It’s rare to not love strawberries. Luscious and sweet, strawberry is hands down one of the most famous flavours in the world, lending its unique taste to ice-creams, cakes, puddings, confectioneries, you name it, if it’s a sweet, strawberry has probably been one of its flavours. They also make lovely beverages, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, as well as healthy smoothies, slushies, yogurts, etc. Strawberries also play well with other foods – chocolate-dipped strawberries, anyone?

Circa the 1970s, our country also started planting its own strawberry crops, and today, Cameron Highlands, particularly, is kind of famous for it. And, they are of superb quality too, as long as you pick the ripe ones!

Strawberries are fat-free and cholesterol-free. Instead, they are packed with vitamins and fibre. They are rich in a kind of antioxidants known as polyphenols. Strawberries are actually among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Weight for weight, they contain more vitamin C than oranges!

A Few Interesting Facts about Strawberries:

• Unlike papayas or bananas, strawberries don’t ripen any further once picked, so choose only firm, plump, deep red ones
• They are particularly good for your heart (and are shaped like a heart too!)
• In provincial France, strawberries were used as an aphrodisiac
• Popular as berries, they are actually the enlarged receptacles of the strawberry flowers.

If you’re wondering by now, what is this article doing in our Natural Beauty section instead of in Food & Nutrition, well, that’s because today, we’ll be looking into what strawberries can do for your skin, on your skin!

Strawberry beauty secrets!
We don’t usually think of strawberries in any other form other than food, although they do show up nowadays as an ingredient in items such as floor cleaners, air fresheners, dishwashing liquids, shampoos, etc. But have you ever thought of what it can do for your skin with direct application? Wonders, that’s what! Here, we reveal a few top reasons why you should reserve some of these yummy red berries and place them aside for beauty purposes!

Brightens your skin and chases blemishes away
A natural, DIY face pack made from fresh strawberries and a few drops of lemon juice will help reduce the formation and appearance of hyper-pigmentation, as well as facial scars. High in Vitamin c as well as antioxidants, a homemade strawberry mask can be a powerful skin brightener! Apply directly onto your cleaned face, leave on for 20 minutes, and rinse off with warm water, followed by a few splashings of cool water.

UV protection and after-sun care
Strawberries are a powerful source of ellagic acid, a strong antioxidant that acts as a barrier for the skin against harmful UV rays. Apart from protecting your skin from the harmful rays of the sun, the compounds found in strawberries will also help to halt the formation of wrinkles and fine lines. For both purposes, fresh strawberry juice applied with a cotton ball will do the trick. Note: Many people are allergic to strawberries, so please make sure that you’re not one of them before you apply any homemade beauty remedies made from strawberries onto your skin!

Acne and oily skin getting you down?
Acne occurs for a few reasons, whereby one of the reasons is that your skin’s barrier is being compromised, resulting in the accumulation of sebum, and skin break-outs. With its rich content of vitamin C, strawberries help in healing the skin’s barrier and in preventing acne. A face-pack made with fresh strawberries, mashed bananas, and a few drops of lemon or lime juice, mixed with a teaspoon of pure honey (it’s crucial that you are not using fake honey!), will help clean out your clogged pores and dramatically reduce your acne.

Forever young!
Due to their rich ellagic acid content, strawberries boast many anti-aging properties when applied directly onto the skin, again, assuming that you are not allergic to it. A bi-weekly application of a homemade strawberry face pack (fresh strawberries mashed with a few drops of lemon juice and a teaspoon of pure natural honey), will help to prevent the degeneration of collagen in your skin, delaying the formation of wrinkles. It’s pretty useful in protecting the skin’s elasticity too, keeping it smooth and supple. Don’t forget too, that you are directly feeding your skin a collagen-rich food, which will further help in keeping your skin looking and feeling youthful and firm!