Berry good: Make strawberries your best friend to up your beauty game
Here’s why strawberries make for a great beauty ingredient.
Strawberries are not only delicious but are also highly beneficial for your skin. Loaded with vitamin C, salicylic acid, and antioxidants, the lush red berries also have exfoliating properties. Apart from this, they also act as anti-ageing agents, help minimise acne, dark spots, and also have a cooling effect on the skin. Here’s how you can include them in your beauty regime:
For acne-prone skin: Adding lemon juice to mashed strawberries make for an excellent astringent to control excess sebum and acne. Strawberries usually suit oily skin by keeping the pores free of clogged oil. In fact, it helps to lighten the skin’s colour, too and is useful in reducing acne marks and blemishes. Strawberry juice can be applied directly on dark spots and marks with a cotton bud. Leave it on for half an hour before rinsing off.
To remove dryness: People with dry skin can apply a mix of mashed strawberries and honey to nourish their skin.
Removing pigmentation: Crush a few strawberries and apply on the face like a fruit pack. Leave on for 20 minutes and then rinse off with plain water. You can mix it other fruits and vegetables as well, such as tomatoes and potatoes. Another option is to combine crushed strawberries with curd and apply on the face. This pack helps remove pigmentation over a period of time.
As a constant beauty companion: Boil a few strawberries in a pan over a slow fire till you achieve the consistency resembling jam. Keep this pulp in a bottle in the fridge and add it to your face packs.
Strawberry as an exfoliater: Take three teaspoons of oats or wheat bran (choker), add three crushed strawberries and one teaspoon each of yoghurt and honey. Mix and apply on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes.
For tan removal: Take three tablespoons of ground almonds, five crushed strawberries, and one tablespoon of olive oil. Mix and use it as a facial scrub. Apply and rub gently on the skin using small circular movements. Wash off with water. It helps to cleanse the skin as well as remove dead epithelial cells and tan.
To help reduce puffiness: Strawberry pulp can be applied under the eyes to remove dark circles and reduce puffiness. Apply under the eyes and wash off with water after 15 minutes.
Inputs by beauty experts Shahnaz Husain, Dr Prabhu Mishra, and Dr HK Kar
