You Will Go Bananas Over These 5 Natural DIY Skin Recipes

Bananas are one of nature’s gifts, a treasure with rich benefits waiting to be discovered. Bananas are a great source of vitamins C and B6, along with minerals potassium and manganese. They provide lutein, an antioxidant protects the eyes from macular degeneration, and improves elasticity and hydration of the skin when consumed. The fruit also has powerful external applications that quickly, and inexpensively provide healing, treatment and beautification.

Try these 5 do-it-yourself home skin remedies using the peels and “meat” of bananas, and be sure to share tips with your friends. No matter how weird it seems at first, they’ll thank you later.

1. Treat Psoriasis

Some folk remedies recommend rubbing the inside of banana skins on lesions or psoriasis patches to relieve symptoms. The peels’ effectiveness may be related to their antioxidant and anti-fungal properties. If the inside of the peel doesn’t prove potent enough, try a more intensive concoction like this one:

Add ripened skins, a little water and some olive oil to a blender or food processor. It’ll be gooey so handle with care. To treat scalp psoriasis, apply to the red patches and wrap a towel to cover the whole head. For all other patches apply and cover with gauze or other cloth to hold it in. After about 20 minutes, rinse thoroughly. Do this daily for one week and you should experience a reduction in itching and inflammation. After one to two weeks of regular treatment, psoriasis patches may begin to disappear completely.

2. Acne/Blemish Treatment

The anti-fungal and antioxidant qualities will also lend themselves well to the easiest, cheapest acne treatment you’ve ever heard of. Take the peel of a fresh, ripe banana and rub the inside part (spongy, moist) side over the whole face especially breakout areas like the forehead, nose and chin. Go start the laundry or pick out your outfit. After about five minutes or so, rinse and gently pat dry.

For a more targeted spot treatment, hold the peel to the blemish, apply some pressure and massaging gently for 5 minutes. The peel should go from yellow to brown in that time. Don’t rinse. Remember, this is a spot treatment. Let it remain on the blemish area to dry it out. Do this three times a day. After 3-4 days the pimples should be gone without a trace.

3. Remove Warts

If you’ve got warts, don’t throw out that banana peel after breakfast. The enzymes on the pith side can actually break down warts. Before bed, tape a section of peel to each wart using simple duct tape to keep it firmly in place. Do this every night and leave it on for the full 6-8 hours of sleep you should be getting. Do this for 14 consecutive days. Each morning, be sure to remove the peel and tape so the wart can breathe and dry out. Scrub it down gently using a nail file to remove the decaying, possibly blackening surface. You can also use a nail clipper to carefully clip off the dead cells at the top. Follow this process until the wart is completely gone.

4. Relieve Itching from Rashes and Mosquito Bites

For instant itch relief from mosquito bites, cleanse the area and rub the peel over it for a few seconds or up to a minute. For more severe itching from multiple bites, spider bites, poison ivy, poison oak or any other skin irritation, cleanse the area. Then tape the peel or wrap it around it for 10-15 minutes. The itching should subside, and the peel will help to dry out and clear the rash.

5. Deep Moisture, Anti-Aging Facial Mask

You’ll need about ½ a banana. Eat the other half, it’s also great for your skin. Mash it with a metal spoon until it’s generally gooey and pureed. For a deeply nourishing, anti-wrinkle treatment, add a tablespoon of honey and a few tablespoons of yogurt. Make sure there are no artificial ingredients in the yogurt. The best honey is pure, raw, unfiltered honey, otherwise it will be stripped of vital nutrients. For a more exfoliating and gentle skin-lightening variation, you can swap out the yogurt for about ¼ tsp of lemon juice.

Combine all ingredients and mix well. For best results, place the mixture in a small pan or pot and heat slowly, gently, and slightly. You don’t want hot, by any means. Just warm enough so that it will open pores upon contact, and be more readily received into the skin. Once it’s warm, apply with fingertips, covering the whole face but avoiding the eyes. Wear the mask for 15 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water, using a washcloth to completely remove, and pat dry with a clean, dampened, very cool washcloth. The cool finish will close pores and seal it.