Left: Sheetal Rawal, scientist (human genetics) & founder of Apsara Skin Care
By: Marty S.
Home remedies by Sheetal Rawal
A fresh, ripe slice of papaya is a wonderful treat to eat no matter what the season. It’s tender and juicy, yet sweet enough that it’ll encourage you to take another bite - and then another and another until it’s all gone. As much as you would love to have the entire papaya for yourself, your skin needs some of that papaya too! Papayas can be just as nurturing and nourishing for your face as they are internally. Curious about what papayas can do for your skin? Continue reading to learn 5 reasons why papayas are beneficial for your skin as well as 5 papaya home remedies that you can use today to get clear, radiant skin.
1. Gently Exfoliates Skin
Papaya is a potent tool to use in your skin care routine because it contains a special enzyme known as papain. This enzyme has the ability to exfoliate your skin, which is what is needed to develop soft, plump skin. When papaya is applied on the skin, papain will gently shed off the dead and dry skin cells on your skin; as a result, your skin will begin to develop newer, brighter skin cells that will start coming to the surface. Thus, when you exfoliate regularly, you are diminishing the appearance of blemishes, fine lines, wrinkles, et cetera, and, in turn, you are encouraging more youthful-looking skin. It is also thought that because papain exfoliates the skin, it also has skin lightening properties.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of mashed papaya
10 drops of apple juice
Instructions
Mix the ingredients together.
Apply and massage your skin for 3 to 5 minutes
Leave the mixture on your skin for 10 to 12 minutes.
Wash the mixture off with warm water. Follow with your toner, serum, and lotion.
Use 1 to 2 times a week.
"My skin is definitely a lot better than it has been in the past. So I can come on here and show my face to the world without any makeup on my face and not feel like I need to hide, which is a good thing."
2. Rich in Vitamins for Ageless Skin
Papaya is very rich in vitamins that benefit your skin, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. Vitamin C, in particular, helps improve collagen synthesis. Our skin needs
collagen in order for it to stay firm and elastic. Collagen naturally breaks down over time, but Vitamin C can slow that process down and let us retain our youthful skin for much longer. A large papaya contains a whopping 235 milligrams of Vitamin C and can completely fulfill your daily recommended intake. Besides Vitamin C, Vitamin A is beneficial for your skin because it encourages your skin to develop more skin cells; this is why Vitamin A and its derivatives (for instance, retinol) have been used to fight signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles for many years.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of mashed papaya
1 tsp. of Vitamin E oil
Rice flour, as needed
Instructions
Mix the papaya and Vitamin E oil together. Add enough rice flour to the mixture until you get a thick paste.
Apply the mask and leave it on for 12 to 15 minutes.
Wash the mask off with warm water. Follow with a daily skin care routine based on your skin type. Click here to find out what your skin type is.
Use 1 to 2 times a week.
3. Abundant in Antioxidants that Keep Your Skin Looking Flawless for a Long Time
However, although collagen breaks down by itself, there are other factors that can cause it to break down faster. One of those factors is free radicals. Free radicals can come from many sources – the sun and pollution are two of the biggest – but nevertheless, they can do a lot of your damage to your skin. Free radicals are known to impair the function of and break down the cells in your body; with regards to your skin, they can make disrupt collagen production and make signs of aging appear. Thankfully, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E can take care of free radicals because they are also antioxidants; antioxidants can get rid of those nasty free radicals and thus preserve the health of your skin. Papaya also has other antioxidants such as carotenoids and flavonoids that assist with further reducing free radical activity.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of papaya paste
¼ tsp. of turmeric powder
1 tsp. of tomato juice
Clay, as needed
Instructions
Mix the papaya, turmeric, and tomato juice together. Add enough clay to the mixture until you get a paste.
Apply and leave the paste on for 12 to 15 minutes.
Wash it off with warm water. Then, use your toner, serum, and lotion.
Use 1 to 2 times a week.
Want to learn another papaya homemade remedy? Watch this video and Sheetal will teach you how to make a papaya and coffee face mask. Enjoy and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
4. Reduces Skin Issues Caused By Inflammation
When you blend the papain and antioxidants in papaya together, you can create an effective formula to reduce the effects of inflammation. Inflammation is often a cause of
many skin issues like skin discoloration, early aging, and acne. However, the papain in papaya can address the surface layer of your skin – diminishing the appearance of such skin issues – while the antioxidants can address your skin cells – cleansing your skin of harmful free radicals. This combination can promote glowing, clear skin as well as alleviate redness, itchiness, irritated skin, and swelling.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of mashed papaya
1 tsp. of fresh cucumber juice
Oat flour, as needed
Ingredients
Mix the papaya and cucumber juice together. Add enough oat flour to the mixture until you get a thick paste.
Apply and leave it on for 12 to 15 minutes.
Wash the mask off with warm water. Follow with your daily skin care routine.
Use 1 to 2 times a week.
5. Moisturizes & Hydrates Skin
Papaya is believed to hydrate your skin and this is because of two reasons. First, papaya has a high water content so if you use it on your face, your skin can soak up the juices in papaya and nourish your dry skin cells. Second, papaya has a good amount of potassium. For people with a potassium deficiency, they may experience symptoms such as dry skin. Therefore, you can use papayas to help relieve dryness.
Ingredients
1 tsp. of mashed papaya
1 tsp. of rosewater
1 tsp. of aloe gel
Instructions
Mix the ingredients together.
Apply the mixture and massage your skin for 3 to 5 minutes.
Leave it on for 10 to 12 minutes.
Wash it off with warm water. Afterward, use your toner, serum, and lotion.
Use 1 to 2 times a week.
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Go natural. It is good karma!