From healthy salads to beauty applications, cucumber is one of those vegetables that does double duty for us. The cucumber is a low-calorie vegetable where we can create a facial tonic (cucumber water) or an application for our skin with these natural, at-home beauty recipes.
Health Benefits of Cucumber
If you’re ever parched and water won’t do it for you, eating a cucumber may help quench your thirst. Cucumber is mostly water along with vitamins, minerals and fibre. Just its water and electrolyte contents will help to soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling by way of eliminating toxins. It is a low-calorie and refreshing vegetable that offers us lots of nutrients, including Vitamin K and Potassium.
Cucumber Mint-Infused Water
- Cold, Filtered Water
- One Sliced, Fresh Cucumber
- Handful Mint or Basil Leaves (Do not mince the leaves, keep on the stem)
Pour water in a pitcher. Add ingredients and let them infuse for about 1 hour, but not longer than 4 as the herbs can be over-powering. Remove herbs, and enjoy!
Skin Care Tips With Cucumber
Here are a few great beauty applications and tips using cucumber for skin, beauty and hair health. Again, these applications have not been FDA tested or approved; please consider this as nice-to-know information.
- Prevent Pimples and Blackheads: Grate or thinly slice cucumber and apply on face. You can add a few drops of Lavender Essential Oil to the grated cucumber. Relax as you leave cucumber application on your face for 10 minutes. This application may also help with dry skin. Note: Do not put the mixture around your eyes should you add any essential oil to the cucumber.
- Brighten Skin Formula: We’ve all heard that cucumber brightens skin, well here is one application. Add a dash of lime juice and rosewater to cucumber juice and apply the formula to the face. Again, leave on your face for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Dark Circles: I’m sure you already know about adding a slice of cucumber to your eyes to help brighten them and reduce dark circles. If you add 1 tsp of cucumber juice to 1 TSB to potato juice and gently apply directly to under eyes, it can be quite useful in reducing dark circles.
Cucumber-Honey Toner, compliments from the Honey National Board
- One medium cucumber, peeled and cut up into pieces
- 2 tsp. Honey
Puree cucumber in a blender. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and set the sieve over a glass bowl or measuring cup. Pour the cucumber purée through the sieve and let it stand for 15 minutes for the juices to drip into the container. Pour the clear cucumber liquid into a clean bottle and add honey.
To use, shake the bottle and saturate a cotton pad with the lotion. Sweep over face, neck and chest morning and night, and let it air dry (about 3 to 4 minutes). Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
You’ll get about 1/2 cup of this Cucumber-Honey Facial Toner.
Hair Help using Cucumber
- Hair Growth: Drink a blend of cucumber juice with carrot juice to help promote hair growth
- Damaged Hair: Add one egg and peeled cucumber to a blender and spread evenly to hair. Leave for about 10 minutes, wash and rinse.
Enjoy!
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