Thinking of adding some vanilla bean extract to sweeten up your cakes? I’m glad to tell you that it will also make your skin feel, look, and smell just as sweet! Not only is vanilla extract a great addition to add to your baked goods, but it also has a plethora of benefits for your skin making it widely used in many skincare products.
Vanilla extract, also known as vanilla planifolia fruit extract, is derived from vanilla beans native to Mexico. It is an excellent source of antioxidants that helps to protect and counteract environmental stresses on the skin that would otherwise lead to free-radical damage. More specifically, vanilla extract contains a chemical called Vanillin, a polyphenol, which carries these powerful antioxidant properties.
Combined with its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, vanilla extract serves as a skin-soothing agent which improves the look of your skin tone, helps calm irritated skin, and reduces skin infections while also improving wound healing.
Just like a four-tiered chocolate cake is scrumptious and sweet, vanilla extract can be characterized into four main benefits that are sweet and satisfying.
First, its antibacterial properties help cleanse your skin, making it a great source for treating acne and reducing signs of pimples and breakouts. Second, it is as rich in antioxidants as the chocolate icing on your cake is rich with sugar. These help prevent skin damage caused by free radicals, which in turn serves as a tool for slowing down the signs of aging by reducing fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots. Third, vanilla extract is notorious for its ability to heal burns and cuts. But just like it isn’t advised to devour an entire cake in one sitting because it will make your tummy hurt, you should not apply vanilla extract or oil directly to the open wounds. Rather, topical treatments containing this extract would be more helpful. Lastly, while a cake doesn’t promote healthy nutrition, you can guarantee that vanilla extract will promote healthy skin due to the abundance of B vitamins it contains.
So, if you get one thing out of this article, it should be that vanilla extract may have a greater benefit on your skin health than on your sweet tooth. Well, that depends on how much of a cake lover you are!
Written by: Adi Tzadok
