As I sit and write this article, I laugh to myself about the fact that a few short years ago, I was a die-hard avocado hater. I’m talking President of the Avocado Haters Club. Yep, I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to eat green mush. I just couldn’t get past the texture.

Fast forward to today and I am a die-hard avocado lover. I love avocados in my smoothies, on my sandwiches and burgers, and in my salads. I also use avocado oil when I’m cooking. Why the sudden change? Two reasons: I live in Southern California and you can’t escape avocados and secondly, avocados are good for your skin, hair, nails, and overall health. I guess I convinced my palate that a healthy avocado relationship is in my best interest.

Eat It

With the clean beauty movement fast on the rise, most of us are aware of the beauty benefits of applying avocado directly to our skin. But right now, I want to talk about the beauty benefits of consuming avocados. Don’t worry I’ll come back to applying it topically.

You’ve heard my mantra, ad nauseam, that beauty starts on the inside. Still skeptical? Check out the book, Feed Your Face: Younger, Smoother Skin and a Beautiful Body in 28 Delicious Days by Los Angeles dermatologist, Dr. Jessica Wu. She explains how we can improve our skin by eating the right foods. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the skin benefits of eating avocados.

Avocados are high antioxidant fruits. They contain carotenoids, vitamins E and C. This neutralizes free radicals (highly reactive, unstable atoms) in your body to prevent them from damaging collagen strands and other cells in your skin. Simply put, free radicals cause fine lines, wrinkles, and age your skin.1

Avocados have good fat. Avocados get a bad rap because 71 to 88% of their calories come from fat2, but it’s monounsaturated fatty acids. Translation: the good fats. Avocados are high in oleic acid (monounsaturated fat), which keeps the top layer of our skin moist, soft, and hydrated.

Avocados contain B vitamins, particularly biotin (vitamin B7). Biotin forms the basis for hair, skin, and nail cells. In essence, you need to build a strong foundation.

Mash It. Slather It All Over

Now, let’s get messy. The clean beauty movement shows us how the right foods and oils are our skin’s best friend. Many times we can reach into our pantry or refrigerator to cleanse, moisturize, and exfoliate our skin. This is a job avocados can handle. An avocado face mask penetrates the deeper layers of our skin to moisturize, nourish, and repair damaged skin due to its antioxidant vitamins A and E. Additionally, it locks the moisture into our skin for longer lasting moisture benefits.

The vitamin A in avocados is a natural form of retinol. Retinol is our anti-aging ally. It aids new cell growth and collagen production, which keeps our skin tight, making fine lines and wrinkles less visible. 3

Avocados deep cleanse our skin naturally. It gets into our pores and sloughs away dead skin cells. The beauty (pun intended) of it all is that because it’s natural, it’s gentle, non-irritating, and lacks side effects usually associated with chemical masks.

Avocados are a mighty green fruit. They are worthy of becoming your skin’s new best friend. So the next time you Netflix and chill, treat yourself to one of the avocado face masks below.

How to Make an Avocado Facial Mask