How to Make an Avocado Moisturizer

Fresh Avocado

Using avocado is an effective and natural way to moisturize and condition your skin. Avocado contains vitamins and proteins as well as a humectant that pulls moisture into your skin and holds it there. This keeps your skin smoother and plumper, eliminating small wrinkles and making your skin look younger.

Things You'll Need

• Avocado oil
• Fresh avocado
• Mayonnaise
• Vitamin E

Instructions

1. Prepare a cream of half a mashed, fresh avocado, a quarter cup mayonnaise and the contents of a capsule of vitamin E. Apply the mixture to your clean face twice daily and leave in place for 20 minutes. Remove the avocado mixture with warm water and a cotton pad or cloth. Pat your face dry. This mixture can be kept in your refrigerator for up to three days if it is tightly covered with plastic wrap.

2. Avoid the hassle of working with perishable ingredients by using avocado oil instead of fresh avocado. Avocado oil is available at your local grocery store and, although it can be expensive, a little goes a long way.

3. Prepare a paste of 1 tbsp. of avocado oil to a 1/4 cup mayonnaise and the contents of a capsule of vitamin E. Apply in the morning and at bedtime.

4. Create an effective moisturizer for under makeup by adding 1 tsp. of avocado oil to 1/2 cup of your favorite moisturizer, or amp up an inexpensive moisturizer with avocado.

5. Prepare a night cream of pure avocado oil that will make an effective after-bath moisturizer. Apply a small amount of pure avocado oil to a cotton cloth and massage it into your clean, moist skin. Pat your skin dry. This treatment also works well on dry spots on the elbows, knees and feet.

Tips & Warnings

• Air oxidizes the meat of the avocado quickly. When using fresh avocado in skin treatments, the traditional method of adding acid, like lemon juice, to retard the oxidization process may be too harsh for your skin type. To preserve your fresh avocado as long as possible, create a skin for the surface layer of the mixture by placing wax paper directly on the top of the mixture to make an airtight seal.

• Avocado oil will last longer when kept refrigerated. For ease of use, decant an ounce or two into a smaller container that you can keep near your vanity and replenish periodically.