Feed your face

It's time to go back to basics and have fun mulching and mashing natural ingredients like fresh fruit, honey, yoghurt and oatmeal to feed your face, skin, hair and body.

Fancy lotions and potions are all well and good, but there is something uniquely satisfying about squashing a strawberry - or a banana or avocado - on your face. It's liberating, it's refreshing and it's cheap.

Stick a couple of slices of juicy apple over your eyes and - zap! - those dark circles will fade miraculously away. Cover your face in slices of cucumber and - pow! - your dull complexion will be instantly enlivened.

Safeway has delved into its ample fruit bowl to create a number of delicious beauty recipes for you to try at home.

Click on to safeway.co.uk (followed by Healthy Living, Holistic Beauty, Beauty Recipes) for the full range, or try these for sighs:

n Banana Face Mask (deeply nourishing, ideal for dry skin): mash one banana with one tablespoon of honey and five tablespoons of oatmeal. Stir in some water to form a paste. Apply to damp skin, avoiding the eye area, and leave for 15 minutes. Rinse well with warm water.

n Strawberry Face Mask (refreshing and astringent, ideal for reviving oily skin): rinse five strawberries under hot water. Mash with two tablespoons of natural yoghurt and two tablespoons of honey.

Add some finely ground sweet almonds and mix well to form a smooth, easy to spread paste. Apply to the skin, avoiding the eye area, and leave for ten minutes. Rinse your face thoroughly with warm water.

n Avocado, Egg and Mud Facial (health food stores stock clay mud in powder form): mash a quarter of an avocado with one tablespoon of dry clay, one egg yolk and enough witch hazel to make the texture of the mixture smooth. Apply to the skin and leave for ten minutes before rinsing off with cool water.

n Fruity Hair Rinse (controls grease and provides a wonderful shine): peel and slice one apple. Mix with one peeled orange and a slice of melon and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, leave to cool and then strain the mixture through a sieve into a large jug. Add a pint of cider vinegar and leave for 24 hours. Use as a final rinse when washing hair.

n Soothing Body Spray (refreshing and cooling, particularly after a shower): mix one teaspoon of lemon juice, one teaspoon of cucumber juice and one tablespoon of witch hazel with a cup of water. For easy application, put the mixture into a pump spray bottle.

n Smoothing skin lotion (for difficult dry areas): Mix a quarter of a teaspoon of lemon juice with one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of vegetable oil. Rub into hands, elbows, heels and anywhere else that feels particularly dry. Leave on for ten minutes and then rinse off with warm water.

Yummy, good enough to eat...

If you have any interesting or unusual beauty secrets to share, write to Jo Haywood (Features), The Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York YO1 9YN or email jo.haywood@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 12:33 Tuesday, December 17, 2002