Sweet & Smooth Facial
A healthy hello to my readers! I know I recently spoke about some of my favorite skin care products, but today I'd like to go back to skin care and make a short post about an easy home treatment that is really effective! Although I’ve specified this as a facial, I should mention this can be used anywhere on the body for healthy skin and improved appearance.
This blend is great for balancing and nourishing the skin while also diminishing fine lines and dark marks. In addition, it helps reduce under eye puffiness from fluid retention (while it’s topical and doesn’t treat the root cause, it’s a very easy quick fix). This is due to the potassium in the bananas.
There are variations to this recipe, but I'm going to give you the simple one I've used. All you need is a banana and some raw organic honey. The banana helps restore collagen production in your skin.
The banana provides:
Potassium
Manganese
Biotin
Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
The anti-oxidants in bananas prevent aging and the vitamins keep the skin elastic and build collagen.
Honey is also full of antioxidants, it’s naturally antibacterial (which is great for acne prone skin!) and very moisturizing and softening. It will give your skin a healthy glowing tone.
-Immediate Effects: toning and smoothing, softer skin, reduction of under eye puffiness.
-Effects after prolonged use (2+ weeks): same as above, with the addition of a reduction of the appearance of fine lines and dark marks.
Sweet & Smooth Facial
Ingredients: -1/2 large, ripe banana -1/2 tsp raw honey
Directions:
In a bowl, mash (or blend with a hand blender) the ½ of ripe banana until it’s smooth and free of chunks. While mashing it you can add in your ½ tsp of honey and mix it all well.
Once it’s mixed into a smooth paste, simply apply it to your face (and neck if desired) with your fingers and allow it to set for 20 to 30 minutes. If you’re using this for fine lines, be sure to give special attention to those areas! Afterwards, simply rinse it off with cool water and you’re done.
This mixture will keep in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer 2 months.
For best results, I would suggest doing this routine once a day for about 2 weeks to start with. After that, a maintenance routine of once or twice a week of this recipe or it’s variations is usually sufficient, but you can do it as often as you like.
Pro tip: Be sure your face is clean before applying the mask. Preferably gently exfoliated as well. If you're able to rinse or wash your face right before application, do so with warm water to open your pores so the nutrients are better absorbed.
