In recent years, Brazil has become known as a source of beauty and skin care products. Experts from the Bella Sugar website say that the sudden increase in interest over Brazilian beauty and skin care products stem from the special ingredients found in the country's Amazon Rain Forest. According to "Devotion to Beauty Paying Off for Brazil," a 2007 article published by "The New York Times' Magazine," the Amazon Rain Forest harbors about 13,000 different species of plants. However, according to beauty experts, only about 1 percent of those plants is used as ingredients in cosmetics.
Use Caffeine-Based Beauty Products
Caffeine can be found in some moisturizers and even body scrubs. According to an article in a September 2002 issue of "Shape" magazine, a temporary benefit of caffeine is its ability to briefly plump and smooth the skin. Also, caffeine may have skin-renewing properties. According to the Energy Fiend website, the University of Washington in Seattle conducted a study that involved exposing healthy non-damaged skin cells and sun-damaged skin cells to caffeine. The results showed that caffeine provoked the sun-damaged cells to die while leaving the healthy cells untouched.
Try Sand-Based Exfoliators
According to the Beauty Assist website, Brazilian women have been known to use sand as a skin exfoliator. Sand is supposed to assist in the breakdown of cellulite and smooth and excite the skin. It's becoming such a popular exfoliator that Lush, an English company, manufactures body bars that contain sand.
Use Cocoa Moisturizers
According to Skin Care News, the cocoa bean contains antioxidants, known as flavonols. These antioxidants have been shown to potentially help aid in preventing skin damage from UV rays and to promote blood circulation. There have also been studies that support the theory that the cocoa bean may prevent signs of aging.
References
- Beauty Assist: Global Beauty Secrets: Brazil
- "Shape"; 20 Worldly Secrets to Looking Great: Secrets of Brazilian Beauties; Sept. 2002
- Bella Sugar: Beauty Products From Around the World: Brazil
- "The New York Times"; Devotion to Beauty Paying Off for Brazil
- Energy Fiend: Caffeine and Skin Care Products
- Skincare News: Antioxidant Goodies in Dark Chocolate
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