Ingredient Focus: Avocado

After my previous ingredient focus post on honey (which you can find here) I had a few people

 tell me that they found it really interesting, and asked whether I would be doing any similar posts.

 I hope to do a whole series of these posts, and so I decided to focus on the benefits of avocado 

for the second ingredient focus post.

Avocado, delicious in its own right, has many benefits for both the skin and the hair. The good fats

 contained in avocados provide many nutrients including vitamins A, B, C and E as well as 

minerals such as iron and potassium. With many health benefits they really are a super food, but I'm

 going to tell you how avocados can help us look great on the outside as well as feeling good on 

the inside. 

Skin: When used as a butter (produced from the flesh of the avocado) the fruit is very hydrating

 as it softens and soothes the skin. If your skin is a little thirsty it will drink up the moisturising

 properties of avocado and will certainly thank you for it later. Avocado also contains

 antioxidants which help protect against free radicals and in turn eliminates wrinkles and prevents

 premature signs of ageing. Avocado oil is also thought to be great for reducing the visibility 

of age spots, fine lines and scarring. All in all avocado is pretty much your skins best friend.

Hair: Avocado oil has been used for centuries in products such as hair conditioners and masks

 as it is nutrient rich and restores health. Dry, brittle hair will benefit from avocado oil as it is

 rich, nourishing and softening. The oil increases the tensile strength of the hair (that is how far you 

can pull it before it snaps) as well as adding a gorgeous shine. 

This healthy, natural ingredient is basically a health and beauty marvel, particularly for those 

with dry or ageing skin. Will you be incorporating avocado based products into your beauty routine? 

Ingredient Focus: Honey

Years of working for Lush Cosmetics has given me a great in-depth knowledge of natural 

ingredients and the effects they have on the skin and hair. No matter what problem you may

 have with your skin or hair, honey often holds the answer.

When used in cosmetics honey does so much more than provide a sweet smell.

 The nutrients in honey provide many benefits to us when consumed and used externally as part

 of a cosmetic product. I have outlined below the different cosmetic issues we might face and 

how honey can help.

Acne - Honey has been traditionally used as an acne treatment for years as it is

 naturally antibacterial and antiseptic. The antimicrobial effects of honey mean that it kills 

spot causing microbes and stops their growth. Goodbye spots, hello clear skin!

Dry skin - Honey is a natural humectant, which means that it attracts and retains moisture 

in the skin. This means that honey is really moisturising and soothing for both the skin and hair.

Ageing - Packed full of antioxidants, honey is great for skin that is showing signs of ageing.

 Antioxidants help slow down the ageing process, as well as helping protect from the damaging 

sun rays.

Dry, frizzy hair  - Hair will be nourished and enriched by honey. The emollient properties of 

honey make it a natural softener and it improves the condition of the hair follicle. This in turn 

encourages the hair to grow, leaving you with soft, long hair!

As if this wasn't enough honey is also naturally self-preserving, which means that the use of 

nasty chemicals are not needed in honey based cosmetics. There are lots of companies that use

 honey in their products (Lush being the main one), but honey is also great to use at home for 

D.I.Y masks etc. 

Do you love to use honey as a cosmetic? How do you use it?

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