Pedestal Plant- Banana

Bananas are packed with nutrients that are instrumental to your overall health and well-being. Not only do you benefit from the fruit, but the peel as well can be used in a variety of ways to provide skin support and nourishment.

The Fruit

Eating a banana provides the following internal benefits:

• High in Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 helps your body produce red blood cells, metabolize carbs, fats, amino acids, remove chemicals from your liver and kidneys, and maintain a healthy nervous system.
• Good source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C protects your body against cell and tissue damage, aids in iron absorption, helps your body produce collagen, and supports brain health by producing serotonin. 
• Contains manganese. Manganese helps your body produce adequate levels of collagen and protects your skin and other cells against damage from free radicals.  
• Potassium source. Potassium is good for heart health and blood pressure. The low sodium and high potassium found in bananas helps to control high blood pressure. 

The Peel

Alright, we have eaten the banana. Now what? SAVE THE PEEL for your skin. 

Skin is home to many microbes. These are natural and live in harmony with the body. Any change in your skin’s environment can cause an overgrowth of microbes, which leads to skin infections and ailments. The skin’s pH level also plays a role in skin infections. Normal skin is slightly acidic, which helps deter the growth of infection causing microorganisms. Many things can increase the skin’s pH level causing it to be more alkaline. Alkaline skin increases the growth of microbes and therefore increases the chance of skin infections and skin ailments. Banana peels exhibit antimicrobial activity. When used topically, banana peels can help eliminate the excess microbes, returning the skin’s environment to neutral. 

Melanin is a pigment produced by specialized skin cells called melanocytes. Melanin protects the skin from harmful UV radiation and other artificial sources. UV rays absorb deep into the skin and can destroy your skin’s DNA structure and further lead to cancer. When the UV rays hit the skin, the body naturally starts to produce extra melanin in order to absorb the radiation and block the radiation from penetrating deeper. The increased melanin causes the skin to darken, aka tanning. Damaged melanocytes can sometimes overproduce melanin and distribute it unevenly throughout the skin. This causes dark spots, freckles, melasma, post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation, and age spots. Studies have shown that banana peels help reduce hyper-pigmentation by blocking the activity of an enzyme known as Tyrosinase. This is in part due to banana peels' phenolic and carotenoid content. 

More on UV radiation. UV radiation releases reactive oxygen molecules inside the body called free radicals. Free radicals destroy and structurally impair the proteins and essential fats found in skin cells. They release oxidative stress inside skin cells, which eventually cause damage to your skin’s DNA and could lead to skin cancer. Banana peels contain antioxidant properties. Antioxidants find free radicals and eliminate them from your system before they are able to cause serious damage.

The following chart breaks down the nutrients found in a banana and the skin benefits received from applying banana/banana peels topically. 

How to Apply this Knowledge

Give yourself a banana facial. Eat a banana and save the peel. On the underside of the peel, sprinkle some sugar or salt, and drizzle a little bit of honey. Take this enhanced peel and rub it onto your face like you would a facial scrub. Let sit for 2-3 minutes and then rinse off. 

One of the easiest things for you to do from home with your banana peels is to make banana oil and use this oil topically as wanted/needed. 

To do this:

1. Eat bananas and save the peels
2. Cut peels into small pieces
3. Beat/mash the peels until they are softened
4. Put banana peel mash in a glass jar
5. Add carrier oil of choice. Make sure that the oil exceeds the banana peel (all peel needs to be submerged). Common oils include: coconut, sweet almond, avocado, olive, grapeseed, and jojoba. 
6. Seal the jar and place in a sunny place for 2-3 days.
7. Shake the jar a few times a day.
8. Filter the oil and store in a cool place. 

Sexy Ass makes a hydrosol from the peel of ripe bananas. This hydrosol is then incorporated into a natural tanning lotion- Sexy Ass Tan Lines and also into a natural sunscreen- Sexy Ass Armour. 

Stay Naturally Nourished, Sexy Ass xx