Wacko skin experts are hailing beetroot as a miracle cellulite cure
Not just a tasty treat
Hot, cold, raw, roasted, pickled. There’s so much you can do with beetroot, and now you can apparently add it to your beauty regime.
The pigment betalain, which makes the beetroot purple, is supposed to be packed with antioxidants, making it a must-have for natural beauty products. And with experts claiming the vegetable can be doubled up as a facial, toner, lib scrub, tint and cellulite cure, it was too good to miss.
But is it worth binning your Simple range for?
Veggie facial
You need:
• One tbsp beetroot juice
• One tbsp Greek yogurt
The original recipe called for soured cream, but Greek yoghurt is just as good an alternative. To prepare the super-facial, I mixed the ingredients in a small bowl. I then put the mixture in the fridge to cool before using.
After washing my face I applied the facial. One word: amazing. It was easy to apply and didn’t make any mess because of the thick yoghurt. The beetroot facial was my favourite out of everything I tried. The fact it was cold in temperature immediately woke up my skin (a perfect hangover cure too), and I could feel my pores opening up. It felt like my face was getting kissed all over.
I kept the facial on for 15 minutes and didn’t want to take it off. It smelled amazing and if I wasn’t lactose intolerant, I would have eaten the whole thing. There’s no doubt the beetroot facial has been added to my beauty regime.
Rating: 5/5
Tingly toner
You need:
• Grated beetroot
• Chopped cabbage
• Water
The toner was slightly more complex to prepare. I started by finely grating the beetroot and chopping the cabbage into small pieces. Not having a blender led me to find the next best thing, as I used a hand blender to combine all the ingredients.
The recipe says to use an ice tray to pour the liquid mixture in. I used a shot glass and it worked fine. I froze the liquid overnight and woke up to a pretty purple ice cube.
I applied the toner after washing off the facial. Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t the same. The toner smelt too much like cabbage, and there were even tiny chunks of it I didn’t enjoy feeling while rubbing the ice cube on my face. It was anything but tingly.
The cold felt good on my skin but didn’t compare to the feeling I got from the facial. The ice cube melted way too fast and just turned into a mess on my face and my sink.
After all the preparation and unnecessary mess, I wouldn’t ever use the toner again as part of my routine.
Rating: 1/5
Luscious lip scrub
You need:
• Two tbsp beetroot juice
• Water
• One tbsp coconut oil (I used a different oil)
• One tsp honey
• Three tbsp sugar
To prepare the lip scrub I diced a beetroot and boiled it in water for its juices.
The recipe called for coconut oil, which I substituted for a balsam oil I already use on my face. I combined all the ingredients into a small bowl. The scrub smelled amazing, and was even tempting to eat.
The scrub made my lips feel good, but the weird consistency was a hassle to handle and made a bit of a mess. It felt like a lumpy liquid. I wouldn’t say no to using the lip scrub again, but it would definitely not be my first choice.
Rating: 2/5
Lip and cheek tint
You need:
• Beetroot juice
• Two tbsp vegetable glycerine
It took me two Tesco shops to finally find vegetable glycerine. I still don’t know what it’s used for. Preparation was easy as I added the two ingredients to a pan and boiled them for a bit. After I drained the mixture and let it cool, I applied it to my lips and cheeks.
The tint had such a weird smell I had to take it off my lips straight after applying it. I didn’t notice any difference in colour to either areas I applied the tint. The only thing it did was make me look shiny.
The tint was definitely a waste of time and vegetable glycerine.
Rating:1/5
Cellulite cure
You need:
• Grated beetroot
• One tbsp honey
• Half tsp black pepper
I wasn’t going to believe three simple ingredients are the cure to the most commonly hated problem among women, but I tried it anyway. All I had to do was combine the ingredients, and bye bye cellulite?
The recipe said to apply the cure to the problem area and wrap in cling film for 30 minutes. It felt like a soggy coleslaw, and the pepper smell was way too overpowering.
It didn’t take me long to realise this wasn’t going to be an easy job, so I moved myself to the bathtub to finish the process. It all went downhill from there. Literally. Beetroot was everywhere.
It wouldn’t stay on long enough for me to even attempt to rub it around, but instead fell to the ground, turning my tub into its blank canvas. With each splatter hitting the floor, I was getting more and more annoyed.
About 50 seconds in I was defeated by the cellulite cure. I didn’t even have the patience to attempt using the cling film. The “cure” left my tub looking like a murder scene, and it still hasn’t recovered yet.
Thank you cellulite cure. I have never felt so much hate for a vegetable before. I also still have cellulite.
Rating: -1/5