I hate overripe bananas. I had four of them and they were wreaking havoc in the kitchen with their accomplices: fruit flies. I made a trap for the fruit flies but I still had to figure out what to do with the bananas. I typically cut them up, put them in a ziploc bag and freeze them to throw them into smoothies but I already had a large stash of them. So I began brainstorming ways I could use overripe bananas.
I used three of them to make this delicious banana bread. (First time making it from scratch at home!)
With the remaining lone banana, I decided to make a homemade face mask. Like last week's homemade coffee scrub, this week's mask only requires three simple ingredients.
Bananas are packed with nutrients that are beneficial to your skin:
- Vitamin A: fades dark spots and blemishes while smoothing out rough skin
- Vitamin B: moisturizes and lightens skin and prevents aging
- Vitamin E: fights free radical damage, helps strengthen the skin's UV resistance, anti-aging as it reduces appearance of wrinkles
- Potassium: moisturizes and hydrates skin
Lemon contains citric acid which assists in lightening the skin and helps with hyperpigmentation.
Honey has anti-bacterial/anti-microbial properties which help to prevent pimples and blemishes.
Peel overripe banana, place in mixing bowl and mash it up with fork.
Squeeze about 1 tsp of lemon juice into banana mixture.
Add about 1 tsp of honey and mix all the ingredients well. Wash face, pat dry. Tie hair back and use a headband to keep hair out of the way. Apply a thick layer of the mask, leave on for 10-15 minutes and then rinse off with warm water.
And don't throw out the banana peel! My mom told me to take the overripe banana peel, sprinkle some raw sugar on the peel and use as a scrub to rub on heels and elbows! I tried it and it was wonderful.
Enjoy!