9 Natural Remedies For Firming Skin

Inevitably, all skin loses elasticity over time. Skin, an organ in and of itself, ages over the years, and outside factors can speed up the aging process. The sun ages skin along with certain foods, or with a diet that lacks in balanced vitamin and mineral intake. In special cases, events like losing a lot of weight all at once will keep the skin from re-gathering its elasticity. Patients of all stripes seek to slow the process of losing elasticity and firm the skin; many would like to slow the process enough to nearly make it freeze.

Natural remedies help restore some the skin’s elasticity and give skin of all ages a youthful glow. Firmer skin, even aged skin, looks healthier and more replenished. Read on to see our top nine natural remedies for firming skin:

Selenium

Selenium is an antioxidant that helps keep many of the body’s functions processing. It assists many organs, but its antioxidants specifically infuse the skin and help preserve its elasticity. Selenium is one of the most famous antioxidants for firming skin. Selenium-rich foods include beans, Brazil nuts, chia seeds, brown rice, and dark green vegetables like broccoli and spinach.

Anthocyanin

Anthocyanin is a pigment that can give fruits and vegetables anywhere from a red color, berry color, or blue and purple color. They’re a second antioxidant whose acids keep skin supple and preserve its elasticity. As one may guess, most fruits and vegetables that are deep red or purple contain anthocyanins, like cranberries, blackberries and blueberries, as well as red cabbage or eggplant. Other foods have great amounts of anthocyanins yet yield no red to blue color. Some of these are asparagus and bananas.

Cucumber

Cucumber can reduce swelling, puffiness, redness and other skin irritation with its cool temperature, moisture and vitamin C. For skin, however, cucumber can act as an astringent—a compound that reduces wrinkles and firms the skin, injecting it with moisture and keeping skin young. The astringent found in cucumber is called silica. Cucumber also possesses caffeic acid, a compound that helps the vegetable clear skin and keeps the skin firm. Adults can, of course, eat cucumber, but can also extract juices from cucumber, or add to water for infused cucumber water.

Honey

Honey contains natural antioxidants, like the ones above, to nourish, moisturize, and repair skin cells upon contact. These antioxidants firm skin to the touch. Honey can repair hair in a similar fashion, by letting honey coat the hair and leaving in for 20 minutes. Most use honey as an all-over lotion, or smear honey onto the face as a mask. For added nutrition, combine honey with lemon or oats before application. Ingest honey frequently, by the spoonful or in teas, to acquire its nutrients from the inside out.

Aloe Vera

Certain acids help keep the skin malleable and moisturized, and aloe vera is no exception. Aloe vera contains malic acid, an astringent that heals fine lines, wrinkles and aging skin. Malic acid can be found in many foods with tart flavors, like citrus, and can be extracted for flavor in other dishes. Aloe gel can of course be squeezed directly from the leaf and applied to the skin and problem areas. As with honey, aloe serves as a good base for other ingredients, like honey, egg, oat and strawberry.

Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is a well-known facial toner, used to decrease redness in the skin and eliminate acne. Over time, witch hazel can level pitted acne scars. The tannin and hydrosol in witch hazel help the herb to even acne scars and fill in other wrinkles and lines, firming skin and making the pores look smaller and healthier. You can brew witch hazel as a wash, or extract oils from witch hazel and apply to the skin.

Cinnamon

 Cinnamon, while not a moisturizing spice, does firm skin by repelling moisture. It counteracts this property—which would otherwise age skin—by stimulating the skin’s collagen production. When the skin produces collagen, it can maintain its own elasticity and youthfulness. Infuse oils with cinnamon and other ingredients to make facemasks and scrubs, or add cinnamon to brewed teas for flavor.

Strawberry

Strawberry, like cinnamon, also boosts collagen production in the skin. It’s an anti-oxidant rich fruit with plenty of vitamin C and its own mild acids. These acids, called alpha-hydroxyl acids, plump up skin and keep the skin flexible. Add strawberries to your daily diet to preserve skin from the inside out. If you want to use strawberries on the skin, you can mix strawberry pulp or juice with other binding ingredients, like aloe vera gel or honey, and apply to the face or affected area in a 15-20 minute mask.

Rose Water

Rose water works like cucumber as an astringent. The nutrients found in rose water, extracted from the petals of the flower, mildly cleanse skin, clears the skin of bacteria and redness, and firms the skin with moisture. It’s a milder version of cucumber and other acidic cousins. Studies recommend, if treating the face for skin, to apply rose water into the scalp, face and neck. They connect into each other and deserve equal attention. Rose water can serve as a base for many of the other herbs and remedies on this list, like cinnamon.

Contrary to popular belief, inactive skin is not skin that will remain prone to aging. All skin ages. Maintaining an active lifestyle will firm up muscles and help all organs, including skin, work best. Keeping active also helps the body produce its own vitamins and nutrients, or to stay hydrated with good foods and natural remedies that keep skin bright, clear and supple. The goal is not to stop the aging process and keep skin from aging indefinitely; the goal is to firm the skin to its utmost potential and keep skin healthy lifelong. Using many of these natural remedies can keep the skin—and the rest of your body—at its peak. So far, which are your favorite skin firming remedies?