Sunburst Trout Farm's caviar. Photo: Fred Sauceman, Flickr.

Cosmetologists have long raided the kitchen cabinet to make everything from cucumber lotion to egg white shampoo, but Sunburst Trout Farm's Sally Eason believes her new trout caviar skin cream is unprecedented.

"I always heard caviar was the best thing for your skin," says Eason, whose family has been raising mountain trout in western North Carolina since World War II. Laughing, she adds: "I'm hoping I'm going to look like I'm 22."

Caviar beauty treatments aren't new, but none of the products currently on the market are made from golden trout roe. Sunburst Trout Farm has a history of extracting value from trout eggs, having pioneered trout caviar in the early 1990s. The tangerine-hued eggs have since surfaced at ritzy restaurants and on Jacques Pépin's television show.

But in 2007, Sunburst's processing plant was destroyed by light-fingered arsonists who made off with 670 pounds of the farm's treasured roe.

I'm embarrassed to admit, but ever since I was little, I've had a thing for deliciously-scented bath products. I've never been a make-up person, and I'd take slacks over a skirt any day of the week. But give me a passion fruit-guava bath and shower gel, and I'm all over it. Working at a bath and body store in high school only compounded this addiction.

Because I'd like to think of myself as a connoisseur of food-scented bath products, I can't be bought off with any old strawberry bubble bath or vanilla body spray. Heavens, no. I spring for the unique, the out-of-the-ordinary, the extraordinary. Exotic fruits and unusual pairings make for some fantastic soapy products. Go ahead, take a peek, and then pick up some confectionery concoctions just in time for Valentine's Day. But I have to warn you: when the bottles are empty, the withdrawal symptoms set in, so make sure you stock up.

Sarah mentioned that studies have recently been done that show chocolate is good for your skin. One beauty company, Borba, took that seriously. They have just introduced a line of chocolate bars that will supposedly clear your skin. The bars are made out of Swiss dark chocolate and are infused with a parented "skin clarifying boost ."

Borba also has a few other edible beauty supplements, like age-defying Acai gummies and jelly beans, both of which are organic candies flavored with Acai, green tea and vitamin C, intended to improve the look and feel of the skin. The company also sells a number of variously flavored waters with different skin rejuvaniting purposes.

Perhaps I'm being too cynical, but I'm not sure that chocolate and gummi candies are going to give me perfect skin. And it is worth noting that products that market themselves as nutritional supplements to not have to have their claims proven by the FDA, so any results are most likely anecdotal. But as long as they taste good, I guess it's worth a shot, right? 

You may eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast, but you can also use it on your skin. Doctors and scientists have long known the power of oatmeal to treat minor skin inflammations and relieve very dry skin, and we often see colloidal oatmeal as an ingredient with facial products.

• For a bath soak, finely grind 1c. dry oats in a blender or food processor. Sprinkle in tub of warm water. Soak yourself for 15-20 minutes. I had to do this for a few days when I broke out in hives from a food allergy.
• I have seen oatmeal facials done two ways. The first method uses ½ c. dry oats that has been finely ground mixed with ¼ c. plain full fat yogurt and 2 Tbsp. honey. (We've already seen the beauty benefits of honey.) Apply to face, rest for 15 minutes, then rinse off.
• The 2nd oatmeal facial uses 1/3 c. instant oatmeal cooked with ½ c. water. Add 2 Tbsp honey, apply to face, rest for 15-20 minutes, then rinse off.
• The oatmeal by itself in a facial mask works as an exfoliator, but it can also physically slough off dead skin cells because of its texture when it is ground into a powder.

Previous spa foods not to eat, but to treat:
Avocados are moisturizing
Cleopatra's secret: honey
Miracle Whip and Mayo: Miracle moisturizer
Two in one: eggs
Go bananas!

I used to eat bananas like a monkey, but aside from being an ingredient in pancakes or other baked goods, I stopped in recent years because suddenly the texture was too slimy and mushy for me. However, I'm thinking about bananas again, this time for my skin, rather than my stomach.

Bananas have been used throughout history for their moisturizing and skin-nourishing properties. They contain minerals like magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamins A, B and E. Even companies like the Body Shop, known for their naturally based beauty products use real bananas in their products.

For an exfoliating mask, mash together 1 barely ripe banana, 1 Tbsp. honey, and 1 egg yolk. Apply to face, rest for 20 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. To make it a "banana bread" facial, you can add a few Tbsp finely ground oats.

Previous spa foods not to eat, but to treat:
Avocados are moisturizing
Cleopatra's secret: honey
Miracle Whip and Mayo: Miracle moisturizer
Two in one: eggs

If your face feel moisturized after cleansing with the avocado leftover from guacamole, then the next thing you need is honey, which is a great moisturizer for the skin on the face. No wonder Cleopatra took baths in milk and honey! Though these claims haven't been fully proven, honey may also have antioxidant properties, which means it can protect from the sun's harmful UV rays, and anti-bacterial properties, which means it's great for acne.

By itself, honey can be used as a facial mask. In addition to moisturizing, the honey tightens pores to give the skin a smoother look. Simply cover your cleaned face with a hot, wet washcloth to open the pores, then apply honey to the skin. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

Honey can be combined with a few other ingrdients for a mask as well. For regular skin, mix 1 Tbsp honey, with 1 egg and apply to face as a mask. If skin is dry, simply leave out the egg white and use the yolk only. If skin tends to be oiler, use only the egg white.

As an anti-bacterial acne fighter, simply dab plain honey on the blemish that has been cleaned, and leave on for 10-15 minutes.

Because it is a moisturizer, honey conditions hair. Mix ½ c. honey with ¼ c. olive oil and apply to hair. Leave on for 30 minutes, which seems long, but perfect for sitting down with a cup of tea sweetened with honey. Shampoo and rinse as normal.

To be covered in future posts:

• Mayonnaise (yes, Stefania, that even includes Miracle Whip!)  
• Eggs
• Cucumber
• Oatmeal
• Olive Oil
• Bananas
• Potaoes

It's a good thing Nicole highlighted avocadoes as an major player in the Super Bowl of food, because it's also the first food I'm talking about in a totally irregular, sporadic series of posts dedicated to feeding your face - the skin on your face that is, along with your hair, and maybe even your nails. Food certainly does wonders for your body from the inside when you eat it, but it certainly works natural miracles on the outside, too. Haven't we already seen a French toast facial?

Avocadoes, as we all know, taste good because they contain a lot of fat. Not to fear the freaded F-word! Even though it can be up to 25 grams per avocado, it's good fat for your body, and it's this fat that make avocadoes an amazing moisturizer. Alone, avocado can work as moisturizing mask, and mixed with a few other ingrdients, can be used as a cleanser, and even to remove under-eye circles. Just don't make guacamole with it once your face feels refreshed!

To make an all-avocado face mask, all you have to do is puree a quarter, or up to half an avocado (depending on the size of the avocado, and the size of your face), and apply it, by itself, to your clean face. Let it work its avocado-magic for 15 minutes, then rinse off.