Carrots for your skin: what they provide and how to use them on your face

Once you know what carrots do for your skin, you'll want to add them to your beauty routine. The cosmetics industry uses carrot a lot as an ingredient, and in the kitchen it is an easy-to-find, inexpensive source of beta-carotene in Puerto Rico.

Skin is the largest organ in the body and also the most visible. Here we tell you what carrots really provide, what they don't do and how to use them without overdoing it.

What carrots provide for your skin

Carrots are good for the skin mainly because of what they add to your diet: they have beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium and fiber, and very few calories. Beta-carotene is the substance the body uses to make vitamin A, and vitamin A has a known role in skin renewal.

It is a food: it helps as part of a varied diet, which is where it works best.

Its nutrients, one by one

• Beta-carotene: the body converts it into vitamin A as needed. Vitamin A takes part in the normal renewal of skin cells.
• Vitamin C: it is needed for normal collagen formation, which is what gives skin its firmness.
• Water and fiber: a medium carrot is mostly water and adds to your daily hydration.

How to make the most of it

The simplest way is to eat it. You have three options, and all three work:

• Add carrot juice to what you drink during the day.
• Eat it raw or cooked, in salads and prepared dishes. Cooked and with a little fat, the body makes better use of beta-carotene, because it dissolves in fat.
• Use it as a homemade face mask. It is refreshing and there's no mystery to it: it hydrates and cleans, like any gentle mask.

What does carrot peel have?

The peel also has nutrients and fiber, with very few calories. That's why it's best to wash it well and not peel it if you're going to eat it. It also works in broths, sofritos and stews.

Does carrot lighten the skin?

No. Neither the mask nor the juice changes your skin tone. In fact, the opposite happens: if you eat a lot of carrots, your skin can take on a slightly orange tone, especially on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. That color goes away on its own when you eat less.

Good to know

• Some people believe carrots increase a tan and make it last longer. This has not been shown.
• Carrots don't replace sunscreen, whether eaten or applied.

Carrot face mask

Because of its texture, a carrot mask is a simple and cheap option for a weekly routine. What you can expect from it is what any gentle mask gives: cleansing, hydration and a fresh feeling.

A simple recipe: cooked, mashed carrot, a tablespoon of plain yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Apply it for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water. If you are allergic to any of those ingredients, don't use it.

In summary

• It provides beta-carotene: the body converts it into vitamin A, which takes part in normal skin renewal.
• It provides vitamin C: needed for normal collagen formation.
• It hydrates and fills you up: lots of water and fiber with very few calories, as part of a varied diet.
• Too much tints your skin: the orange tone goes away when you cut back.

For your skin routine

Eating it is the best way. And for your skin routine, everything we carry is in Skin Care Products.

For more details, call us at 787-304-0458.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.