You hate those acne marks on the face, so do we! You don’t love the limpy hair you have, so do we! And, to top it all, you hate the excess flab on the stomach and the thighs too, guess what, so do we! We make sure every one of you reading this stays healthy and gorgeous all through your life. This is why, today, instead of asking you to check out the top ten OTC products, cosmetics, lotions and potions that can help you with beauty and wellness needs, we are going to look at mother nature for an answer. Citrus fruits this time girlies; from keeping the skin well hydrated and moist, supple and nice to toning it too, can work its charm. If that’s not all, citrus fruits can work wonders with DIY manicure and pedicure treatments done at home, and also if you need the natural way to a healthy glowing skin, citrus can help brighten up the skin for you too. Moreover, you can say goodbye to the cosmecuticals that promise the sun and the moon with anti-ageing stuff- citrus fruits can help with the same, cheaper and better too. And should you feel the need to pamper the whole body with a heavenly touch; citrus body wraps can be used to double up as a body scrub too. If all of this has gotten you excited, let’s begin the journey of learning what other wonders citrus fruits can do for us.

But first, let’s talk about the types of citrus fruits that are best for skin, hair and health.

BEST TYPES OF CITRUS FRUIT

We are here to bring you many of the secrets, which mother nature has always shared with us. It’s time now to use her blessings for beauty!

1. Lemon:

We all have lemons at home, and they say “when life gives you lemons…..”, we end it by saying “beautify yourself”. Why lemons you ask? Lemons are a powerhouse of nutrients, vitamin C and abundant minerals- a perfect storehouse of all the goodness our hair, skin and nails need. The acids from the fruit are powerful enough to lighten and brighten the skin overtime. Talking about the key benefits of lemons in beauty, they are super good for skin exfoliation- removal of dead skin cells, age spots, freckles and discoloration on the face too. Moreover, if you have combination to oily skin, rubbing the juice of a lemon on the face will help shrink the pores and clean it too- the natural sebum balance on the epidermis wouldn’t be disrupted. A simple way to wash the face with lemon juice daily would be to squeeze a whole lemon and extract its juice. Mix a teaspoon of turmeric powder in it, and form a paste. Apply the same on your face for ten minutes and then wash off under cold running water. Do this thrice a week for oily skin and combo skin types, twice a week for normal skin, and once a week for dry skin.

2. Orange:

If you are in your late twenties and above, you may need an orange to save the skin from signs of ageing, more than anyone else. Stop torturing your skin with OTC products and cosmetics that promise anti-ageing; when mother nature brings an orange, it is time for us to extract its juice and use it as a face wash. The key benefits from an orange include cleaning of clogged pores of the skin. Why do we want you to do this? This is because, the juice of an orange is rich in phosphorus and minerals, vitamin C and antioxidants, which helps prevent the onset of wrinkles, fine lines and pimples or acne vulgaris too. Even adults have acne, which is why we ask you to rub the juice of an orange on the face. With summers around, skin would suffer from sunburns; ignoring the same means allowing the UVA and UVB rays that are harmful to eat into the skin and allow the free radicals to run amok. If this is left unchecked, your skin could become susceptible to skin tumors and cancers; not right for a diva to have. What you need to do is to rub the face with the juice of an orange twice a day everyday; not for women with sensitive skin types since the fruit acids counter act the sensitive epidermis. When the face is washed with orange juice, vitamin C in the orange takes over the skin and provides you with much needed freshness and rejuvenation the skin needs.

3. Grapefruits

Grapefruits are yummy to have and provide the body with plenty of water soluble fibres, along with vitamin C and other minerals. If you consume a grapefruit at breakfast or as a mid morning or early evening snack, it helps keep you full, reduces the craving for sweet snacks and in turn keeps the body weight-controlled and in check too. This is because, the fibre in the fruit helps keep the stomach full. In addition to that, the fibre also helps clean the digestive system; toxins and waste matter are thrown out, and the skin shows no signs of trouble. If the toxins are left in the body, the skin would show sings- acne and pimples for example. Have the grapefruit whole or juice it up and drink it- we leave that choice up to you. You can also pulp the grapefruit and use it as a facepack to brighten the skin; the vitamin C in it would help rejuvenate and exfoliate the skin removing dead skin cells. And to make more of the grapefruit, one can even use the juice of a grapefruit to condition the hair with. Vitamin C found in grapefruit can help condition the hair, leaving behind a healthy shine. To do this, add a little vitamin E oil into the juice and apply it on the hair. Wait for half an hour and then wash off under cold water. Do not use this method if you have dry scalp issues or any form of hair and scalp diseases. Thus the key benefits of grapefruits explained.

3. Tangerines

Why tangerines? A very good question. Tangerines are a part of the citrus fruit family and you would want to keep them in the fridge, stocked and ready when beauty needs arise to help out with. Just like other citrus fruits, tangerines are rich in vitamin C. the other key benefits of the fruit would be that it is very rich in beta-carotene and folate; perfect for women that are expecting, since this is when the beauty needs are most needed the DIY natural way since hormones would be running amok at this time. Tangerines also help keep the digestive system, the colon and the intestines, clean and intact. If there are any nicks, cuts and wounds on the skin, abrasions too, the juice of tangerines when washed over the area can help promote healing. To help reduce acne scars and painful boils, papules and pimples or pustules too, tangerine pulp can be applied on the surface affected and left for a couple of minutes. It helps hydrate the area and in time the affected zone would heal and brighten the skin sans any ugly marks being left behind too. So now you know why we said to stock up tangerines too?

4. Pomelos

Have it as a snack or embellish your desserts with it or just eat it raw or juice it up- the choices to include it in your diet for health and beauty purposes are very large! Pomelos for a very long time have been a favorite in the beauty industry; DIY specialists insist on using pomelos since it provides us with bio-flavonoids, proteins and fibre- also helps the skin absorb vitamins A, B1, B2 and also vitamin C- all of these vitamins are perfect for your hair and nails too. Other key benefits of pomelos would include the entrance of minerals, such as potassium, healthy fats, enzymes and antioxidants. Antioxidants help fight the free radicals and the harmful UV rays of the sun. Use the pulp or juice of pomelos as a face wash, a hair rinse or a nail cleaner, and watch how the body pays you back with beauty gratitude. The washes can be done once a day, and that too before your shower. Your skin , your hair and your nails would be shining and glowing- we just saved you loads of money on costly skin and hair treatments, and nail products, you are welcome!

5. Citrons

What is beauty, if it isn’t skin deep and if the body and the mind aren’t in good stead? This is why, we would want to talk about citrons and the key benefits it provides for an overall healthy lifestyle and for our beauty needs too. The fruit citron is a powerhouse of antioxidants, which makes it a gladiator to fight against free radicals, elements of the environment, pollution and also helps fight degenerative brain diseases- dementia and Alzheimer’s too. Doctors opine, having the peels of citron can help keep the blood sugar levels in the body in control. Moreover the heavy fibre content in the fruit keeps the digestive system clean and washes away the toxins through easy bowel movements too. We are after all the product of what we eat right? So let’s involve citrons for our beauty and wellness needs too, shall we?

6. Oroblanco

As we age, we would have to undergo various body changes- hair, skin and nails- internal and external per se; it doesn’t mean we sit idle and do nothing about it to prevent early signs of ageing! We cannot stop mother nature from taking her own course, but we surely can help slow down the signs of ageing. There are many key benefits of having oroblancos; thanks to the natural sugars and dietary fibre found in the fruit, the body is kept in good shape. Moreover, you can use the pulp of the fruit’s flesh to make a facepack and use it thrice a week- just as you would do for lemons. Oroblanco as the world of medical science explains, can also help with cell rejuvenation and brings down the occurring of cell damage as well. There is no sodium in the fruit, but plenty of beta carotene; helps with beauty and wellness overall!

Now that we are aware of the types of citrus fruits and its uses, let me explain to you the reason behind using these fruits for our over all well being.

REASONS WHY TO USE CITRUS FRUIT

We have mentioned seven very famous and popular citrus fruits available easily in India and what their individual key benefits are- hair, nails and skin alike. Let us now in general check on a small list as to why we should have citrus fruits (topically and otherwise) daily.

1. Lose Weight Now With A Citrus Fruit

Citrus fruits are known to help individuals lose weight. For example, on an empty stomach each morning, warm lime water with a dash of pepper and honey can make an amazing fat loss and detox drink.

2. Strengthen The Immunity

Your immunity needs to be strong at all times; citrus fruits can help with the same, thanks to the abundance of vitamin C in it and the antioxidants which help do the needful.

3. Cleaner Digestive System

As mentioned and emphasized upon throughout the post, we would ask you to think of citrus fruits as a cleanser of the internal system. A glass of orange, lime or lemon or oroblanco juice drunk daily can kill the harmful bacteria in the gastro intestinal tract- no more pains and no more sad stomach days. Moreover, if the internal system is clean, the externals would be glowing too.

4. Stronger Bones

Although the amount of minerals such as calcium in citrus fruits is very less; every drop makes an ocean. In addition to that, there is potassium in small amounts found in most citrus fruits, which can help maintain the bone calcium density and prevents the loss of calcium from the body too.

5. No More Stones

Some of us may suffer from kidney stones; no jokes, it is very painful. But thanks to the abundance of citric acid found in citrus fruits, the citrate levels in the body would be on an all time high, which is good. Citric acid fights the stones and helps clean up the kidney too.

Now rush off to the farmers market for organic citrus fruits; stay healthy, happy and gorgeous always!

Source: fashionlady.in