This DIY Will Make Your Skin Very Happy

It’s true what they say: you are what you eat, and it shows! Raw food and vegan chef Jason Wrobel—who hosts The Cooking Channel’s first-ever show dedicated solely to vegan cooking, How to Live to 100—is living proof of that statement. He’s been vegan for more than 16 years, and also heavily into the raw food movement for just as long, and you can tell just by looking at him. Wrobel’s skin is radiant on- and off-camera, which he attributes to the mostly raw vegan diet he sticks to today.

“My whole philosophy is, since your skin is the largest organ on your body,” explains Wrobel, “it’s constantly soaking up and assimilating everything you’re putting on it. So you should feed it just as well, if not better, than you feed your stomach.” Obviously, Wrobel is a huge advocate for healthy eating. And because he knows more than a thing or two about which foods are best for you both internally and externally, we asked him to share one of his natural recipes for glowing skin.

Eating any of the three ingredients will benefit your complexion, but applying them topically does the trick, too. The combination of mono- and saturated-fats leave skin refreshed, rejuvenated, and oxidized for optimal smoothness, and as Wrobel puts it, will get your face “soft like a newborn’s butt-cheeks.”

Papaya-Avocado Facial Mask

You Will Need

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 ripe papaya, peeled
• 1 fresh aloe vera leaf, peeled
• blender (optional)

Pit avocado, mash it up in a clean mixing bowl. Cut papaya into small chunks, discarding the seeds. Add into bowl with the avocado. Scoop the gel out of the aloe vera leaf with a spoon and add that, too. Next, you can either mash everything up with a spoon or spatula, or whip up the ingredients in a blender. You want the consistency to be thick and pudding-like. Apply to your face in a circular motion and let set for 15 to 20 minutes. Wash with cold water using a wash cloth. Yields 3 full cups and can be stored in the fridge for reuse for up to 3 days.

Bonus! 3 Superfoods to Eat Now

Like the title of his TV show suggests, Wrobel believes that eating right is the secret to living a long, healthy life. Aside from those often cited everywhere (berries, dark chocolate, greens, etc.), here are three foods at the top of the chef’s must-eat superfoods list.

1: Pumpkin seeds. Rich with fiber, pumpkin seeds also contain healthy minerals including zinc, which may help fight blemishes.

2: Orange, yellow, and red bell peppers. Colorful peppers contain pigments called carotenoids, known to help skin become less sensitive to the sun. Getting them into your diet may diminish sun damage, age spots, and wrinkles over time.

3: Papaya. This tropical fruit is not only high in antioxidants, but it’s also packed with papain, an enzyme known to help shed dead skin and promote new skin cell growth.