Five Beauty Experts Love This One Ingredient

Ladies, it's all about lemons … or at least right now it is. This highly acidic fruit that grows in abundance in California is used all over the planet by various beauty experts, and for good reason. It contains beauty-boosting elements like unique flavonoid compounds, vitamin C and B. Here is how six different beauty tastemakers are using this simple ingredient to beautify the world.

For the HairMaster aesthetician and celebrity facialist Shizuka Bernstein, from Shizuka New York Day Spa, says that lemons are great for dull or damaged hair. To make her favorite DIY hair mask, simply combine ¾ cup of olive oil, ½ cup of honey and three tablespoons of lemon juice and set aside. Shampoo your hair and comb the lemon juice mixture through your strands. Then, cover your hair with a shower cap.  Leave the mixture on for a half hour then shampoo you hair again for brilliant shine out of the shower.   

For the NailsSkin Therapist and owner of Pelle Sana Salon in Chicago, Kristin Akins knows that lemons are fantastic for softening cuticles. She uses them regularly as the perfect treatment for clients as does celebrity stylist and force behind Yamaguchi salons, Billy Yamaguchi. His team use Limoneira lemons for their Lemon Cooler Pedicure at the Yamaguchi Salon at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, CA.

For the SkinDr. Chiaki Kawashima, a beauty and skin-care expert in Japan uses lemon in many treatments at the Azabu Skin Clinic in Tokyo, which specializes in natural rejuvenation. Great as natural exfoliation technique, she suggests simply rubbing a cut lemon dipped in half a teaspoon of sugar over your face for a few minutes to slough off dead skin cells.

If you are looking too oily, Norma Garza, the founder of Norma's Touch Skin Specialty Spa in Houston, recommends combining two tablespoons of lemon juice, two tablespoons of vodka, one tablespoon of distilled water and one tablespoon of witch hazel.  She says to apply the mixture with cotton ball to oily skin, as you would do with a toner. The citric acid from the lemon helps to balance your pH level and oil production.