Juice Your Way to … Glowing, Clear Skin!

The way our skin looks affects us. When it’s clear and glowing, makeup glides on smoothly, and we cease to even think about it. But when our complexion acts up, it becomes a selfish, temperamental beast with no respect for date nights, interviews, or all-important photos at the DMV. Makeup is suddenly not fun to put on. And then we spend lots of time in the mirror, looking at, poking, and obsessing. Not cool.

Bumps and rashes aren’t entirely our skin’s fault—skin is the body’s largest organ, and also one of its largest waste elimination systems. Toxins in our body sometimes surface through the skin, and if you’re like me, you hate that. Soaps, gels, creams aren’t your only defense. Good nutrition can keep the toxins at bay from the inside out. I’ve whipped up a raw juice recipe that will give your skin all the nutrition it needs to keep calm and carry on. Ready?

Juice for Clear, Glowing Skin

Note: If you don’t have a juicer, this would work in the blender. The juice will come out a lot thicker, but the raw nutrients will still be there.

Ingredients

1 whole fennel bulb
Found in most produce sections, fennel is a lightly sweet nutritional powerhouse. Not only is it loaded with vitamin C, which prevents cell damage, but it has tons of antioxidants and a phytonutrient called anethole, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient. But wait! Fennel is also an antiseptic (kills bacteria!) and a diuretic, meaning it helps drain the puffiness from eyes. Go fennel!

1 large beet
Beets are high in iron, which fights dark circles under the eyes, and vitamin A, something skin needs to stay healthy.

2 Granny Smith green apples
Apples are full of antioxidants and free radical–fighting vitamin C. Also, apples give you tons of fiber, which, helps you, um, eliminate toxins from the body.

1 pear
Pears are yummy and anti-inflammatory, meaning they calm redness. Pear enzymes speed up cell turnover, meaning: you’ll get newer skin cells faster.  

1 big handful of fresh dandelion greens
If you can get them, dandelion greens hold lots of vitamin A and support kidney function, helping to eliminate waste. Warning: If you don’t live somewhere where you can get dandelion greens at the store, please do not go outside, especially in a city, and pick dandelion leaves. Chances are they’ll have some sort of terrible chemical on them. You can swap in another type of green, such as spinach or kale.

Wash everything, then toss in your juicer or blender, and hit the “on” button. If you’re blending, add a cup of water to help liquefy your fruit.

The concoction will start out as a light green–and–fuchsia affair, but thanks to the beet, it’ll become a deep magenta when stirred. This recipe will make around 35 ounces of fresh juice, which you’ll need to keep in the fridge in an airtight container (stir before before drinking). Drink it up within two days, and then repeat, repeat, repeat for glowing, smooth skin!

I recommend drinking this particular juice out of a water bottle on which you’ve written “PORE PERFECTION WILL BE MINE” with black Sharpie. Intention is half the battle, friends.

Read more about why Krista loves juicing here. Do juice for beauty? Tell us how in the comments!

Credits:

Top Image: Anshu / Flickr