Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Benefits of Cucumber to Skin

Cucumber is one of the Best Sheet Masks

Updated for 2020

In the article 5 Reasons Exercise is Good for the Skin the author mentions correctly that exercise is beneficial for controlling acne-prone skin, managing enlarged pores, influencing production of collagen for aged skin, reducing cellulite and cleansing toxins on our skin. In a long term, people with regular exercise tend to have overall better complexion.
But a diet is equally important.
I've changed my food choice toward healthier options. Since I have to build muscles, high intake of protein with moderate amount of carbohydrates and healthy fats were required. I had no choice but to go for brown rice, whole grain breads, veggies, fruits and almonds, omega oil pills and olive oil for healthy carbs and fats along with lean meats, fish and non fat milk for proteins.
Not many people realize that exercise is good for our skin. Same goes for foods that we choose. I did not realize until now that healthy choice of foods could enhance my skin like this. Now, I will focus on one of my greatest food selection. Cucumber.

Cucumber Benefits to Skin

Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, a trace mineral that holds up our connective tissue together and contributes to the strength to them. Silica has numerous benefits to our health and skin and I will focus on skin. Edith M. Carlisle, Ph.D conducted studies on chicks in 1970s and 1980s. Her studies proved that silica contained in cucumber produced 100 times more bone collagen over those not receiving dietary silica. Further, their bones revealed a slow, yet impressive, rise in calcium content. Silica's contribution to the strength of our connective tissue is essential to a youthful appearance of the skin. Silica is also proven as an inhibitor of the aging process in tissues. A deficiency of silica and hyaluronic acid accelerates skin aging because connective tissues cannot hold water efficiently. Studies have shown that silica appears to be part of the synthesis of proline (a major constituent of collagen), which is required in the making of deoxycollagen. Furthermore, a study by Carlisle shows that the optimal working of "prolyl hydroxylase," an enzyme critical to collagen synthesis, depends on silica.
The above paragraph is a little technical in explaining the benefits of cucumber to our skin. But it is a useful information knowing that the substance called silica contained in cucumber promotes collagen and inhibits skin aging.
A cucumber is also a great treatment for troubled skin such as sun-damaged (burned) skin, acne skin and dehydrated skin types.
Every summer when my skin is exposed to burning hot UV rays, they become burned and damaged. What I do then is to slice a cucumber very thinly and put on the problem areas. Substances in cucumber sooth, calm and revitalize sun-damaged skin. Applying cucumber for only 2-3 days should do wonder for your sun-damaged skin as well.
A cucumber calms sever acne skin conditions. I am regretful that I did not take any pictures of my severely covered acne condition to prove that cucumbers can really improve all acne-prone skin type. If you are impatient or think one month is too long to make a change, skip this part. But for those who are willing to follow this advice are welcomed to continue reading the wonders of cucumbers. If you have sever acne problems on your face, eat one cucumber daily for at least a month and see what happens to your face. I will stop for this one here. You will thank me for saving hundreds of bucks for acne treatment with anti-acne products and dermatological experience.
A cucumber also hydrates your skin. In order to moisturize your skin, you can apply sliced pieces of cucumbers on your skin, cucumber facial mask sheets containing cucumber extracts, or simply by consuming it. Especially these days when temperatures go up to mid 90s (F), our skin dries up very quickly and require more fluids than other seasons. The high water content makes cucumbers a diuretic and it also has a cleansing action within the body by removing accumulated pockets of old waste material and chemical toxins. Including cucumber in your diet can provide the last 20% of moisture your skin is waiting for.
Did you know that cucumbers are also good for swelling and puffy eyes with dark circles? They reduce swelling eyes and improve dark circles. Using cucumber effectiveness in our skin, many skin care products using cucumber extracts are manufactured. Its juice is a nourishing vitamin for our skin. It is also a good rejuvenator and makes us feel and look younger.
You can manage your skin using cucumbers in many ways. As I mentioned, you can eat a cucumber daily, apply sliced cucumbers on your skin, make homemade cucumber facial mask or you can use our product, Faifia Cucumber facial mask. Its main active ingredients are cucumber extracts, glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid and collagen.