The journey to glowing skin starts with proper nourishment. Skin care products can only fix your skin from the outside. For that ‘lit-from-within’ glow, you need to include key vitamins and minerals in your diet. And the easiest way is to consume vitamin-rich fruits for glowing skin.
Fruits have an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can keep your skin cells healthy. Moreover, you can also use fruit masks on your face every alternate day for that added glow. Scroll through this article to know which fruits can give you glowing skin, how to add them to your diet, and use them topically to improve your skin health.
Your skin health is directly related to your daily diet. A diet high in processed foods, sugars, and simple carbohydrates can harm your skin. Without adequate fresh fruits and vegetables, you may experience premature ageing, acne and acne scars, and even dry skin. You could be missing out on nutrients like zinc, iron, copper, and vitamins A and D that may promote skin health.
Most of the nutrients crucial for skin health are available in fruits. We will look at the top 20 fruits that can boost your skin health and keep it glowing.
1. Lemon
Lemons are natural bleaching agents. They are rich in vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that helps flush out toxins and protects the skin from photodamage and hyperpigmentation (1). So, if you have uneven pigmentation, dark spots, acne scars, or keratinization, try using lemon to get glowing skin. Here€™s how you can use it.
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add lemon juice to your salad.
Add the juice of ½ lemon and 1 teaspoon of organic honey to a glass of water and drink it first thing in the morning. This will help flush out toxins.
b. On Your Skin
For oily skin with pigmentation or acne scars, mix lemon juice with rose water and dab it on your skin and rinse off after 10 minutes.
For dry skin with pigmentation, mix lemon juice and coconut oil, dab it on your skin and rinse off after 10 minutes.
To get rid of dark circles, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 1 teaspoon of milk. Apply it to your under-eye area and rinse off gently after 10 minutes.
Rub lemon and sugar on the keratinized areas to lighten the skin tone and reduce keratinization.
2. Papaya
Papayas contain vitamins A, C, and B, pantothenic acid, folate, and minerals such as copper, potassium, and magnesium. They also contain enzymes like papain and chymopapain that help prevent skin damage by free radicals and have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Consuming papaya can help prevent constipation, which is one of the causes of poor skin health. It can also help treat warts, eczema, corns, and cutaneous tubercles (2). Scientists have also found that papaya can help heal wounds and chronic skin ulcers (3), (4). So, if you have digestive issues, scars, and pigmentation, you must include papaya in your diet and beauty regimen. Here€™s how to use it.
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Eat a bowl of papaya for breakfast or as an evening snack.
You can prepare a papaya smoothie by blending papaya, lemon juice, and pink Himalayan salt.
b. On Your Skin
Mash a small piece of papaya and apply it to your skin. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
Mix mashed papaya with lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon of turmeric and apply it to the pigmented and scarred areas. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
For dry and flaky skin, apply mashed papaya with half a teaspoon of almond oil. Wipe it away with a soft wet cloth after 10 minutes.
Make a papaya scrub using a small piece of papaya, 1 teaspoon of orange peel, and 1 tablespoon of rose water (for oily skin) or honey (for dry skin). Use gentle circular motions to scrub your skin. Rinse with room temperature water.
3. Avocado
Avocado is rich in healthy fats, dietary fibre, and vitamins E, A, C, K, B6, niacin, folate, and pantothenic acid. It has antioxidant properties that help reduce oxidative damage, which, in turn, prevents DNA damage. Consuming avocado can promote healthy ageing as it is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin that protect your skin from UV radiation. The healthy fats in avocados help retain the skin€™s elasticity, reduce inflammation, and speed up wound healing (5). Here€™s how you can use avocado to get clear and flawless skin.
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add avocado to your salad, burritos, wraps, breakfast bowl, sandwiches, etc.
Make an avocado and spinach smoothie.
Prepare an avocado dip by mixing it with yoghurt or hummus.
Use avocado in cakes or as a topping.
b. On Your Skin
Mash an avocado and apply it to your skin. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
For oily skin, mash a small piece of avocado with rose water and a pinch of camphor. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
4. Orange
The sweet, juicy, and pulpy orange has a vibrant colour and intoxicating smell. This fruit can also work wonders for your skin. Like lemons, oranges too are rich in vitamin C €“ 100 grams of oranges contain 54 milligrams of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Oranges can help prevent oxidative damage, photodamage, and DNA damage, reduce inflammation, and aid collagen synthesis (6), (7).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Consume half an orange each day.
Drink freshly pressed orange juice with the pulp. Avoid the pulp if you have stomach ulcers or are suffering from IBS/IBD.
Add oranges to your salad, pizza, stew, cakes, and chocolates.
Add orange juice to your smoothie.
b. On Your Skin
Apply orange juice topically wherever you have pigmentation. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
For oily skin, mix 3 tablespoons of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of gram flour, and ½ teaspoon of turmeric. Apply as a pack.
For dry skin, mix 3 tablespoons of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of milk, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Apply to your skin.
5. Watermelon
Red, fleshy, watery, sweet, and refreshing €“ we just cannot get enough of watermelon. It is great for oily and acne-prone skin. Watermelon has dietary fibre (0.4%), water (92%), carbs (7.55%), sugar (0.4%), vitamins C, A, B1, and B6, carotenoids, flavonoids, and lycopene. It has zero fat and is cholesterol-free (8). Lycopene helps in scavenging free oxygen radicals and prevents skin damage (9). The water helps flush out toxins and improves bowel movement.
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Have a medium bowl of watermelon for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
Drink freshly made watermelon juice in the morning or evening.
Make a fruit salad with watermelon.
Add watermelon to your smoothie for that extra zing
b. On Your Skin
Mash a watermelon and apply it to your skin. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
For oily skin, mix 3 tablespoons of watermelon juice, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of Fuller€™s earth, and 1 teaspoon of rose water. Rinse with cold water after the mask dries.
For dry skin, mix 3 tablespoons of watermelon juice, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 1 teaspoon of aloe vera. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
6. Cucumber
Cucumbers are also very high in water content. They have a cooling effect on the body and possess antioxidant properties (10). Unpeeled cucumbers are also rich in vitamins K and C and dietary fibre. Scientists have found that sea cucumbers can be used for reducing wrinkles (11).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add cucumber to your salads, wraps, sandwiches, smoothies, etc.
Prepare a glass of refreshing pulpy cucumber juice and add a dash of lime juice, roasted cumin powder, and pink Himalayan salt for taste and flavour.
Eat a cucumber as a snack in the evening.
b. On Your Skin
Grate a cucumber and mix it with 1 tablespoon of gram flour and 1 teaspoon of rose water to reduce inflammation on acne-prone skin.
Mix the grated cucumber, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to moisturize dry skin.
Mix the grated cucumber, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and sugar to scrub your hands and feet.
7. Mango
Mangoes are rich in vitamins A, E, C, and K, flavonoids, polyphenolics, beta-carotene, and xanthophylls. They help protect your skin from DNA damage and inflammation (12). They are also rich in sugar and dietary fibre, which help treat constipation. Mangoes are already used in the cosmetic industry to create hair and skin butter that have shown wound-healing properties (13).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add mango to your smoothie, breakfast bowl, or fruit salad.
Include freshly cut mangoes in your daily diet.
b. On Your Skin
Mash a small piece of mango and apply it all over your skin. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
For oily skin, mix mango, rosewater, and lime juice and apply it to your skin. Wash with cold water after 10 minutes.
For dry skin, apply a mask of mashed mango, 1 teaspoon of yoghurt, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Wash with room temperature water after 10 minutes.
Related: 10 Best Homemade Mango Face Packs For Healthy Skin
8. Pomegranate
Pomegranates are rich in vitamins C, K, and folate, and minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium (14). The peel, the membrane, and the edible seeds of the fruit are loaded with antioxidants (ellagic acid) that help protect the skin from UV-A and UV-B damage and skin pigmentation (15), (16), (17). Scientists were also successful in regenerating the human dermis and epidermis in the laboratory using pomegranate (18).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add it to your salad, hummus, baba ganoush, juice, smoothie, cakes, smoothies, breakfast bowl, or fruit salad.
b. On Your Skin
You can mash pomegranate seeds and apply the juice all over the affected area. Wash it off after 10 minutes.
Make a face pack with 1 tablespoon of gram flour, 1 teaspoon of Fuller€™s earth, 1 teaspoon of lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of pomegranate juice to treat pigmentation on oily skin.
If you have dry skin, instead of adding Fuller€™s earth, add milk or honey to the above mask.
9. Banana
Banana is rich in dietary fibre, vitamins A, C, K, E, and folate, and minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium (19). It is a very good natural moisturizer and has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties (20), (21).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add a banana to oatmeal for breakfast.
Add a banana to your smoothie or breakfast bowl.
You can prepare banana muffins or banana bread.
b. On Your Skin
Apply mashed banana all over your skin to make it soft and supple instantly.
10. Apple
Apples are rich in vitamins A and C, dietary fibre, potassium, calcium, and magnesium (22). They have antioxidant properties and help scavenge harmful free oxygen radicals. The peel of the apple has also been found to be rich in antioxidants (23).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Eat one apple per day as part of a healthy snack with some nuts.
Add apple slices to your breakfast bowl, oatmeal, or cornflakes.
Add apple to your smoothie or make apple juice.
Add apple to your baby spinach and tuna salad.
Add apples to your cake batter.
b. On Your Skin
Grate one apple and apply it to your skin. Rinse after 10 minutes.
For dry skin, mix grated apple with 1 teaspoon of honey and apply it to your skin. Wash it off with warm water after 10 minutes.
11. Gooseberry
Gooseberry or amla is loaded with vitamin C (24). It has antioxidant properties. Gooseberries also have anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. They also soothe the GI tract (25). They also promote procollagen production (26).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Chop seeded gooseberries and dry them in the sun. Store them in a glass jar. Pop one or two pieces of dried gooseberries in your mouth after lunch every day.
You can make gooseberry juice and store it in the fridge.
Add gooseberry pieces to your smoothie or juice.
12. Strawberries
If your skin is acne-prone, here€™s some good news. You can simply eat or apply strawberries to get clear skin. Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C and alpha-hydroxy acid (also known as salicylic acid). Salicylic acid is used in creams for acne treatment as it penetrates the skin pores and cleans them. Strawberries also contain ellagic acid that protects the skin from UV radiation and prevents collagen destruction and wrinkle formation (27).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add strawberries to your breakfast bowl.
Add strawberries to your morning smoothie.
Halve the strawberries and add them to a salad.
Add them to cakes or muffins.
b. On Your Skin
Mash a strawberry and apply it to your skin. Wash off with cold water after 10 minutes.
13. Kiwi
For those of you with panda eyes, a kiwi is a saviour! Kiwis contain a good amount of vitamin C and help protect the skin from the free oxygen radicals that cause DNA damage (28). Kiwis also promote collagen synthesis and help prevent wrinkles (29).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
You can blend a kiwi with spinach and grapefruit to make a yummy morning smoothie.
Just blend a kiwi and add 1 teaspoon of honey to it to enjoy a soothing juice.
Peel and slice a kiwi and eat it as an evening snack.
Add chopped kiwi to a salad.
b. On Your Skin
Mash a kiwi and apply it to your skin. Wash off after 10 minutes.
Mash a kiwi and add ½ a teaspoon of turmeric and apply it to hydrate and lighten your skin.
Related: 10 Best Kiwifruit Face Masks You Must Try
14. Apricot
Apricots are rich in vitamins A, C, K, and folate (30). They are also loaded with dietary fibre that helps improve bowel movement. And lastly, researchers found that apricots can help prevent endothelial cell death (31).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Chop apricots and add to your juice, smoothie, or breakfast bowl.
Add apricots to your salad, pie, tarts, jams, and jelly.
Have 2 to 3 apricots as an evening snack.
b. On Your Skin
Thinly slice an apricot and apply the slices to the pigmented area of your skin. Remove them after 10 minutes.
15. Grapes
Grapes, red or green, are loaded with resveratrol, an antioxidant. Researchers have found that resveratrol helps protect the skin from UV damage and skin cancer (32). Grapes are also a rich source of vitamins C, K, and folate, and minerals such as calcium, potassium, and phosphorus (33). A grape seed extract has skin-rejuvenating, -protecting, and -healing properties (34), (35).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Consume a small bowl of grapes.
Add grapes to your morning smoothie.
Add sweet and red grapes to chicken stew to give it a sweet edge.
Add grapes to your breakfast bowl.
Add grapes to your fruit salad.
b. On Your Skin
Mash grapes and apply them to your skin. Wash off with cold water after 10 minutes.
16. Peach
Peaches are rich in vitamins A, C, E, and K, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and dietary fibre (36). They are also a great source of antioxidants that help scavenge free oxygen radicals, thereby preventing DNA damage and photodamage (37).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add peach slices to your breakfast bowl.
Make peach juice or a smoothie.
Add peaches to your dessert.
b. On Your Skin
Thinly slice the peach and place the slices all over your skin. Remove the slices after 10 minutes and wipe your face with a wet cloth.
17. Cherries
Sweet, red, and delicious, cherries are not only good to taste, but they also can repair and protect your skin from damage. They are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins A, C, K, and folate, and minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus (38). Cherries also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent skin damage (39). Here€™s how you can use cherries to get flawless skin.
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Have a small bowl of cherries in the morning or evening.
Chop cherries and add them to your salad.
Add cherries to a small bowl of yoghurt or custard.
b. On Your Face
Mash a cherry and apply it to your skin. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
18. Musk melon
Muskmelon is rich in dietary fibre, vitamins A, C, K, and folate, and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium (40). Muskmelon has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (41). These anti-inflammatory properties may help in the treatment of psoriasis (42).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Add muskmelon to a bowl of fruit salad.
b. On Your Skin
Apply mashed muskmelon to your skin. Wash it off after 10 minutes.
Mash a muskmelon and add grape juice and 2 to 3 drops of lime juice to it. Apply it to your skin to help treat uneven pigmentation.
19. Pineapple
Sweet and tangy pineapples are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins A, C, K, and folate, and minerals like calcium, potassium, and phosphorus (43). Pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain, which has anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and wound-healing properties (44) (45). Applying pineapple to burnt human skin may help remove the dead skin cells and speed up the process of healing (46).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Consume a small bowl of pineapple for breakfast or as an evening snack.
Toss pineapple with spinach, cucumber, pomegranate, and cilantro to make a delicious salad.
Add pineapple to your dessert.
Add pineapple to pizza, wraps, burritos, stews, etc.
b. On Your Skin
Mix pineapple juice with 1 teaspoon of milk and apply it to your skin. Wash off after 10 minutes.
20. Prunes
Prunes are dried plums. They have high fibre content and are rich in vitamins A, K, and niacin, as minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium (47). The fibre in prunes helps prevent constipation. Constipation may also cause acne in some cases (48). Scientists have found that prune juice can help increase the weight of stool and improve bowel movement (49).
How To Use
a. In Your Diet
Drink 4 oz. prune juice first thing in the morning.
Add prune juice to your morning smoothie.
b. On Your Skin
Apply prune juice to your skin and wash it off after 10 minutes.
Mix 1 tablespoon of prune juice, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of rosewater and apply it to your skin. Wash off after 10 minutes.
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