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Cinnamon for Skincare

Most people know cinnamon as a delicious spice that adds flavour to meals and hot drinks, but people in Asian and Indian cultures have been using cinnamon to treat a variety of medical conditions for centuries. It is useful for treating indigestion, diabetes and infections but not many people know about the wonderful skincare benefits of cinnamon.

Here is a list of some of cinnamon’s skincare benefits.

Improve skin tone

Cinnamon applied to the skin in the form of cinnamon oil or paste improves blood circulation to the surface of the skin which increases the skins access to nutrients and oxygen. This dramatically improves the colour and tone of the skin.

Plump Up Skin and Lips

Cinnamon’s circulation stimulating properties allows blood to be brought to the skin’s surface which plumps up the skin and smoothes out any wrinkles or fine lines. You can add cinnamon oil to a carrier oil and apply it to the lips and area around the eyes or you can add a pinch of cinnamon to Vaseline, lip cream or your regular skin moisturiser. Rub the area for a few minutes and leave it to work for a minute or two. You may feel some light tingling which means that the circulation is improving.

Heal eczema

A paste of cinnamon and honey may soothe and heal any swelling or irritation caused by eczema.

Acne treatment

Cinnamon has anti-bacterial properties which kill acne causing bacteria. It also unclogs pores and brings oxygen and nutrients to the surface of the skin, thus clearing up acne and healing acne scars. Simply apply a paste of cinnamon and honey to the affected areas and leave it on for 10-20 minutes before washing it off.

Heal skin wounds

Since cinnamon has powerful anti-microbial properties you can dust some cinnamon powder over cuts and scrapes to speed up healing and prevent infection.

Anti-aging

Taking cinnamon internally in the form of capsules or eaten in food can help to slow down the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which speed up aging. Applying cinnamon oil or cinnamon paste to the skin can also increase collagen levels which improve skin elasticity and decreases wrinkles.

While cinnamon has a wide variety of benefits for the skin, some people may be allergic to it and may experience skin redness or swelling. It is advised that you do a patch test on your skin with cinnamon powder or cinnamon oil before you use it.

Sources
http://stylecaster.com/beauty-high/benefits-of-cinnamon/
http://www.benefitsfromcinnamon.com/benefits/cinnamon-benefits-for-the-skin