Perhaps they’re not the first ingredient from your kitchen – or garden – that you think of for skincare.
But tomatoes provide all sorts of great benefits for skin, from anti-ageing and radiance-boosting to oil-control and breakout-busting.
Here’s how to make the most of them.
Tomatoes contain lycopene, a red carotenoid pigment that occurs naturally in lots of red-coloured foods including watermelon, red peppers and guava. Being a powerful antioxidant, it helps to shield skin from environmental damage, quenches free radicals twice as efficiently as beta-carotene, boosts collagen production. and also provides anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing benefits.
But here’s what’s unusual: unlike many other antioxidants, especially vitamin C, lycopene becomes more concentrated when cooked, so while eating raw tomato salads and salsas every day is still beneficial, cooked tomato soups and even ketchups are better still. If you fancy making a lycopene-rich soup that will benefit your skin, try this:
Anti-ageing tomato soup
Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 x 14 oz cans of Tarantella Organic Chopped Tomatoes (from supermarkets)
11/2 cups organic low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche
Black pepper
Method:
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan, then gently saute the onion for five minutes until soft. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute for another two minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and broth, bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly for 5-10 minutes, then puree until smooth. Add the vinegar and cream or creme fraiche, reheat briefly, then serve with generous sprinkle of black pepper and, if liked, a few basil leaves as garnish.
One alternative to eating tomatoes every day is to take a supplement such as Vitabiotic Ultra Lycopene, £14.02 which provides 200mg tomato extract or 10mg pure lycopene.
Another is to apply Trilogy Rosehip Oil, £19.50 which contains lycopene from tomatoes for antioxidant repair, or Darphin’s luxurious Exquisage Beauty Revealing Cream, £65 which features a special blend of barley, tomato, sunflower and cucumber to help skin retain moisture, while other botanicals soothe irritation, add radiance and improve elasticity.
Besides lycopene, tomatoes also contain vitamins A, C, K, polyphenols and minerals, so they help nourish, brighten and add a glow to dull, tired skin. They even help control oil because they’re astringent, although this property is quite gentle because they also feature an anti-inflammatory action, partly from their vitamin K content. This makes tomatoes cooling and soothing, helping to reduce skin reddening, angry spots, rashes and even sunburn, while their mild acid content helps unclog, clean, tighten and reduce pore size. In addition, vitamins A and C help boost cell production, so they’re helpful for skin repair and wound-healing.
Here’s how to harness all their benefits:
- Make a daily cleanser for oily skin by blitzing a 400g tin of organic tinned tomatoes with the juice of half a lemon and 2 tbs honey. You can also use this as a quick mask.
- The easiest mask of all is to cut a juicy tomato in half and rub the cut side over your face, keeping it away from your eyes, to leave your skin covered with a coating of pulp. Leave it to dry for 5-10 minutes, then wipe or rinse it off and apply your usual moisturiser.
- Ready-made products: If you prefer your skincare in a nice neat tube, Yes To Tomatoes is a great range for controlling combination and breakout-prone skins. In particular, the Daily Clarifying Cleanser, £7.99 is ideal for everyday cleansing, while the Daily Balancing Moisturiser, £11.99 is light, hydrating and ideal for a shine-free complexion.
Do you know of any other wonderful benefits for tomatoes? Just let us know by commenting below…
[su_button url=”http://www.sosensational.co.uk/shop/anti-ageing/” target=”blank” background=”#6c20b1″ size=”7″ center=”yes” radius=”0″ icon=”icon: arrow-right”]Shop Anti-Ageing[/su_button]
Leave A Reply