Skin Repair In Your Kitchen

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

20 Feb 2007 05:52 PM

Winter is a rough time for your skin. You need to have the heat on, but that can suck moisture out of the air and out of your skin. Here are some quick and easy ways to fix your skin in the kitchen.

Feeling dried out? If you need to boost hydration, start with good old H-2-O. Drink six to eight glasses of water every day to moisturize from within. Then make sure your diet includes enough essential fatty acids, like omega-3 and omega-6. These fatty acids help make up the membrane that protects each and every cell in your body.

What to eat: salmon, walnuts, flaxseed, vegetable oils.

Try this at-home facial: Mash a banana, mix in one cup of plain yogurt, one tablespoon of honey, and two tablespoons of rolled oats. Mix well, then spread over damp skin. Leave it on for fifteen minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Does your skin seem rough in the winter? Vitamin A can help smooth things out. This vitamin -- also known as retinol -- is essential for your body to grow new skin cells. You can get your vitamin A from animal products, or you can eat vegetables that contain certain pigments called carotenoids that will help your body produce the vitamin itself.

What to eat: milk, eggs, carrots, mangoes, cantaloupe.

If your skin loses its shine in the winter months, you need the power of vitamin C and vitamin E to help your skin cells shine. These two antioxidant vitamins help keep your cells firm and strong.

What to eat: apples, citrus fruits, whole grain cereal.

Miss those rosy, plump cheeks of your youth? Feel like things are sagging in the wrong direction? Flavonoids (another kind of antioxidant) can support the natural collagen and elastin in your skin, keeping things full and smooth. Add selenium for more firming power and to help reduce fine lines -- this mineral is a natural anti-inflammatory agent.

What to eat: dark chocolate, green tea, red wine, grapes, cranberries, whole grains, Brazil nuts, and turkey

Try this at-home facial: Start with a handful of dry short-grain rice. Rub over your face in a circular motion for three minutes. Rinse, then pat dry. Mix one tablespoon honey with one teaspoon pomegranate juice and apply to the skin. Wait fifteen minutes, then rinse with warm water.

More home spa action: dry skin brushing, face masks, and hair coloring.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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