I slathered avocado on my skin for a week

I spent a week pasting myself with things meant for eating to see if it was better than normal skincare.

Beauty experts boast the benefits of the beloved avocado to our skin, nails and hair, they’re bursting with antioxidants, skin-loving vitamins as well as the hair growing gene biotin.

I replaced my daily beauty treatments with the avo-alternative to discover whether these remedies actually live up to the hype and to see if we could in fact swap our £38 moisturizer for a simple avocado.

 

Eye make-up remover

Experts say the oil in avocados makes for a great substitute to the trusty makeup wipe.

I began my new routine by cutting an avocado in half and using a cotton bud, mopped up the oil (or at least I think I did?!)

I was at first impressed by the magic of the avo oils, that is, until I realised I wasn’t actually removing the makeup, just smudging it all over my face. Luckily I’d only wore a thin layer of mascara that day.

Is it better? No

Eye serum

I used what was left of the oil and rubbed it around my eye. Despite the minor issue of mushing avocado flesh into my eye, I felt rather nonchalant about this serum alternative.

Is it better? No

 

Face scrub

To create my avo-scrub, I mashed half an avocado and mixed it with some honey, olive oil and brown sugar, for exfoliation.

I began by reluctantly pasting the gloopy mush onto my face; but this proved difficult due to the scrubs sloppy consistency. After repeatedly submerging my face in water, I was eventually able to rid my skin of avocado.

I found the whole process a pretty unpleasant experience, especially when the unappetizing mixture began to seep into my mouth. Having said this, after the torment was over I noticed a considerable difference in the softness of my skin.

Due to the smell of the avo-scrub I found myself washing my face twice again afterwards so that I felt slightly less like guac.

Is it better? No

 

Lip scrub

I used what was left of the face scrub and lacking ingredients substituted peppermint oil for a few mint leaves growing in my garden.

As instructed by google I tore the mint leaves into the bowl in order to “release the natural oils” and rubbed the mix into my lips.

Again, this experience was displeasing. The mint leaves didn’t seem to make much of a difference to the smell or taste.

Is it better? No

 

Hand mask

I skeptically trialed the manicure mask, mashing half an avocado and a ripe banana together and smothering it over my mitts.

As advised, I placed a plastic food bag over each of my hands to avoid mess and left the concoction on for ten minutes.

After washing the mixture off, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my hands felt much smoother than when using other generic hand creams.

Is it better? Yes

The only disadvantage being that you need a helper to place the food bags over your hands and to aid with the occasional itch you may have during those ten minutes.

 

Face mask

I started my day with the avo mask by mashing half an avocado with some honey and natural yoghurt (said to help with blemishes).

After washing my face I coated it with the mask and left for ten minutes. I felt the mask working almost immediately, it felt cool and tingly.

After ten minutes my skin felt vibrant, clean and fresh, not to mention much softer than with a traditional face mask.

If it wasn’t for the mess left in my sink, on my clothes and all over the bathroom, I’d be using this on a daily basis.

Is it better? Yes

 

Hair mask

It was only during this final sampling that I discovered we do in fact own a blender and I was able to create a much more professional looking mixture, in comparison to the lumpy consistency of my other fork-mashed avo treatments.

I blended half an avocado with a big glug of olive oil and slapped it on the ends of my hair.

Wrapping my head in cling film to avoid another mess, I used my hair dryer to heat up the mask, as this supposedly helps the hair with the up-take of oils and all that avocado-ey goodness. After five minutes I began to smell, and look, like a baked avocado.

When the 20 minutes was over I was disappointed to discover that my hair didn’t feel as initially soft as it does with a shop-bought hair mask. But I was soon proven wrong, as when dry, my hair felt much stronger and smoother.

Is it better? Yes

So there we have it, apparently you can get similar results from the glorious avocado to the stuff you get in Boots.

The idea of using an avocado to remove my daily mascara does seem a little far fetched, but the beautifying benefits are undeniable.

Despite currently feeling like I’m oozing guacamole from my pores, I’ll definitely be trying some of these hacks again.