New Zealand Cosmeceuticals was invited to present a short course on Body Products at Selwyn College of Community Education, consisting of four workshops.

Our course started with Edible Cosmetics where we learned how to make 100% natural skincare products using fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs and even yeast and porridge.

Making skincare from food is a very intuitive process, requiring no precise measurements or strict rules. In fact, a whole skincare routine could be created just using food – from cleansers, exfoliators and toners to nourishing and anti-aging masks.

Fruits like kiwi fruit and pawpaw are rich in acids and enzymes that provide very gentle peeling. Almond meal or coconut shell can be very good mechanical exfoliators.

Personally, I always prefer mechanical exfoliators for the body and gentle “chemical peel” with fruit acids and enzymes for the face.

Ingredients such as honey and eggs are incredibly nourishing for the skin. Also, a combination like oatmeal with milk and a pinch of turmeric would make an excellent anti-aging and soothing mask. This is because oatmeal contains anti-inflammatory substances as well as a number of emollients that could help dry, itchy and photo damaged skin, milk proteins(Pravetin) are known tomodulate immune system and control infection; and finally turmeric has a number of powerful anti-oxidants and even substances that are used in anti-cancer therapy.

Edible cosmetics are a fun and safe way of skin-grooming, accessible to everyone without the need to purchase specialty ingredients and are natural in the purist way. However, there is one crucial secret to improving your skin that you cannot forget: perseverance and regularity. Try to make it a part of your daily routine! You can easily perform your face care routine every time you make breakfast, using the same ingredients as what you eat. Creating something like a peeling mask from strawberry and a nourishing mask from egg and honey will make your skin glow!

For some more on DIY cosmetics, makeyourcosmetics.com has a good collection of recipes, or take a look at some of our very own ideas!