The stone and peel of avocados is said to be able to replace some of your beauty products. Photo: AFP
Fighting dry skin, wrinkles, acne... Avocado has a slew of inherent benefits and today, it's an ingredient in a large number of creams, oils and shampoos designed to enhance skin, nails or hair.
Instead of looking to products with lengthy ingredient lists, why not just use the avocado peel and pit – most often destined for the trash anyway – from your salad-making ingredients?
All over the world, individuals and collectives alike strive to generate less waste in order to protect the planet and fight against overconsumption. It's a goal that comes with significant challenges, but which is gradually becoming part of our habits, which means that what used to go straight into the bin is increasingly getting repurposed.
This phenomenon can be seen in a multitude of sectors, from fashion to beauty, jewellery and gastronomy; many types of waste can often be reused.
And it's certainly the case for avocados, of which only the flesh ends up on our plates with the stone and peel generally ending up in the garbage.
However, this waste is not without use, on the contrary; it can even replace some of your beauty products, as the World Avocado Organisation (WAO) regularly explains. The organisation encourages consumers to take advantage of all the virtues of this fruit that is rich in essential fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins.
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Natural moisturiser
Whether you're making a salad, or guacamole, once the flesh of avocado is extracted from its coating, refrain from throwing the peel away as it can be used as a top-notch natural moisturiser.
And there's some science behind that; the fruit of the avocado tree is rich in essential fatty acids, meaning that it's effective at nourishing dry and dehydrated skin.
To take advantage of this benefit, simply cut the skin into large strips and apply it to the face for 10 to 20 minutes to enjoy its benefits. The result is soft, moisturised and soothed skin, with no greasy film.
For the area around the eyes
Avocados do more than just moisturise, they can also help fight against wrinkles and fine lines thanks to their antioxidant properties.
You can take advantage of these benefits by applying avocado skin directly to the face, and it's even possible to use it on the area around the eye – always taking care to avoid contact with the eyes of course – by cutting thinner strips that are delicately positioned under the eyes.
Leave them on for a good ten minutes and, if you do it regularly, this should be enough to notice results.
A gentle scrub
It may be somewhat less obvious but avocado waste can also be beneficial to the beauty routine by repurposing their pit or seed.
The World Avocado Organisation recommends doing this, explaining how to transform the pit of the fruit into a natural exfoliant.
To do this, you need to immerse the stone in water, then cut it into pieces. Once this is done, all that's left to do is to blend the pieces into a granular mixture that can then be mixed with a moisturiser or body oil, depending on what's desired, to obtain a gentle scrub.
Baby-soft feet
As summer approaches in the northern hemisphere, many of us are confronted with the dead and scaly skin that has accumulated on the bottom of our feet throughout the year, leading us to seek out pedicures, foot masks, foot files or pumice stones.
Avocado can also help combat dry foot skin. Simply use the inside of the skin of the fruit, and rub on areas that need a good dose of moisture.
A good way to get baby-soft skin without dipping into your budget.
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A massage tool
If you're a fan of natural beauty products, you've probably already used, or at least seen, those wooden massage balls that can relieve knots and tensions from our everyday bad sitting or standing habits.
While there's no question that these can be effective, avocado pits can do the same job.
The World Avocado Organization advises drying them so that they harden as much as possible, then using them as a massage tool for feet by rolling them under the arch of the foot. A simple and effective tip that is also very accessible price-wise. – AFP Relaxnews
