5 Ways to Add Avocados to Your Beauty Routine

You’ve seen it on every hipster coffee shop menu - avocado toast…it seems like it’s everywhere. 40-years ago avocado was a color, not something you ate. Nowadays you can eat it in some form at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Packed with vitamins and minerals, fiber, and healthy fats, avocados are one of the most perfect foods you can eat. This delicious fruit (yes, it’s a fruit) is very versatile, you can add it to a smoothie, toss some in a salad, or add slices to a sandwich. An editor from Byrdie even ate two avocados a day for two weeks to see if it would help her thinning hair grow.

You may not want to go that far, but there are ways you can use avocados to keep looking your best from head-to-toe, year-round. See a few suggestions below.

1. Luscious Locks

Loaded with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and hair-friendly vitamins like biotin, avocados are great for moisturizing frizzy, over processed hair. Creating your own conditioning hair mask is an easy, low-cost way to hydrate your hair. All you need is an avocado and a few other ingredients you probably have in your kitchen. These 7 homemade hair masks can help bring your dull, dry hair back to life.

2. Softer Skin

Wondering what to do with that overripe avocado that’s not quite right for eating? We’ve got the answer: create a hydrating mask. Sure you could eat an avocado a day to get softer skin, but you can also get supple skin by applying a mask made from avocado, plus some honey, oatmeal, or plain yogurt to hydrate dull skin, for a glowing complexion. There are plenty of store-brought products you can buy to pamper your skin, or you can try one of these DIY mask recipes to reduce those fine lines and wrinkles for softer, smoother skin.

3. Healthier Heart

There is plenty of information on the inter-webs touting the benefits of avocados. They’re high in potassium, vitamin C, and healthy fats that can help lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation and help improve cardiovascular health by reducing bad, artery clogging cholesterol. If you’re not excited by the idea of eating an avocado a day, try using avocado oil instead of olive oil in your favorite homemade salad dressing, or when sautéing vegetables. You can also find products like avocado mayonnaise, this vegan recipe doesn’t use eggs, and is a creamy and delicious alternative to regular mayonnaise.

4. Watch Your Waist

Looking to maintain your weight through healthier eating? The small but might avocado can help you with that. In addition to being loaded with heart healthy fats, avocados can help regulate blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol, two factors involved in Type-2 diabetes. Maintaining healthy sugar levels can help you lose weight. Avocados are also beneficial when it comes to absorbing fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins A and E. So that avocado toast might be the perfect breakfast choice if you’re trying to watch your weigh by trying more health-smart food options.

5. Treat Your Toes

Avocado oil is also great for moisturizing hair and skin. But did you know you can use the pit to create a great exfoliating scrub that can be blended with avocado flesh, essential oils (peppermint is always great for the feet), coarse salt or sugar, and little oatmeal. This scrub can be used on damp feet to exfoliate dry skin from the heels and soles. After rinsing and patting feet dry, it best to wear socks to allow the oil to soak in and moisturize dry skin. It’s the perfect way to keep feet sandal season ready! Find a great avocado foot scrub recipe here.