FOODIE MEETS BEAUTY

Despite her massive portfolio of foundations, eye shadows, mascaras and more, the cosmetics industry’s iconic Bobbie Brown is often quoted touting the beauty benefits to be found in food and proper nutrition.

With natural antioxidants, vitamins and hydrating elements, food can do wonders for the skin from the inside out. Yet certain foods can also be great for our body’s largest organ from the outside in—offering safer, greener and more cost effective alternatives to standard commercial products.

“It’s scary,” says Jessica Healey, a Bloomington native and owner of Pronounce, a handcrafted line of skin-care products. “Many of the ingredients commonly found in skin-care products are actually banned in other countries” because of their chemical content, animal testing or other concerns. 

Pronounce, a business that now ships products across the globe, has humble roots that trace back to Healey’s kitchen. Because of concerns about her young son’s skin sensitivities, Healey began replacing the unnecessary, toxic ingredients with healthy, nourishing pantry staples like coconut oil, turbinado sugar, cocoa butter and apple cider vinegar. 

“Making our own skin-care products allows us to control the things going on our skin,” Healey explains.

Kelli Bastin of Big Hair and Foodie Fare agrees. “I have been making my own sugar scrub for years,” she says. “I feel good about it because I know exactly what ingredients are in it.”

From exfoliation and even reversing wrinkles on skin to adding bounce and shine to hair, kitchen staples and even food scraps can make for a relaxing—and tasty—DIY spa day. 

Check out Pronounce’s fall take on a sugar scrub using coffee grounds and other natural skin-care recipes from the Edible Indy test kitchen.

HAIR
 

Beer, thanks to barley, hops and sugars, contains nutrients that offer the benefit of shine and more volume and bounce to hair.

1 flat beer (we love “Love Handle Honey Bop”)

Beer needs to be completely flat, so let it sit out overnight and then use beer in place of your everyday conditioner by pouring it from your roots to ends; let sit for 3 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Use only once a week or so to prevent drying.

FACE
 

For each recipe below, combine all ingredients until well blended. Wash your face and then spread the mask all over your face, avoiding the eye area. Let sit for 15–20 minutes before rinsing. Follow with an everyday moisturizer. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Honey serves as a base to each face mask as it is a natural antibacterial, opening and unclogging pores while slowing down the aging process and creating a great glow.

TURMERIC FACE MASK

Turmeric is known to even out skin tone and is high in antioxidants. Its bright yellow color may stain, but is easily removed with soap and water, leaving behind a (more desired) glow. 

1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons milk

CHOCOLATE FACE MASK

Feel and look like a kid thanks to cocoa powder’s radical-fighting flavonoids, making skin youthful, firm and clear. Doesn’t hurt that it tastes good too.

1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon yogurt

PUMPKIN FACE MASK

Pumpkin, high in vitamin C, can help prevent wrinkles and fine lines. The carotenoids that give pumpkin its distinct orange color help to protect damage to skin from the sun.

¼ cup pumpkin purée
1 egg
2 teaspoons honey

EYES
 

The caffeine in green tea treats puffy, dark eyes by shrinking blood vessels with an added brightening. 

¼ cup antioxidant-rich brewed and cooled green tea
1 tablespoon aloe vera gel
Cotton rounds 

In a small bowl, combine the aloe vera gel and green tea. The mixture should be fluid. Soak a cotton round in the mixture and apply the rounds under the eyes. Let sit for about 10–15 minutes. After removing the cotton rounds, gently massage the remainder of the mixture into the skin around your eyes, moving from the inner corner of the skin around the eyes outward. Finish with an everyday moisturizer or eye cream. Keep in an airtight container with cotton rounds up to 3 weeks.

LIPS
 

As the weather turns, the vitamin C in the orange peel helps to fight skin dryness while brown sugar is naturally hydrating. The cinnamon adds a lip plumping effect as it helps to open pores. Muah!

1 teaspoon dried orange peel
2 tablespoon brown sugar
½ tablespoon pink Himalayan salt, coarse ground
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1½ tablespoons coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, coffee grinder or mortar. Lightly grind the ingredients or use the back of a spoon until you get coarse paste. Rub a bit gently onto lips with fingers for 1 minute and let sit for an additional minute. 

Wipe off with a damp cloth. (To prevent irritation, only use a couple times each week.) 

Follow up with a lip balm or moisturizer. Store in a small container up to 3 weeks.

HANDS 
 

Naturally abrasive sugar helps to regenerate and polish skin. Combined with oils, skin is nourished and left moisture-rich. Perfect for the drying nature of cold temperatures. Here are a few autumnal twists on a basic sugar scrub. 

ONE

½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cocoa powder

TWO

1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon
5 Chia Tea bags, cut

THREE

¼ cup dehydrated apples, ground in a food processor
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine with ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup coconut oil. Rub onto hands or use in the shower, rinsing well. Store in a Mason jar for up to 1 year.

FEET
 

Coffee grounds, a natural exfoliant and full of antioxidants, combined with moisture-locking coconut oil work to repair and soften the skin on feet. This can even work as a full body scrub as the caffeine helps to stimulate blood flow of the lymphatic system. 

¼ cup raw virgin coconut oil, melted and at room temperature
¼ cup coffee grounds, fresh or used
1 cup raw sugar

Combine ingredients well. Store tightly in a sealed jar. Use 1 to 2 times each week to exfoliate and refresh skin, rinsing well.

Take your home spa experience to the next level with a relaxing custom-blended candle by Penn & Beech. Edible Indy recommends our personalized blend of cinnamon spice, orange zest, green tea and hops. Find it online at PennAndBeech.com or bring some friends and create your own custom blend at their locations in downtown Indianapolis and Carmel: 

PENN & BEECH
747 N. College Ave.
Indianapolis 

PENN & BEECH
145 Elm St., Ste 150
Carmel

Learn more about Pronounce Skincare and find more recipes at PronounceSkincare.com. And visit the shop: 

PRONOUNCE SKINCARE
522 N. Morton St.
Bloomington 

Thank you to our model, Kelli Bastin @bighairandfoodiefare and our stylist Rebecca Graves @gravesco