sometimes it’s hard to eat them in their limited time frame. Before you know it, they’re brown and mushy. That’s actually the best time to use bananas in your beauty routine. And since they contain vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin B6, as well as antioxidants and manganese, they’re great for protecting the skin from free radicals and aging, they provide moisture, and they help skin retain its elasticity. Below are several ways to put those ripe bananas to use in your beauty regimen.

Banana Moisturizing Mask

Ripe bananas are excellent hydrators for the skin. Simply mush up one banana and mix with a dollop of raw honey (another famous natural moisturizer). Put the mixture on your face, let it sit for 20-30 minutes and then rinse it off. Your skin will be left radiant and smooth.

Banana Exfoliating Scrub

Speaking of radiant and smooth skin, ripe bananas make a great base as an exfoliating scrub. You actually have tons of options with this method. You can mush a ripe banana and combine it with different ingredients, depending on how heavy of a scrub you want. For a gentle scrub, use brown sugar. A medium-intensity scrub can contain sea salt or oatmeal. For the hardest scrub, grind apricot pits at home. Use one handful of exfoliator to one mushed, ripe banana.

Dry Skin Remedy

Ripe bananas are also great for those dry, cracked heels, or dry, rough elbows. All you need to do is mush two ripe bananas and apply them to the affected area for twenty minutes, and then rinse it off (though you could keep it on all night by covering the area with socks or scarves). The moisturizing effects of the bananas will hydrate those dry areas in no time.

Anti-Aging Mask

Vitamins A and E are nature’s anti-aging serum. They help skin fight against wrinkles. A popular way to get the best of these vitamins is to combine one ripe banana for vitamin A with one ripe avocado for vitamin E. Spread the mush on your face and leave for thirty minutes to turn back the clock.

No More Puffy Eyes

Bananas can even reduce swelling when mushed up and applied to the under-eye area. The potassium they contain is reputed to draw extra fluid out from under the skin. Leave the mushed banana under your eyes for about twenty minutes, and then rinse it off.

Moisturizing Hair Treatment

Can’t forget the hair. Bananas are so great at moisturizing, they’re a natural ingredient for hair masks. Mash two ripe bananas and add a few tablespoons of coconut oil. Scent-wise, it’ll be a tropical oasis. Apply the mixture to your hair, let it sit for 15-30 minutes and then rinse it out.

First Aid With Banana Peels

In full interest of using all parts of the banana, you can even use the peel to soothe bug bites, minor scrapes and sunburn. Simply lay the peel on the affected area and hold as you would a compress. The peel has anti-inflammatory properties.