Will eating more papaya make me prettier? Maybe ... if I'm also slathering it on my face every week. Old Man Winter and his pal, Holiday Stress, have just arrived to wreak havoc on my skin and hair. But I'm ready for them! Celeb esthetician and glam guru Scott-Vincent Borba just gave us his best tips for eating our way to glowing skin and shiny hair.
First off, Borba told me to trade my vitamin supplements for high-nutrient foods. "Food is better than supplements because it won't damage your organs," he said. And by food, he means superfoods that can feed you inside and out. His new book, Cooking Your Way to Gorgeous, is loaded with recipes for delicious and beautifying meals and for super-charged skin and hair treatments you can make at home. Borba gave us some inside scoop on some of his favorite foods to feed specific beauty challenges.
As Borba sees it, there are three things most of us need for our hair and skin: Anti-aging, clarifying, and firming.
Anti-Aging: Treating sagging skin, uneven skin tone, and wrinkles.
Greek yogurt gives you a high concentration of lactic acid, which can even skin tone, reduce pore size, and minimize spots.Fruit like papaya, guava, and nectarines are high in enzymes that can be as effective as AHA and DHAs. They're not as effective as prescription-strength retinol, sure. But they're plenty effective and they're gentle enough to use daily. Your skin absorbs the enzymes faster without the toxins found in retinol.
Jalapeños and tabasco sauce have hyaluronic acids, which stimulate circulation, firm skin, and accelerate cellular turnover. Try working some into your nighttime moisturizer.
More from The Stir: 5 'Beautiful' Foods That Will Make Your Skin Glow
Clarifying: Treating acne, acne-related scarring, combination skin, and rosacea.
Goji berry and pommegranates are natural antimicrobials. They'll combat acne-causing bacteria without the over-drying effects of over-the-counter anti-oil products have (which can actually stimulate more oil production).Sustainable malaysian red palm oil hydrates without making your skin oily, whether it's in your food or on your skin. It's high in omega 3 and vitamin E, which helps repair cells.Tabasco sauce (in addition to the benefits listed above) can detoxify your skin. Sweating gives your skin a boost.Guanabana (a tropical fruit) refines skin tone and texture and reduces redness.Firming: Treating cellulite, crepey skin, "muffin tops," and lack of overall tone.
The vitamin C in limes, lemons, and other citrus fruit increases collagen production. The vitamin E in wheat girm firms your skin and heals it.Kale is loaded with vitamin A and Q 10, which help tighten sagging skin.About that Kale, here's Borba's recipe for a green face mask:
Take a handful of kale and mince it finely. Mix this in a bowl with mint extract and plain gelatin or pectin. Kale will gently slough off the dull, dead skin, while the mint opens the pores and the pectin helps the mixture to adhere. Skin will be left smooth and radiant!
Do you have any food-based beauty secrets?
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