These Natural Ingredients Are Great For Your Skin

You don't have to be a total beauty maven to know that coconut oil does wonders for your hair — especially if you add raw, natural ingredients into the mix. But coconut oil aside, there are so many other natural ingredients that are great for your skin and body, and you might not even realize it.

It should be said, however, that too much of a good thing can be bad. For example, you'll hear how lemons are great for anti-aging because of the high Vitamin C contents and how it's great for oily skin and treating acne because of it's an antibacterial properties, but too much of the acidic fruit can mess up your skin's pH balance. And when your skin's pH balance gets out of whack, your skin becomes super susceptible to getting sunburned. Ouch.

Be sure to approach each natural ingredient on this list with moderation. Likewise, there are a couple foods that you should avoid when it comes to beauty products, but don't avoid them altogether. Some foods do a better job at treating your external health directly (i.e., body, skin, etc.) while others are totally beneficial to your internal health (i.e., heart, lungs, etc.) through consumption. Because this post will concentrate on natural foods that benefit your external health, your DIY senses will definitely be tingling.

Good Natural Ingredients For Beauty Products

1. Matcha Green Tea

Besides the fact that green tea-flavored anything is amazing, it also does a great job at detoxing. So while you're adding some matcha powder to your drinks, feel free to add some into your toners and facial cleansers.

2. Pumpkin

In a couple months, pumpkins will be everywhere! And this immune-boosting fruit (yup, it's a fruit; not a vegetable) will give your dry skin a helping hand by giving you the nutrients your tired skin needs.

3. Yogurt

The lactic acid in yogurt can correct dark spots and act as an exfoliator. If you want to make a facial mask, mix in three teaspoons of wine and a teaspoon of honey to a quarter cup of plain yogurt and you've got yourself an exfoliating, dark-spot-correcting, antibacterial mask! Just be sure you're using plain yogurt (organic would be optimal) with the lowest sugar content.

Bad Natural Ingredients For Beauty Products

1. Sugar

We're gonna have to pass on this one in terms of beauty products. This is pretty surprising, considering one of the most popular K-beauty products is Skin Food's black sugar scrub. I'm assuming using sugar on your skin in moderation shouldn't be too bad, but if you consistently use it all the time, dermatologist Dr. Gary Goldfaden says it can, "cause redness and even prematurely age the skin," because of the jagged shape of sugar crystals.

2. Coffee Grounds

Now, the antioxidants in coffee is great for consumption, but if you use ground coffee beans as an exfoliator, it can cause inflammation. So save your coffee grounds for mug and you'll be sure to save your skin in the process.

Images: artmannviledary/Instagram, Padurariu Alexandru, Dominik Martin, Vee O/Unsplash