What are Pears?
The Pear plant is a fruit belonging to the Rosaceae family. It is Native to China but very widely grown and consumed all over the world.
How can they be used for Hair Care?
This fruit contains a natural sugar alcohol which is responsible for the pear’s sweet taste. This sugar alcohol is called ‘Sorbital.’ It is able to nourish the scalp, consequently, keeping your hair healthy and moisturized. Sorbital therefore, acts as a good humectant for both your hair and skin.
DIY Pear Hair Mask
You will need
- 2 small pears or 1 Large Pear
- Favourite oil
For this DIY you choose one of two options, keep the skin on and lend the pear or peel the pear…
Method 1 (Peeling)
- Peel the pear and cut it up into smaller pieces
- Place the smaller pieces into a bowl and let it sit it cold (ish) water after 2-3minutes, strain the large bits out but keep the water
- Pour the water into a spray bottle and use to moisturize your hair!
I came across someone on Youtube who used this method with prickly pear. She used the pear’s water as a ‘wash and go’ if you want to see how to do this visually, here is the video…
Method 2 (Blending)
Pears are one of my favourite fruit, especially on a hot summer day when you feel like drinking water but having something sweet at the same time. I love it! I thought to myself, why would you want to peel the skin or the pear when it contains nearly half of all the good things? Like antioxidants, fiber and anti-inflammatory nutrients…
Which is why if you choose to blend the pear their may be some small bits left in the mixture making this second method better to use as a conditioner, which you rinse out.
You will need
- 1 Large (ripe) pear, when it is ripe it is easier to mash. Tip: If you want any of your fruits to ripe quicker, place them next to bananas because bananas release ethene which accelerates the ripening process.
- 2-3 TBSP of Olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 1-2 drops of tea tree essential oil (or essential oil of choice)
You could also blend in half of a ripe avocado to make the mixture thicker and less runny.
- Gently Rinse the pear under cold water. Be careful not to be too rough because pears are gentle and will mash easily.
- Using a blender or a food processor, blend it until smooth
- Place the blend into a bowl where you can add the rest of the ingredients and mix them together
- Once ready you can apply the mixture all over you hair and scalp, detangling as you apply
Allow this to sit for 25-30 minutes before rinsing out and resuming with your hair care routine.
How can they be used for Skin Care?
Pears are rich in Vitamins A and C. Whilst Vitamin A helps moisturize and and prevent break outs, Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, protecting the skin from UV exposure. It keeps the skin toned and even.
DIY Pear Face Mask
You will need
- 1 Large Pear or 2 small ones (ripe)
- 2 TBSP honey
- 1 Tsp Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Before application you can open up your skin pores using the steaming method…
For the skin mask DIY you can also choose whether you will blend or peel the pear, you can choose from the two methods above.
After doing either one, mix the rest of the ingredients in an apply all over your face for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture dries out a little before rinsing off with lukewarm water.
