Skin and hair benefits of carrots

Vitamin A, vitamin C, carotenoids, potassium and antioxidants - carrots are a powerhouse of nutrients!

Apart from their delicious flavor, carrots contain beta-carotene in high amounts, in addition to antioxidants, minerals and vitamin A. Carrots offer numerous health benefits, particularly for organs like skin, eyes, teeth and the digestive system. You will be amazed to know that carrots are beneficial for the well being of hair and skin too. Let us see how.

Benefits for the skin

Thanks to the abundant amount of vitamin A in carrots, they provide ultimate protection against a number of skin problems, helping in maintaining your skin health.

• Eating carrots is helpful in keeping your skin vibrant and healthy, as they are laden with antioxidants and vitamin C. Mix grated carrot, or some carrot juice, in a convenient and inexpensive face mask to get glowing skin instantly. You can also make a quick mask by grating a carrot and mixing it with honey. Apply it on the face for 15 minutes, and wash it off.
• Drinking carrot juice on a regular basis can help get rid of several scars and skin blemishes. You may also apply carrot pulp directly on the scar or blemished skin, and it will clear off with regular use.
• Carrots are rich in vitamin C, helpful in aiding collagen production in the body. Collagen is a protein required to maintain the elasticity of the skin. Thus, regular use of carrots can help in preventing wrinkles, and stalling the process of aging. Vitamin A is an antioxidant that attacks free radicals, and thereby prevents signs of aging like pigmentation, wrinkles and uneven skin tone.
• Carrots have beta-carotene that is a skin-friendly component converted into vitamin A inside human body. It is helpful in repairing skin tissues. Carotenoids and antioxidants in carrots conditions and protects the skin to enhance immunity against harmful sun rays, and heal sunburns. Physicians recommend drinking carrot juice in summers, as it works as a natural sun blocking agent.
• Dry skin is usually caused by deficiency of potassium in the body. Carrots are rich sources of potassium, and daily consumption automatically leads to skin hydration and moisturizing.

Carrots can effectively prevent and cure a wide range of skin ailments too, including pimples, acne, dermatitis, rashes, etc. Owing to their healing qualities, they can be applied directly on cuts, wounds and inflammation to quickly heal them.

Benefits for hair

Carrots are widely known to improve hair thickness and promote growth. Packed with vitamin A, carrots can offer following benefits to your hair:

• Carrots are effective in combating hair loss, as they offer vital vitamins to your hair, making it thicker, shinier, longer and stronger. Drinking carrot juice regularly can make your hair healthier.
• Drinking 3-4 ounces of carrot juice everyday can stimulate hair growth. Vitamin C and E in carrots can improve blood circulation in your scalp, thus preventing premature hair graying.

With so many skin and hair benefits offered by carrots, its uses are not limited to eating them raw or drinking their juice. There are many ways in which you can incorporate carrots in your diet or application.

Ways to use carrots:

In addition to eating them raw and drinking juice, there are other ways to use carrots:

• If you don t like raw carrot juice, you can add them to any other healthy juice of your choice
• You can include carrots in your salads
• Eat carrot sticks with home made dip or almond butter
• Add carrots in your homemade soups
• Roast some carrots with dinner
• Steam carrots and eat them with your salmon

In addition to skin and hair benefits, carrots are also helpful in improving vision and promote eye health, prevent cancer, aid cardiovascular well-being, boost immunity and helping with digestion. So, make carrots a regular part of your diet, and enjoy all the skin, hair and health benefits they have to offer.

You may also like to read:

• 5 beauty benefits of ginger for your skin and hair
• 8 beauty benefits of cucumber you shouldn t miss
• Beauty benefits of garlic

Photo source: Shutterstock

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Citations

Beckenbach L, Baron JM Merk HF, L ffler H, Amann PM. Retinoid treatment of skin diseases. Eur J Dermatol. 2015 Jun 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:26069148.

Suo L, Sundberg JP, Everts HB. Dietary vitamin A regulates wingless-relatedMMTV integration site signaling to alter the hair cycle. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2015 May;240(5):618-23. doi: 10.1177/1535370214557220. Epub 2014 Oct 30. PubMed PMID: 25361771.Kwak JY, Park S, Seok JK, Liu KH, Boo YC. Ascorbyl coumarates asmultifunctional cosmeceutical agents that inhibit melanogenesis and enhancecollagen synthesis. Arch Dermatol Res. 2015 Jun 16. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26078014.