Bananas play an important role in the French Caribbean, where they are one of the main crops in the region’s thriving agricultural industry and used in traditional Caribbean medicine due to their strong healing properties. Not only are bananas packed with health benefits, including high levels of potassium (which is good for heart health and blood pressure), but they also offer numerous beauty benefits.

The banana tree has a unique lipid composition which gives it properties that promote skin health. Bananas contain precious molecules that help maintain skin radiance, including essential fatty acids, phytosterols and polyphenols (which strengthen skin’s barrier, give a firmer appearance, block free radicals, and protect cells from oxidative stress), and tocopherols, which help neutralize the aggressive action of free radicals to preserve skin’s youthful appearance.

Glow Recipe Celebrates The Launch of Banana Soufflé Moisture Cream

Eco-conscious French skincare brand Kadalys is the first beauty brand to up-cycle banana agri-waste into patented organic active ingredients from the banana plant to create sustainable yet effective products. Founded in 2012 by Shirley Billot, Kadalys features organic and powerful extracts that improve the health of every skin type and tone, and the brand recently made its debut in the United States. The unique and inclusive line of ethical skincare products includes:

• Organic Cleansing Gel: Soap-free, ultra gentle cleansing gel with a melting texture ($32)

• Organic Pure Melt Cleansing Gel-in-Oil: Melting gel that transforms into a milky emulsion to remove make-up and impurities ($39)

• Organic Comforting Cream: Restores the skin’s moisture and nutrition levels for 24 HR hydration ($37)

• Organic Lifting Day Cream: Helps minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots ($76)

• Organic Lifting Night Cream: Restores the skin firmness, radiance and softness for a more youthful appearance ($76)

• Organic Nutritive Precious Oil: Deeply nourishes, strengthens and repairs skin ($38)

• Organic Radiance Precious Oil: Brings shine and vitality to dull skin and hair ($38)

• Organic Banana Lip Balm: Nourishes and repairs chapped lips and dry patches ($19)

Kadalys is also committed to providing effective, sustainable high-performance skin care that gives back and helps the environment. Every year, nearly 40,000 tons of bananas are thrown away due to damage or imperfections, and Kadalys is on a mission to reduce agro-waste and by-products caused by the food industry by taking the unwanted bananas and transforming them into quality skin care.

For more information and to purchase, visit us.kadalys.com and follow on Instagram: @kadalys_us

[Images courtesy of Kadalys]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk