Avocado for Skin Care

Avocado has become very popular due to its various skin care properties. The humble Avocado has it’s origin in the southern part of Mexico and is also known by the name Alligator Pear. The high content of mono saturated fats and vitamin E makes it very beneficial for our heart. It is also a very good source of folic acid, vitamin B6 and various minerals like iron, copper, potassium (60% more than in banana) and magnesium.

The vitamin rich Avocado is a very good moisturizer and can help in relieving various skin conditions. It is a natural exfoliator and the oil from the seed can remove sun damage and even age spots. The anti oxidizing properties of vitamins A, D and E make the Avocado very beneficial to our skin and helps in neutralizing the action of free radicals which can cause wrinkles and premature aging.

Let us see some recipes which uses Avocado for skin care. These are very simple recipes and can be done at home.

• Place Avocado slices on your eyes for half an hour to reduce puffed eyes.
• An effective skin cream can be made by blending five drops of almond oil with 2 or 3 slices of ripe Avocado. The resulting cream can be applied around the eyes for a few minutes before washing it off. Another eye cream preparation uses a mixture containing a quarter cup of avocado oil with the same quantity of aloe vera. Alternately you can also use the oil from apricot kernel, grape seeds or sesame.
• Avocado is very effective for dry skin. Here are two preparations for dry skin. An Avocado can be mashed and applied on the face as an effective dry skin mask. You can rinse it off after leaving it on for about15-20 minutes
• Another good face mask can be prepared by blending half an Avocado with a teaspoon of vegetable oil. The resulting paste can be applied on your face and can be left on for about 15 minutes before it is washed off with lukewarm water.
• You can get an effective facial scrub by using an Avocado peel to scoop up a mixture, containing flex seeds(2tbs) and mashed banana(half a banana), and massaging it on your face. The massaging should commence in a gentle circular motion. Afterwards you can wash it off with warm water.
• Take an egg(only the white is required), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 tbs of oatmeal and a quarter measure of peeled and mashes Avocado and mix them together to get a paste that you can regularly use to coat your hands for more softer skin.