When Foodie Meets Beauty
This article was adapted from the piece by Claire Trost, which first appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of Edible Indy.
With natural antioxidants, vitamins and hydrating elements, food can do wonders for the skin from the inside out. Yet certain foods can also be great for our body’s largest organ from the outside in—offering safer, greener and more cost-effective alternatives to standard commercial products.
“Our skin is our biggest organ and absorbs the products we put on it,” says Sasha Prior, co-owner of Nezza Naturals. She creates hundreds of all-natural alternatives for body, bath, beauty and home care products at their Victoria headquarters. Prior recommends a few go-to food items for skin and hair: vegetable oils, avocado, honey and oatmeal. “Vegetable oils like sunflower seed oil, coconut oil and sweet almond oil can improve skin hydration and reinforce the skin barrier. Avocado fruit is rich in vitamins A, D, and E and can be deeply moisturizing. Honey is naturally antibacterial and can be used as a skin cleanser to help remove dirt and debris. It is especially beneficial to those with acne prone skin.”
Some of Nezza Naturals’ good-enough-to-eat collection includes the popular seaweed and mint facial exfoliant with walnut powder, deodorant creams made with baking soda and/or arrowroot powder, and avocado body lotion.
In the Comox Valley, Brenda Hetman-Craig at 40 Knots Winery wanted to find new ways to use grape skins, which are a by-product of wine production. So she developed VinoSpa, which combines the nutrient-rich properties of grapes—including resveratrol, which is found in the skins, and proanthocyanidins, which is extracted from the grape seeds—to create an all-natural skincare line. “Noble Spa,” for example, is a tea bath treatment made from alaea salt, grape seeds and skins, rose hips, bull kelp, calendula, beet root powder, and essential oils.
“We believe that skincare products should be natural, soothing and effective regardless of age, skin type and gender. VinoSpa nourishes the skin as much as the earth it comes from and the community we support.”
From exfoliating and moisturizing skin to adding bounce and shine to hair, kitchen staples and even food scraps can make for a relaxing—and tasty—DIY spa day. Check out these natural skin-care recipes from the Edible Vancouver Island test kitchen.
HAIR
Beer, thanks to barley, hops and sugars, contains nutrients that offer the benefit of shine and more volume and bounce to hair.
1 flat beer
Beer needs to be completely flat, so let it sit out overnight and then use beer in place of your everyday conditioner by pouring it from your roots to ends; let sit for 3 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Use only once a week or so to prevent drying.
FACE
For each recipe below, combine all ingredients until well blended. Wash your face and then spread the mask all over your face, avoiding the eye area. Let sit for 15–20 minutes before rinsing. Follow with an everyday moisturizer.
Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Honey serves as a base to each face mask as it is a natural antibacterial, opening and unclogging pores while slowing down the aging process and creating a great glow.
Turmeric Face Mask
Turmeric is known to even out skin tone and is high in antioxidants. Its bright yellow color may stain, but is easily removed with soap and water, leaving behind a (more desired) glow.
1 tsp turmeric
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp milk
Chocolate Face Mask
Feel and look like a kid thanks to cocoa powder’s radical fighting flavonoids, making skin youthful, firm and clear. Doesn’t hurt that it tastes good too.
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp yogurt
Pumpkin Face Mask
Pumpkin, high in vitamin C, can help prevent wrinkles and fine lines. The carotenoids that give pumpkin its distinct orange color help to protect damage to skin from the sun.
¼ cup pumpkin purée
1 egg
2 tsp honey
Oatmeal Exfoliant
Simply add oatmeal to a small blender or food processor and grind it until it has the consistency of flour, then mix with some vegetable oil to create a consistency that is easy to apply. Gently massage the face and neck and rinse with warm water.
EYES
The caffeine in green tea treats puffy, dark eyes by shrinking blood vessels with an added brightening.
¼ cup antioxidant-rich brewed and cooled green tea
1 Tbsp aloe vera gel
Cotton rounds
In a small bowl, combine the aloe vera gel and green tea. The mixture should be fluid. Soak a cotton round in the mixture and apply the rounds under the eyes. Let sit for about 10–15 minutes. After removing the cotton rounds, gently massage the remainder of the mixture into the skin around your eyes, moving from the inner corner of the skin around the eyes outward. Finish with an everyday moisturizer or eye cream. Keep in an airtight container with cotton rounds up to 3 weeks.
LIPS
The vitamin C in the orange peel helps to fight skin dryness while brown sugar is naturally hydrating. The cinnamon adds a lip plumping effect as it helps to open pores. Muah!
1 tsp dried orange peel
2 Tbsp brown sugar
½ Tbsp pink Himalayan salt, coarse ground
2 tsp cinnamon
1½ Tbsp coconut oil
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, coffee grinder or mortar. Lightly grind the ingredients or use the back of a spoon until you get coarse paste. Rub a bit gently onto lips with fingers for 1 minute and let sit for an additional minute.
Wipe off with a damp cloth. (To prevent irritation, only use a couple times each week.)
Follow up with a lip balm or moisturizer. Store in a small container up to 3 weeks.
HANDS
Naturally abrasive sugar helps to regenerate and polish skin. Combined with oils, skin is nourished and left moisture-rich—perfect for the drying nature of cold temperatures.
One
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cocoa powder
Two
1 Tbsp honey
½ tsp cinnamon
5 chai tea bags, cut
Three
¼ cup dehydrated apples, ground in a food processor
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp vanilla extract
Combine with ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup coconut oil. Rub onto hands or use in the shower, rinsing well. Store in a canning jar for up to 1 year.
FEET
Coffee grounds, a natural exfoliant full of antioxidants, combined with moisture-locking coconut oil, work to repair and soften the skin on feet. This can even work as a full body scrub, as the caffeine helps to stimulate blood flow in the lymphatic system.
¼ cup raw virgin coconut oil, melted and at room temperature
¼ cup coffee grounds, fresh or used
1 cup raw sugar
Combine ingredients well. Store tightly in a sealed jar. Use 1 to 2 times each week to exfoliate and refresh skin, rinsing well.
