"beauty" news and stories

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.