I think of pineapple and my mind immediately takes me to a Caribbean island paradise, lounging on the beach in the sun and sipping on piña coladas. Or simply feeling a little exotic at my next supermarket shop and splashing out on a juicy pineapple to make a delicious fruit salad at home, once again with images of golden sands and azure waters running through my head as I chew on that yellow goodness.
However, what I didn’t think about, until very recently at least, is the considerable health benefits that a juicy pineapple can provide. This is particularly the case when it comes to skincare, where either topical application or drinking it as a delicious smoothie or fruit juice can nourish your depleted epidermis and keep you looking young.
Here’s five ways you can use pineapple to improve your skin.
Keep your skin looking younger
Nobody wants old, saggy, unsightly skin, but you also don’t want to be forever applying toxic mass-produced moisturizers which expose your skin and body to nasty chemicals and synthetic compounds. Pineapple provides a convenient solution, fighting the oxidative damage of your skin from free radicals with the aid of antioxidants and alpha-hydroxy acids.
Seeing as your face is the most prominent part of your skin, and the part of your body that (normal) people typically look at first, you might want to try the following face and skin mask recipe:
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Pineapple and Papaya Face and Skin Mask Recipe
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| Prep Time: |
| 5minutes |
| Cook Time: |
| nocooking |
| Total time: |
- 1/2 pineapple
- 1/2 papaya
- 1tbsp raw honey
- Coconut oil (or avocado oil)
- Blender
- Combine papaya, pineapple and raw honey in a blender until smooth.
- Massage the mix onto your freshly rinsed face, neck or any area of your skin needing attention.
- Get horizontal and leave the blend on for at least 15 minutes. There may be a tingling sensation from the bromelain (a unique enzyme which dissolves or “eats” a wide range of proteins, including dead skin) in the pineapple and the enzymes in the honey — that means it’s working!
- Rinse the mixture off with warm water and apply a natural moisturizer, such as coconut or avocado oil, to the area to lock in all the goodness you’ve just soaked in.
Say goodbye to wrinkles and warts
Even worse than old-looking skin is wrinkled or warty skin. But how do you fight off something so inevitable? Well, you can start with pineapple: Applying the juice or the pulp of a fresh pineapple to your face or any area showing signs of wart infestation can utilize the healing powers of vitamin C to banish them from where they came. Meanwhile, the high concentrations of bromelain contained in pineapples can promote smoother skin and fewer wrinkles.
Help fight off acne
Acne is a serious problem for many people, particularly teenagers when hormones are running wild. Once again, the high levels of vitamin C contained in pineapple comes to the rescue, allowing the body to heal the symptoms causing your acne problem. In addition, pineapples contain plenty of anti-inflammatory compounds which help to prevent new breakouts and reduce the severity of existing ones.
Get sexy, flexy skin
Pineapple is just an all-around good guy when it comes to nourishing your skin and improving it without any adverse side effects. For starters, it helps the body to produce collagen that promotes increased skin elasticity and firmness. Secondly, its high levels of vitamin C promote repair at both the cellular and muscular levels, meaning your skin is more likely to regenerate and less likely to show signs of aging.
You can enjoy these beneficial effects on your skin in two ways: Either by drinking fresh, organic pineapple juice (without any nasty additives or added sugar — it’s sweet enough!) every day, or by rubbing the pulp directly on your face and other areas of your body. If you use the second method, just be sure to rinse it off afterward to ensure the bromelain doesn’t start eroding your skin (don’t worry too much — it would have to be on for a long time to do this).
Exfoliate your skin or scrub your feet
Pineapples make for the ideal exfoliator, on account of their high content of bromelain, which helps to remove dead skin and expose your newer, fresh-looking skin underneath. The best and simplest way to use pineapple as an exfoliator is to cut off a thick slice of pineapple and take it into the shower with you (making sure nobody’s watching — it might look a little weird). Then, rub the slice of pineapple firmly over all the areas of your skin you want treated, making sure to rinse thoroughly afterward.
The same approach can be applied to your feet, using either a slice of pineapple or a homemade foot scrub to soften skin, remove dead or excess skin, and help to remove any cracks on the soles of your feet.
So, next time you ask your bartender for a piña colada, consider requesting a chunk of straight pineapple on the side. Your skin will thank you for it.
As always, moderation is key. The ingredients in pineapple are extremely beneficial when used sparingly and infrequently, however, they can become troublesome if used in excess. Try to avoid using pineapple on your skin for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and take a break in your pineapple routine every now and then.
—Liivi Hess
