Besides being super low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, plus a good source of Potassium and Vitamins A and C (us health junkies are loving this!), watermelon is also a pure and natural beauty enhancer. It’s true! Watermelons act as a natural beauty product. If only women knew about the skin secrets behind this juicy fruit, they’d be rubbing it on their faces just as much they eat it. Okay, maybe not quite like that, but watermelons can act as a natural moisturizer. Not to mention, it’s an effective skin toner and skin tightner! Try it for yourself! Here are some clever beauty uses to try at home using watermelon:

The Watermelon Face Pack

This is the perfect remedy after you’ve been outside all day in the blistering heat. Take roughly one cup of watermelon pulp, and apply it to the face and neck areas. Rinse after 15 minutes. This will invigorate the skin making it soft and supple, as well as giving it that cool and youthful shine.

Alleviating sunburn is another great use for a watermelon face pack. Watermelon pulp along with cucumber pulp can help heal sunburn and lighten skin complexion. Got a bad sunburn and don’t want to look like a lobster? Then apply about a half cup each of cucumber and watermelon pulp to the burnt region for 20 minutes and watch the pain and redness fade.

The Watermelon Scrub

Grate a watermelon, extracting all of its juice. Then mix with a pinch of gram flour (flour made from ground chickpeas) and wah-lah – you’ve got an authentic beauty scrub! Apply the paste to the face, leaving it on for 15 minutes before rinsing. The end result is an excellent scrub that will leave your skin radiant.

So, this summer when you get ready to chow down on some delicious watermelon at your next BBQ, remember to snag some leftovers for your cosmetics collection.

Myth 2: Special shampoos can fix split ends.
FALSE. Special shampoos that rehydrate your hair will only work to prevent damage after you cut your split ends off.

Myth 3: Sunscreen is unnecessary on a cloudy day.
FALSE. Clouds are just made of water droplets. And just like you wouldn’t forget sunscreen coverage for playing in the pool, neither should you for an overcast day. UV rays are the problem-causing light frequency and can easily penetrate any amount of cloud cover. Cover up!

Myth 4: Eating chocolate causes breakouts.
FALSE. As long as you don’t overdo it, chocolate is part of a healthy diet. Diet plays a very distinct role in skin problems. The best way to promote a healthy complexion is to eat a diet rich with anti-oxidants, nutrients, Vitamin E and simple carbohydrates.

Myth 5: Wearing acrylic nails too often will destroy your real nails.
FALSE. They actually do a pretty good job of protecting your real nails. However, you can certainly do damage to your real nails if you try to get acrylic nails off improperly, like picking them off piece by piece. Treat your acrylic nails with the same respect you give your real nails, and everything will be fine.

Got any more beauty tips passed to you that turned out to be bunk? Let us know about them!

My boyfriend’s mom is in amazing shape. She recently became a certified nutrition coach – her area of expertise is in whole foods. She practices everything she preaches – and more. In fact, when it comes to local and green living, she’s one of the savviest people around.

Recently, she shared something with me that completely amazed, shocked and inspired me. So, I have to pass my new-found wisdom along to you.

I’ve always thought that skin damage was permanent and that, unless you paid tons of money for injections or surgeries, you were stuck with it. Guess what? That’s not true! According to my boyfriend’s mom (I’ve seen 15 year-old-pictures of her that prove it), you can improve your skin’s health through completely natural and super-cheap method.

Aside from eating healthful, local and mostly organic foods that have done wonders to improve her health overall, she attributes much of her skin’s healthy glow to a really common and inexpensive ingredient: carrots. She simply juices a few carrots in the morning for a beta-carotene, vitamin and mineral packed drink.

Breaking it down
Beta-carotene absorbed into your skin can help protect it from UV rays. And, when your body converts it into vitamin A it helps develop skin cells and promotes skin health.

Plus, the vitamin C in carrots is a powerful antioxidant that can clean up the free radicals caused by overexposure to the sun. Vitamin C also helps in the formation of collagen which helps keep skin looking young.

How to juice
Juicing carrots is really easy, too. You just have to take several large carrots and clean them with water and a vegetable brush. Be sure not to peel them because a lot of nutrients are stored in the upper surfaces. Put them in a juicer and drink immediately to get the most nutrients.

I’ve also heard that eating a ton of carrots can turn your skin orange, but as long as you don’t go overboard, drinking carrot juice will give your skin a natural tan and give you a soft glow.

The best part: it’s delicious!