This blog was founded on one basic principle. One law. One love.
You should put food on your face.
It makes you pretty. It makes you feel, and look, young. It is absolutely fantastic for your skin.
Frankly, this is my favorite way to put food on my face. Bar none. It’s quick, easy, and effective. It’s perfect for when you’ve peeled a potato or you have the top of a strawberry with a little flesh still on it.
And there’s only one hard and fast rule: Don’t do it more than two or three times a week. (Just so you give your face a rest from the fruit acids.) Unless it’s citrus; then I’d only do it once a week, because citrus is SO effective, you don’t want to overdo it.
And this – this easy-peasy tip that you can do in 2 minutes (work time) or less – this is how you do it old school.
Click right here for the full-resolution download of the above picture; if you want to print it off and hang it on your fridge, so you never, ever forget.
How to Eat Your Fruit and Wear It Too, In Three Easy Steps
Before we get to the hows and the whats, let’s talk about the whys.
Why should you put fruit (or veggies) on your face?
A: Nearly every fruit (and many veggies) have antioxidants, vitamins, and other properties (like fruit acids) that are great for every skin type. In fact, when I started this blog, I began by trying to isolate different fruits and which types of skin they’d work best on.
You know what I found? Nearly every fruit is great for any skin type. Nearly all of them help treat acne. Nearly all of them help rid the skin of dead cells, which makes them great for dry skin. Nearly every one enhances complexion. And SO many of them, with time, help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and age spots.
Some of them, however, are slightly better than others for different types of skin. We’ll talk about that in a minute.
Here’s the tip, in it’s entirety:
When you’re eating fruit (and any smushy veggie), rub a little all over your clean face. Leave it for 10-30 minutes (depending on the fruit), and then rinse off.
I’m not talking a big, gloppy facial mask. I’m just talking a little bit of fruit juice on your skin for a while. That’s it.
It’s similar to getting an expensive facial peel at the spa, only without the raw, red skin afterward.
When I say just about any fruit (and many veggies), I mean it:
And that’s not even the half of them.
Some of my favorite fruits/veggies to put on your face, just as they are, with nothing added:
- Citrus: Lemon, orange, lime, tangerines – you can use the flesh/juice itself, or just rub the rinds on your face. Either way, don’t leave citrus on for more than 10-15 minutes. Also, it can cause photosensitivity (and lightening of the skin), so be wary of spending much time in the sun for a few hours after you’ve done this. Best for: Acneic and oily skin, as well as any skin with a lot of built-up dead skin cells. Be careful with broken skin, though.
- Berries: Strawberries (great for any skin type, but especially acne), cranberry, grape (great for aging skin).
- Fruits: Apples, mangoes, kiwi (especially!), papaya, banana, tomato (great for acne), pomegranate, pear.
- Melons: Cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon (great for dry skin and age spots).
- Veggies: Eggplant (great for moles, as it’s anti-cancer), avocado (for dry and aging skin), pumpkin, potato (fabulous for acne and oily skin), lettuce, cucumber (for sensitive and dry skin), onions (for acne and oily skin).
How to Slip this Tip in Easily and Painlessly
I am slightly afraid this is easier for me than it would be for some of you, mainly because I don’t wear makeup (except twice a month when I go somewhere). My face is pretty clean all the time.
So when I’m eating an apple, all I have to do is slide a slice around my face, leave it on for a while, and then rinse and be done.
If you wear makeup on a more regular basis, it may be a tiny bit trickier. But not much. I recommend doing it in the morning, before you put on your makeup. When you’re eating your cereal with strawberries. Or about to fill half a cantaloupe with yogurt.
Slide a little fruit around your face, leave it on while you’re eating, and wash it off when you’re done.
Or, better yet, come home from work or school and take your makeup off right away. That’s MUCH better for your skin, anyway, and then you’re always ready for whatever fruit or veggie might be in your future.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, when I’m feeling oily, I’ll run a potato over my face and never wash it off at all.
It’s that good.
What’s Your Favorite Facial Fruit?
So many of you guys are old pros at putting food on your face, I’d LOVE to know what your favorite fruit, thus far, is for a skin treatment. Whether you put it directly on your skin, or added it to a mask: What’s your favorite “facial” fruit?
Also, if you’ve noticed one particular fruit doing one exceptional thing for your skin, be sure to share it here.
I cannot stress to you how many people read the comments on this blog and get invaluable information from your input.
Here’s to slipping another skincare idea in … on a regular basis!
I’m always thinking I should use home made facial mask more often, but keep forgetting or (more commonly) feel too lazy to bother making a mask, putting it on, then holding out for however long it take without getting it all over the floor, then washing it off and hoping you get all of it off, etc.
Your post reminded me, that it can actually be pretty simple to make a sort of “mask” from vegetables and fruit. After all, I almost always end up with little ends of vegetables I use for making food. Since I don’t like throwing away food, I would usually just eat around the inedible part in the middle of cooking. Now I have another thing I can do with them. 😀
I am just about to make breakfast sandwiches with tomatoes, can’t wait to give my skin a little treat. Thanks for the idea! <3
Thanks so much for this summary of face-loving foods. I admit I have been a ‘clay-mask-lady’ for years, and even though I have had nothing but success with clay masks, I’m curious to try some of your fresh food options (especially since we always have a generous selection of fruits and veggies in the house). Collecting all your tips in one post just made this easier. Thanks!
I decided to give up make up so I love this series. I went to rub potato on my face before commenting. I like rubbing grape on my face and it’s especially refreshing if they are kept in the fridge.
Ooooh, great advice! I’ve just started to use lemon on my face, but I’ve never really used too many veggies. I’ll have to set a piece aside when I’m making dinner for a before-bed beauty treat!
I just rubbed a strawberry on my face..its been a few minutes but I’m loving it already. I smell so good! What a smart idea. I heart you!
I was going to say that I tend to do the “non-fruit” recipes more often, but I think that’s just because during the winter I use your recipes with coffee, almond butter, honey, baking soda, cocoa etc. (pantry items) more often. Now that summer has hit us and we have more fresh fruit on hand, I’m remembering some of my favs from last summer: the cantaloupe, mango, oh and the corn milk and lavender toner (I love that one!)… but that’s not a fruit, oops!
“How to Slip this Tip in Easily and Painlessly”
Bwahahaa! Is this intentional entendre, or am I just a dirty old lady?
hehe!
What about peppers? Bell peppers, cayenne, jalepeno, anything? They seem like they’d kick acne’s butt.
Honey please, please, do not put peppers, especially spicy ones, on your face. Your face will burn and sting something awful, maybe for days and if you get pepper juice in your eyes it could mean a trip to the hospital.
That said, bell peppers are great nutrition for skin and hair and hotter peppers can be great for cleansing skin from the inside out by eating them – but could still be irritating to people with rosacea and sensitive skin even when eaten.
Peppers are supposed to be good for pain relief especially back pain or sore muscles because they naturally contain capsaicin which is used in a lot of pain relief creams,
I’d been wondering if I could do something like this since I found an organic facial cleanser with grape juice as the first ingredient. It’s great to know that I can smear fruit on my face without paying ten dollars for a “special” concoction. Does this work with juice as well? Could I splash some apple or grape juice on my face and get similar benefits? Maybe watered down?
No…you can’t put fruit juice on your face unless its 100% organic and has nothing added to it. Like regular apple juice has a bunch of sugar and artificial flavours that won’t be good for your skin. However, if you made the juice and swqueezed it yourself it’ll be fine..the juice has a bunch of the antioxidants and stuff and the peels of things are sometimes Bette then the fruit itself…so unless its pure juice with nothing else, don’t use it!!
Wow! I am so so so glad I found you. I have always always thought it would be a good idea to put fruits and veggies on my face. And I have done it, but rarely. But thanks for putting this all together and I am really excited to start putting more fresh produce on my face. Haha!
I am almost 16 and have super bad acne. I have redness everywhere, oily skin, black heads, and lots of scars everywhere. Chin, forehead, nose but especially cheeks. I have tried everything. Proactiv among many many others. But they all just dry me out COMPLETELY. But since December I’ve been using a natural face cleanser from a health shop with ingredients like coconut oil and it hasn’t dried me out (yay!) but it hasn’t gotten rid of my acne. I definitely will try citrus and cucumber. Today I actually whisked together honey, water and baking soda and massaged my face with it. Then I dried my face and with a cotton ball I dabbed on apple cider vinegar, as a toner.
I also am going to try your no ‘poo method for my hair. Thanks for your helpful blog! I love it!
You should try EVOO!! Extra virgin olive oil. It has to be 100% pure though an cold pressed with no additives. Rub it all over your face, steam your face for a few minutes then use cold water to shock your pores cold. Pat dry or air dry. This works because EVOO is the oil closest to our skins natural oil. Whe our pores are clogged they’re filled with oil and junk and create pimples since oil dissolves oil, the heat opens your pores, the EVOO cleans your pores and then you shock your pores closed. Now your fax will be clean and moisturized and super soft and clear. Done daily acne should clear up in about a week.
I love doing this! the only problem is when i do my mom says i look like an idiot :/
Hey you’re being smart. Ignore mom on this one. And good for you for sticking to it Jo.
Haha I can relate! Love fruit facials but do feel like I must look like an idiot. In a house full of ppl I usually opt to do it at night for privacy. Tried orange, banana peel-excellent, I leave it overnight- grape, potato, papaya, aloe Vera, and more. Basically every one of them has better immediately visible results than any cream/serum. And soo much cheaper!
Dear crunchy,
Thanks for all your advice. I’m horrible at eating my fruits and veggies but have started to. I love strawberries, blueberries, peaches,apples, etc…. I’m a true skincare junkie and have to buy any new product to see what it does. I’ve recently gotten into making my own and yes, it is so simple and great for your skin. I have aging skin, prone to cystic acne on my chin from stress. The strawberries and orange work well. My skin is pretty tough so I have fallen asleep with them on and had no redness but that is me. I also notice when I feel tired and eat blueberries, I just pep up, it’s weird. I also have been taking apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons a day and using it as a toner after washing. It is helping to clear up my skin. I know many have to dilute it prior to ingesting or putting on their skin but again, my skin is tough. I’ve been using retin a and glycolics on and off from age 20. I think that is what has kept me wrinkle free as well as no sagging. I also wear suncreen.. NO SUN FOR YOU YOUNGER WOMAN!!!!
Anyway, thanks for your info!!! Do you have any advice on acne caused by stress. It’s only on my chin but I will get 1-3 huge cystic pimples that keep me from going out in public. I’ve missed once in a lifetime events because I had a cyst. Of course they always come when I have somewhere to go, that I want to look my best!!!! I nurse them, end up coming to a head and pop on there own while washing my face. But then I have to put a disinfectant on it and keep doing it, from all the drainage[sorry for sounding gross]! I have found that aloe vera gel, which I’ve used since a teenager 100% pure works wonders with healing. Sometimes if really bad, I pierce a Vit E gel pill and mixx together. I think it helped my chin scars to not be severe. They are pretty mild considering how bad and how many cysts I’ve had on my chin. I also get cortisone injections from the derm , which prevents scarring too because they go down overnight. I do find if the core doesn’t pop out, it will come back again. I used to pick my pimples raw when a teenager to get the core. I ended up with a scabbed planet , which didn’t even resemble a zit. This is why I put the aloe and vit E mix on, which I now see saved my skin. I never pick anymore!!!!!!!! Sorry for the long detailed story!!!
Vic
If your acne is caused by stress, don’t stress. 😉
Seriously, though, try meditation. It’s a lifesaver, and skinsaver.
try clarins blue lotus oil. It really is a miracle
I have been reading for sometime about fruit based facial masks. In the end my conclusion was same that whatever fruits I am eating I can put on face irrespective of skin type. Only people with special skin related problems need to be worried otherwise for normal skin everything can be used. So I am doing the same putting almost everything.
My sister and I recently did homemade facials and I used an avocado and olive oil mask. The only mask I’ve ever used in my life that didn’t irritate my skin.
well what i do is cut up a few cucumbers , put them in a blender and add some lettuce . it works great .
You really provided very good information.
Has anyone tried fruit (I was thinking strawberries) with honey? Also, my extremly expensive moisturizer is made witg grapes so I think ill be trying it.
I use lemon and honey, it’s amazing! Lightens skin tone a bit to a nice even complexion. It also helps to reduce acne redness. Also the Nuetregena Pink Grapefruit face wash is very good, and pretty much the only store bought thing id put on my face. Except for the St.Ive’s Apricot Scrub. 🙂
Golly, I really could use a nice recipe for lightening the dark area around my mouth that never went away post-pregnancy (and my child is now four!!). Any tips? I’m trying lemon with honey and milk right now…but I’m not sure if it will be effective enough.
I just sliced a piece of green lemon and rubed it on my face and after 10 minutes i washed my face and my face looked like i almost have no acne at all.
I get big white heads and redness around them I slice up a red tomato and it works great
Sooooooo. I was dehydrating bananas tonite… there was a sale, I stocked up to dry them for snacks and heard what I sounded like a crunchy voice in my head telling me to rub my face with the leftover banana peels. I had a quite a few, so my elbows and face received a good slime. I finally crunched out… I mean crunched in…. or is it crunched up? Anyways… I did it! I crunchified!!!!!!!!!! Crunchtastic!
I like to use plain but fresh pineapple, just rub all over your face for 20 minutes then wash, I find it really plumps up my skin, and feel that if it’s done semi-regularly it helps to get rid of some smaller wrinkles (I’m 28 and don’t have many wrinkles yet, but I have a few “laugh-lines” that I only see when I’m looking close at my face).
now I have been having a lot of fun with these. I have honey and kiwis and even aloe vera gel. theres also cayenne pepper masks you can do which make your face feel like a jalapeno, i let those only stay on my face for upto 2 minutes or so they get hot. but, i feel like these natural products from the ground will keep your skin looking and feeling and being healthier then any of these products they sell on the shelves at stores. also use coconut oil mixing them into the masks. just have fun!
i rubbed slices of pineapple on my right cheek, and that was yesterday. but now my cheek is swollen, will it go away?!?
Hi, just wanted to mention, I liked this blog post. It was funny. Keep on posting!
I just recently moved to Dominican Republic. We purchased a friut farm (Finca)in the mountains.
When, I arrived four cherry trees were in bloom and now Mangoes are harvest ready. I juice the cherries and eat and use the Mangoes on my face and body. We have many fruit trees Soursop, Bread fruit, Coconut, Orange, Lime, Avo, Cashew, Bananna and some I cant pronouce, :&)
Thanks for the blog I shall bathe in all the fruits of Nature. All Praises~~GOODTYMES~~
my mum and their mums have been using tomatoes for getting rid of blackheads and i’ve tried and it actually works. not much to do either, just slice a piece of tomato and rub the juicy side or the pulp on your face, concentration on the blackheads and make sure to wash it off about 10 mins later. if you leave it on for more than 15 mins, you can get facial wrinkles so just make sure to wash it off. 🙂 just thought i might share my natural ways too. :))) happy tomatoes!
i love this website, its simply MARVELLOUS!
Wao! This’s amazing, i just used lime juice thou irritating but as i washed it off after some mins, my face feel like a baby’s own. I love this blog, keep it on.
Just rubbed kiwi all over my face and all I can say is WOWWWW! Feels like it’s working and smells great!
me likey!!!post moar!!!
Hello, my name is Shirley and this might sound crazy and i even got carried away with a recipe. I used virgin olive oil with lemon and oatmeal, egg white, mango, avocado, Yogart and even used a vitamin that had c and e, also, a few biotene cap gels and some carrot juice. Wow, i noticed my skin felt so soft and plump, i also put some on my neck. I will continue this mixture for a few more weeks and see what more results i might get out of it. I will let you know soon. My age is 49, thought i would through that in there. Thank, Shirley From Maryland
I love here, it feel so natural. Am a Nigerian lady and i have tried tomatos, water melon and cucumbar on my face it all felt great, but i learnt a new thing here, the timing. Keep it up dear.
Thanks and God bless.
I’m gonna try it just now… Does it work for albinos with acne??
For Acne & Acne Marks :
Blend some fresh mint leaves & apply the juice on the acne / acne marks. If possible leave them overnight. This has worked great for many of my friends. Hello Clear skin !
would drying out the peels of fruit and veggies make a difference on skin. like can they be grounded like a paste after drying them?
How about 100% organic carrot juice? I drink it everyday, but maybe good to add to my skin for a bit?
Thank you
Hi everybody friends!
I want to keep my face very young then my age so let me to know which fruits and vegetables it will be usuful ?
Regards for everyone dears
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Tank U̶̲̥̅̊ F̶̲̥̅̊ợ̣̣̝̇̇̇я̩̥̊ saving my face from pimples,,am gonna try it right away…
love the strawberry and kiwee and lemon juice just started it a couple of days ago will let you know how it works
I use lemon, tomato and papaya sometimes. I find tomatoes the most reactive for my acne-prone skin.
Plxxx can anybody tell me which fruit can be use instead of strawberry and cherry in some homemade creams.nd also give me some tips for removing acne marks nd whiten the skin complexion
I am older. What do you suggest for eye troughs. And saggy skin ?
thx for the blog. i’ve been using fruit among other things on my face for a while now (trying my best to not use any chemicals or surfectants on my acne prone skin) and absolutely love it!! thankyou for saying how often to use fruits on your skin bbecause people dont usually add that info in and when i first started using fruit on my skin (and fell in love with it) i didnt realize how even though its good for ur skin, the everything in moderation rule still applies and used different fruits to wash or mask my face with almost every day. with a bit of trial and error, some serious dedication and a few mistakes ive now learned how to properly use fruit and food on my face 😉 some of my favorites in no particular order… avocado, avocado, avocado, kiwi, rasberries, blueberries, pomegranate, lemon, aloe vera plant, banana, strawberries and last but not least pumpkin. all these by themselves are great but honey, yogurt and buttermilk are are some of my favorite to mix with. thx again! cant wait to try potato never tried that. p.s. i love everything about ur site (name included) and have always wanted to travel the country to different venues and do what u do (sell natural skincare among other things)… so enjoy doing it, its awesome and i will def check ur etsy out
Thanks for sharing. I make fresh green drinks almost everyday with lots of veggies & some fruit. Occurred to me recently that maybe it would be good to rub some directly on my face…Making it anyway for consumption so it’s not any added trouble to do so. Thanks!
I think this is stupid…
But It works 🙂
You’re a guy…
its what we do lol. Plus it keeps chemicals off our faces, whats not to love
Rinse the fruit off of your face with distilled water, that’s good for your skin as well. Love your tips.
My 43-year-old daughter smokes and eats all kinds of junk food, has acne scars and zits, goes for laser treatments, takes all the vitamins, buys expensive skin creams, and wears a ton of makeup. Her skin is still awful. I drink distilled water, am a vegetarian and eat lots of fruit, smear fruit on my face, and wear no makeup (just a bit of lotion in the morning). She just doesn’t get it that nice, healthy skin comes from the inside (with a little help from fruit facials, of course).
Thought I would never find anybody who got it. Squash all kinds amazing chemical peel! The texture of your skin will change and spots will fade. So glad to have found you. I will try some other vegetables and fruits! Bifo
I have just tied my first after wondering about this for years but not bothering trying it or googling it to see if anyone else had Banana and my skin now feels great. Thank you, I will be trying out everything that goes in my mouth, fruits and veggies of course from now on. Thank you
I have red inflamed skin on my face due to psoriasis. It’s extremely sensitive and (I believe) prone to tearing easily. I’ve had great results with oils (olive, avocado, etc)for reducing inflammation and redness both for cleansing and moisturizing my skin, but would love water-based treatment like fruit that I could just wipe off and go. In reading your article I didn’t come across anything specifically mentioned for reducing redness and inflammation; do you have any suggestions? Also I might add that while the psoriasis skin is bone dry and prone to cracking, the rest of my skin is super oily, so caring for the skin on my face has always been a balancing act.
Hi Jackie, I use raw unprocessed honey on my face at least once a week. I found an Apiary….bee farm….where i was able to buy raw honey directly from the bee farmer. it really does wonders for the skin. I just smear it on my face and leave for an hour. Also, i have eczema on my hands, and will leave it on my hands as long as possible. It helps bring down the inflamation and redness. I find yogurt is good for the face…the plain unsweetened kind. Some times I use a large grain turbinado organic sugar and water as an exfoliate scrub. The skin loves sugar! I’ve crushed blueberries and grapes and other fruits high in antioxidants and used as a facial mask. I also love unrefined coconut oil. I use it on my skin and hair. On my hair directly before i bleach it. I put the bleach directly on the oil and the results are fabulous and there is much less damage to my hair. Genetics also plays a big roll how the facial ages. My elderly mum age 77 only started getting a few lines around the eyes about 5 years ago. Also, there are facial exercises that we can do that helps a great deal. Search youtube there are several videos. I knew a woman that did them religiously for a few months and everyone thought she had had a face lift. So Happy 2016
Also, I have a recipe for a body scrub that reduces cellulite and stretch marks. It also helps to reduce water retention. I will be happy to share the recipe for free. I am assuming anyone interested can contact me thru this site. Also, skin brushing helps with this also. Using a natural bristle body brush in the shower with some soap. The circular motion of the brushing can make the skin of the abdomen legs and arms expel the fluid and also lessen marks and cellulite.
Could I get the recipe for your cellulite/stretch mark reducer?
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for sharing all this! My mother does this all her life and her skin is seriously amazing. Because I have such good genetics I didn’t bother till now to even really look into this, but now that I’m getting fine lines for a few years and they started getting stronger, I am a bit alarmed… My mother is always walking around with fruit or veggies on her face 🙂 and I thought it was silly. Now her advise doesn’t sound so silly to me! Children just don’t listen enough to their parents!
I’ve just been reading how to make my own vitamic c cream which is supposed to be fabulous for the face. then I got to thinking why not just rub an orange on my face so googled that and here you are lol. Off to get some good hair bands and give this a go. i make fruit and veg smoothies every morning anyway, wouldn’t hurt to put a bit on my face.
Fruit mask is the preferred method to smooth white skin, if you are too busy to be able to study these products are serum, I have used several products and found its performance is very stable. Thank you for sharing your post, it means a lot to me.
Susan K Wilson