Considered a superfood in recent years, pomegranates have become popular as a fruit that can reduce inflammation and improve your overall health. Many of these benefits are linked to polyphenols, powerful antioxidant nutrients found in other plant foods, such as berries and green tea. This article will help provide some essential information about the benefits of pomegranates for your skin.

1. Benefits of Pomegranate for Skin

Antioxidants like vitamin C found in pomegranates work by reducing cell damage in your body. Other notable compounds include tannins, ellagitannins, and anthocyanins.

While these work best through the foods you eat and drink, topical treatments may provide some benefits.

1.1. Anti-aging benefits

When applied to the skin of mice, antioxidants helped reduce the incidence of age spots and wrinkles, although they did not prevent them completely. Human studies are currently underway.

Such effects are thought to be achieved through increased cell turnover, which is your skin’s ability to shed old skin cells from the surface so that new ones can be rejuvenated.

1.2. Reduced inflammation

Reduced free radicals may also lead to reduced skin inflammation. Antioxidants may therefore reduce the symptoms of certain inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and eczema.

1.3. Antibacterial Benefits

Pomegranates are thought to contain natural antibacterial properties from their source of vitamin C, which may help fight bacteria and fungi on your skin. Such benefits may help treat P. acnes bacteria, which can be a precursor to acne.

1.4. UV Protection

The antioxidants in pomegranates are also thought to provide natural protection against ultraviolet (UV) rays, according to some studies. However, such protection may not be enough if you skip your daily sunscreen.

Eating pomegranates beautifies the skin by protecting against UV rays

1.5. Natural Exfoliation

Regular exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells, reducing the signs of acne and skin aging. It is believed that these benefits are directly related to the use of slightly crushed pomegranate seeds.

2. Can eating pomegranates help with skin care?

Eating a variety of plant-based foods is said to be best for your overall health, including your skin.

Pomegranate is just one antioxidant-rich food that can be beneficial. Eating the fruit – in this case, the seeds – is better than drinking processed juice, which can be full of added sugars and other ingredients.

However, this does not mean that eating multiple pomegranates every day will be your ultimate ticket to beautiful skin. It is more important to include a variety of antioxidant-rich foods in your diet. They may include pomegranates, but a healthy skin diet certainly isn’t limited to them.

While antioxidant-rich foods like pomegranates can help fight free radicals, there are limits to how much skin benefit these compounds can provide.

Consuming pomegranates probably won’t help with the following claims circulating online:

• Preventing skin cancer. While studies have supported the cancer-fighting abilities of pomegranates, there’s no guarantee that consuming the fruit alone will prevent cancer cells from forming. This is especially true if you don’t practice other smart skin care practices, such as wearing sunscreen and staying out of the sun during the middle of the day.
• Boosting collagen. Skin naturally loses collagen as you age, and poor diet, smoking, and other bad lifestyle habits can cause you to lose it faster. Pomegranate antioxidant makeup may help reduce the appearance of aging skin, but studies support the topical role of vitamin C in collagen development, not necessarily the pomegranate itself.
• Glowing Skin. Pomegranates will not give you youthful, glowing skin. Glowing skin is directly related to an overall healthy diet.
• Cleanse your skin. Some manufacturers sell pomegranate oil that advertises its ability to “cleanse” your skin. The only way to effectively remove dirt and oil from your skin is to properly cleanse your skin—not by adding products to it.
• Balance hydration. Anecdotal reports suggest that pomegranates are beneficial for both oily and dry skin types. It is thought that the antioxidants can help balance skin hydration levels in all skin types.

3. Potential Side Effects

Pomegranate use is generally considered safe and no significant side effects have been reported to date. Although uncommon, it is possible to develop an allergic reaction to topical pomegranate.

Signs of a reaction may include:

• Itching
• Redness
• Inflammation
• Rash
• These side effects may also occur when using pomegranate essential oil without first diluting it with a carrier oil.

Eating pomegranates can cause rash symptoms

4. How to Use Pomegranate on Your Skin

Using pomegranate on your skin can involve the oils and extracts that can be used, as well as the juice and seeds from the actual fruit. Do a patch test on your skin ahead of time to check for possible sensitivity.

4.1. Mask

You can create an exfoliating mask from crushed pomegranate seeds. Make sure you massage the product into your skin without rubbing it in, as this can lead to irritation. You can exfoliate your skin once or twice a week to remove dead skin cells.

4.2. Pomegranate Seed Oil

Pomegranate seed oil is often used as a serum. It is applied after cleansing and toning before moisturizing. Massage it into your skin twice daily for best results.

4.3. Pomegranate Essential Oil

Essential oils are stronger than extracts, and they must be diluted with a carrier oil first. Because of their power, essential oils like pomegranate oil are only used as topical treatments.

4.3. Supplements

Pomegranate is also available in capsule and tablet form with pomegranate extract. Instead of being applied topically, these supplements are taken orally. Talk to your doctor before using them and be sure to take supplements as directed.

In short, pomegranate can help improve the health of your skin, but there are limits to what superfoods like this fruit can do. It’s more important to focus on an overall healthy diet. This includes pomegranate, but you should also consider other antioxidant-rich sources to balance your diet, including berries, greens, and tea.

If you’re looking to use pomegranate topically, there are plenty of skin products that contain extracts from this fruit. You can also consider using pomegranate oils and extracts as topical treatments. See a dermatologist if any side effects develop.