We all know the one friend who seemingly does nothing for their skin and still has a great, flawless, and youthful complexion. When it comes to transforming your skin, it doesn’t get much better than using something with vitamin C. And if you’re not using it already, it’s never too late to start. Some skin care ingredients are so remarkable, they deserve special attention and passionfruit is one of them.
Not only does it contain vitamin C of which you can expect a slew of results, it also contains the precursor of vitamin A, beta carotene, a range of vitamin Bs, and minerals such as phosphor and magnesium. Vitamin C alone fights ageing skin and contributes overall to healthy skin. Before we dive into how passionfruit can not only firm up but also smoothen and brighten your skin let’s first take a look at what it is.
The passionfruit
Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) also goes by the name Portuguese name maracuja. “Maracuja” comes from the word in Paraguayan Guarani and means “nursery for flies”. Its botanical name is far more poetic, given by missionaries. The Latin word Passiflora translated into English means passion flower.
The plant is native to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. It’s also grown in Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, East Africa, India.
The perennial vine has two main varieties. The first one bears purple and the second yellow fruits. The fruit, classified as a berry is almost round, measuring about 4-7 cm in diameter. The skin is purple with whitish to yellowish specks or yellow.
When you cut the fruit open, you see about 250 brown seeds surrounded by a membrane filled with jelly-like fruit pulp. It tastes more sour than sweet and citrusy. The seeds are crunchy.
Passionfruit can be eaten fresh. Depending on where you are, it’s processed into sweets or desserts like passion fruit mousse. It can also be made into juice or tinned so that it keeps longer.
Content
Passionfruit might not be a vitamin C bomb like kiwifruit but it’s nothing to turn your back on. It’s a good source of some wonderful vitamins and minerals including
Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene)
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Vitamin B3 (niacin)
Vitamin B6 (folate)
Iron
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium
And if you eat it with the seeds, you’ll also get essential fatty acids, most notably linoleic acid. The seeds contain about 72 % linoleic acid, an omega 6 fatty acid. Linoleum acid, also known as vitamin F belongs to the essential fatty acids. Essential, because your body can make it from the food you eat.
Why use passionfruit in your skin care?
As a good source of vitamin C, you get that remarkable skin care ingredient, that helps you take care of quite a few skin concerns
- Dull and blotchy skin
- Environmental and sun damage
- Irritated and red skin
- Lifting dark spots
Wait, there’s more to the passionfruit. It can literally toughen up your skin. Don’t mistake “tough” skin for something rugged, rough, leathery. Even if we all love soft, smooth, silky, or milky skin our skin is all that, when it’s tough. It looks that way because it’s thick, 7 layers strong and so tough that it can protect our bodies.
You really see it. Just look at younger people. They got beautiful, smooth, and firm skin because their skin is tough and thick. The strength comes from the well-structured matrix made of the proteins collagen and elastin.
But, when we age, our skin gets thin. It loses its structure of collagen and elastin. The proteins give our skin its structure and the ability to snap back when stretched. And if you want nice thick and tough skin, you want to both protect the matrix of the proteins collagen and elastin and boost their growth and repair.
Protect from the harsh environment
Containing beta carotene and vitamin C, passionfruit offers powerful protection from severe environmental conditions and even sun damage. Both beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and vitamin C are potent antioxidants.
This means passion fruit can help you fight oxidative damage, both on your skin and inside your body when you eat it. It’s a good strategy to eat it and apply it both, because, your skin comes last within the digestion process.
As antioxidants, vitamins A and C, scavenge free radicals before they can trigger a chain reaction that results in damage on a cellular level. They can damage elements in a cell like the DNA, proteins, or cell membrane.
This means they’re very important when you want to protect the structure of the proteins collagen and elastin in your skin.
Vitamin C and SPF are like the holy duo in protecting your skin. Vitamin C enhances the effectiveness of SPF and so gives your skin better protection from UV radiation.
Boost collagen and elastin
Passionfruit also addresses the other side of having a strong matrix of the proteins collagen and elastin to maintain healthy, resilient, and well-structured skin. Thanks to vitamin C, but also A, it boosts your body’s ability to produce collagen and elastin. In doing so, it helps maintain the firmness and elasticity of your skin.
Reduce blotchiness and redness
Maracuja seeds contain about 72 % linoleic acid. This omega 6 fatty acid is known for its anti-inflammatory qualities. Combine this vitamin A and C, passion fruit reduces inflammation and red blotches which were left after spots.
Lift dark spots
Vitamin C is the classic when it comes to evening out skin tone. Not only does it improve your skin’s natural healing process, it’s a known agent that curbs melanin production in your skin. Vitamin C messes with the enzyme tyrosinase which is needed when your skin synthesises the pigment melanin.
This means, your skin makes less melanin and with time, the dark spots fade away.
How to get passionfruit
There are several skin care products on the market infused with passion fruit. The main varieties are infused with either passionfruit extract or passionfruit seed oil. If it’s infused with seed oil, it won’t contain vitamin C, since this vitamin is soluble in water.
If you find maracuja oil, opt for organic and cold pressed versions to get the most out of it. Passionfruit oil is a light oil since it has far more linoleic acid (about 72 %) than oleic acid. This means it’s a light oil that sinks into your skin and won’t feel greasy or jam up your pores.
In closing
If you’re interested in reaping the benefits of maracuja, it’s best to get a ripe fruit. You can recognise a ripe fruit when it’s not green but dark purple or dark yellowish-orange. It also appears wrinkly and when you take it in your hand has a slight give. Just cut it open and spoon out the seeds surrounded by the fruit flesh.
