Originally published at Averr Aglow.
Feeling confident in your skin is a year-round goal. But in the summer, when you’re craving minimal makeup looks and a dewy, natural appearance, it can feel even more important to keep your skin in peak condition. After all, who wants to be hiding their skin and sweating under a full face of cosmetics in mid-July?
Fortunately, summer is a garden-fresh playground of nourishing produce that can help unlock your skin’s radiant glow. By incorporating these 12 mouthwatering seasonal fruits, you can help keep your skin clear and vibrant all summer long.
Why choose in-season fruits?
Fruits are most flavorful during their harvest season, and they’re usually cheaper, too. By keeping seasonality in mind as you browse the produce section, you can add a rainbow of fresh fruit to your meal plan for a reasonable cost.
1. Watermelon
Summer heat making you thirsty? Reach for refreshing (and aptly named) watermelon. Watermelons can contain up to 92% water, making this fruit a great companion in your quest for hydrated skin.
Extra moisture is especially vital in the summertime. Higher temperatures and outdoor activities can quickly sap your hydration, leaving your complexion dehydrated and drab-looking. So why not give your skin a helping hand up with thirst-quenching watermelon? As an added bonus, these juicy fruits also contain skin-enhancing vitamins A, B1, B6, C, and lycopene.
2. Blueberries
Famous for their dense supply of skin-defending antioxidants, blueberries are a potent source of vitamins A and C. This duo helps protect your complexion from environmental damage, such as from pollution or UV rays. Plus, vitamin C is also crucial to collagen development, helping keep your skin firm, bouncy, and youthful.
3. Strawberries
A summer classic, strawberries aren’t just a joy to eat — they also contain vitamin C and ellagic acid, which help protect your skin and reduce the signs of aging. Even tiny strawberry seeds are beneficial, helping your skin lock in moisture with vitamin E and moisturizing fatty acids.
And if you have acne-prone skin, fresh strawberries can help keep your complexion clear and bright with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Swelling and bacteria are both hallmarks of acne blemishes, so fighting this bacteria-inflammation combo can help reduce your breakouts.
Love strawberries? Get your fill of moisturizing strawberry extract with our Perfect Pout Lip Kit and achieve softer, plumper lips in just three easy steps.
4. Grapes
Grapes reach peak ripeness at the cusp of summer and autumn, providing another antioxidant-rich option to your warm-weather lineup.
In addition to grapes’ luxe cache of vitamins C and K, their skins include a nutrient called resveratrol. Known to fight aging and protect your skin, resveratrol can also help improve the appearance of your complexion by reducing redness and evening out its tone.
Pro tip: Beat the heat with frozen grapes! They’re a cooling summer snack or a perfect substitute for ice cubes in that glass of rosé.
5. Cherries
Plump, dark red cherries are a sweet source of many nutrients, including folate and vitamins A, C, and K. These antioxidants help guard your skin against damage, while vitamin C helps keep premature aging at bay, and vitamin K promotes better wound healing.
Cherries are also natural anti-inflammatories, helping ease those swollen breakouts or puffy under-eye bags.
6. Peaches
Averr Aglow is based in Atlanta, so you know we love our peaches. Happily, these fruits also love us! With vitamins like A, C, E, and K, they are an excellent choice to help glow up your summer skin.
Peaches also contain calcium and gut-friendly dietary fiber. You may associate calcium with strong bones, but this mineral also plays a major role in skin cell turnover, keeping your complexion bright and fresh. And dietary fiber is not to be overlooked. By helping support your gut health, it can indirectly contribute to better skin.
7. Apricots
If peaches are the only stonefruit on your radar, you may be missing out on apricots. These rosy orange fruits are lip-smacking good and packed with skin benefits.
With anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and antioxidant properties, apricots may become your new summer favorite. High vitamin C helps boost skin elasticity, while folate and vitamins A and K support the foundational health of your complexion. Net result? Skin that is clearer and healthier, naturally.
9. Pineapple
Grown in hot climates, pineapples are at their spiky, tropical best in early summer. And like many other summer fruits, pineapples are rich in vitamins A, C, and K. But pineapples also boast a nutrient called bromelain, which has powerful anti-inflammatory and skin-healing effects. This is an advantage for any skin type, but especially if you have a breakout-prone complexion.
A natural exfoliator, pineapple extract can also help improve your skin texture and evenness. That’s why we use it throughout our Forever Radiant Kit.
8. Mangoes
Mangoes are a quintessential summer fruit, appearing in your supermarket with a sugary scent that is nearly hypnotizing. With lush deposits of vitamin A, C, and E, they are also powerful skin allies. Treat yourself to ripe mangoes to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, support collagen, promote skin healing, and soothe inflammation.
10. Papaya
If you’re adding a new twist to your summer fruit salad, papaya is a luscious and beneficial choice. With its concentrations of vitamin A, B, and C, this moisturizing fruit supports skin health, speeds up healing, and helps foster a more dewy and youthful finish.
Like peaches, papaya also helps your skin indirectly by promoting good digestion. So you don’t just look better — you also feel better.
11. Tomatoes
Surprised to find tomatoes on this list? They like to masquerade as vegetables, but these juicy red salad-toppers are actually fruits.
With plentiful reserves of the nutrient lycopene, tomatoes offer your skin antioxidant protection that helps defend against UV damage and premature aging. High in natural acids, tomatoes can also help regulate your sebum production. So if you have an oily or acne-prone skin type, savory-sweet tomatoes are the perfect addition to your summer meal plan.
12. Cucumbers
Tomatoes aren’t the only faux veggies on this list. While you may love to toss sliced cucumbers into a leafy green salad, they’re technically fruits. Either way, these summer favorites are a cool, crisp way to eat your way to better skin.
To skincare enthusiasts, cucumbers are practically synonymous with hydration. Made up of 95% water, they are an easy and tasty way to sneak more moisture into your daily intake.
Cucumbers are also a source of many valuable nutrients, such as beta carotene and vitamins C and K. Between their hydration and nutrition, cucumbers are perfect to help soothe puffiness and irritation, reduce dark circles, protect your skin, and give your complexion a healthy glow.
Cucumber is the pinnacle of calming hydration. That’s why we use it in our Clarifying Hydration Dew to help refresh and illuminate your skin.
In the summertime, your local groceries and farmers’ markets overflow with premium produce. So why not seize the season and indulge in delicious, skin-friendly ingredients? With this cheatsheet of skin-enhancing fruits now in hand, you can reward yourself with a satisfying eating experience that’s good for both body and soul.