Green Beauty: Avocado Treatment Masks for Hands, Face and Hair -- Dig It?

If I followed Kim Kardashian on Twitter, I'd maybe have picked up a useful tip ages ago. You see, aside from guacamole, my favourite way to enjoy avocados is mashed on toast and seasoned with salt and pepper. Makes me so happy! Having to throw away an avocado because I didn't get to it in time -- that makes me unhappy. But no more. None of us ever has to throw away an unused avocado again. Instead, like the soon-to-be Mrs. Kardashian-West, and a fun group of beauty bloggers I met earlier this week at an event I hosted for avocados from Mexico, we can whip up avocado treatment masks for hands, face and hair. Oh, and an avocado sugar scrub, too.

I'm kind of still on a high from Monday night's event for avocados from Mexico. So. Much. Fun! Held at Tips Nail Bar on the Danforth, the evening was all about sharing tips for avocado beauty treatments with a delightful and enthusiastic group of Toronto-based beauty bloggers. Sassy Miss Ava Cado (above) greeted attendees at the door. (I dig her eye makeup.)

On hand: delicious avocado-based snacks created by Root Cellar (I wished for a takeout container).

Also on hand: an avocado mask made of pureed ripe avocado, egg white, oatmeal and lemon juice. That's Sally Hansen nail expert Melissa Forrest smoothing the mask onto Anita from I Want I Got.

As the always-amazing Tips team applied the avocado hand mask on each guest, I shared the following avocado beauty treatment facts:

• avocados are rich in fatty acids and antioxidants Vitamin C and E
• avocado oil is produced via pressing the avocado pulp rather than the seed
• avocado oil is very easy for the skin to absorb; it's a common ingredient in lip balms and skincare
• avocados are a source of biotin, which helps to temper dry hair, skin and nails (makes a hand mask so perfect)
• according to The Daily Mail, Victoria Beckham likes to brighten her skin with a nighttime mask of avocado and apricot (the reporter tried it and had a dermatologist evaluate her results)
• avocado oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil (that's for foodies)

Interestingly, the subject of avocado beauty treatments seemed timely for our attendees, several of whom told me they were hungry for natural beauty recipes. More info at the end of this post. (Above: Jenna from The Beauty Team, Dose columnist/Drafted correspondent Bianca, Marni of Blogged Pores, Maggie of Beauty PhD, Victoria from The Beauty Team, Stephanie of Leopard is a Neutral, and Daniela, who contributes to This Beautiful Day.)

And this avocado hand mask really delivered. Even the Tips team (I love them so much) was totally into it; that's Oksana (above) massaging some into her own hands after applying it on Catherine of BeautySquared.

Look how bright and soft Meredith's skin looks post-treatment! Here's her take on our avocados from Mexico evening.

Here's the recipe from Miss Ava Cado (details on MissAvaCado.ca). Those finished fingertips belong to Rema of The Burgundy Book.

Great manis post-avocado hand treatments. (Above from left to right: Anita; Daniela (dots!); Lélo from With Lelo (more dots!); omigosh I don't remember who these pretty Alchemie nails belong to! Please remind me! Doh! It's Liz from Beauty Reductionista; Marni; and Katelyn from The Skinny Blonde Girl (she has the most luminous skin).

This shimmering green and gold ombré mani by Nargis belongs to Erica of Everything Beautiful.

This is the lovely Heather Watterworth, who I hadn't seen in ages; so good to see you, Heather!

Amanda from Heartless Girl, one of the lovely ladies I met for the first time that evening (she didn't seem heartless to me).

That's Rema and Stephanie (hi ladies!). My skin is shiny super-glowy; I attribute it to the avocado hand treatment which I had on my face shortly before the event. Why not? The hand mask is similar to this avocado face mask for oily skin; mine felt so soft after I rinsed the mask off. (I'm wearing a bit of Dr. Jart SPF 45 BB cream and my new obsession Maybelline Color Elixir in Vision in Violet on my cheeks and lips; I'd meant to apply a little MAC Blot Powder, too, but got distracted by all the avocado fun.)

And this is Liz from Beauty Reductionista (she admits here that she was an avocado skeptic). Her gorgeous wavy hair is a lot like my natural texture -- better, I think. I also met Jess of Ever After Lacquer (several of us encouraged her to post on how she organizes her massive collection of nail polish); Dani Goddard of Girls of TO; Melissa Doyle of For the Love of the City; Sandra of Moms Makeup Stash (she has young daughters who should be game to play Avocado Spa); Vicky of Mom Who Runs (now I can't help but think about running again); and Dee of Liner Glitter Gloss, who I spotted backstage at World Mastercard Fashion Week, and finally chatted with here. (I so hope I haven't missed anyone!)

I know, seriously long post. But I wanted to share a screen wave with everyone who attended the avocados from Mexico event, as well as to Pereina from Faye Clack (and Sabrina and Caroline) who organized the campaign; Sandy, who was key in pulling the evening together; Leeanne Colley, Revlon nail expert and owner of Tips, and the entire Tips team, who welcomed us into their beautiful salon. Thanks, too, to Root Cellar (yum), and Revlon and Sally Hansen for providing attendee treats.

Gorgeous little Paisley here is totes down with avocado beauty, see? (She's my friend Dinah's granddaughter -- so cute!) Try Miss Ava Cado's avocado hair mask and avocado face mask for dry skin. And don't stop there: once you know what other ingredients can do, you can mix and match as you like. For instance:

• oatmeal soothes and moisturizes, and acts as a gentle exfoliant as you rub the  mask off when you rinse
• yogurt, cream and sour cream contain lactic acid, which hydrates and exfoliates, too
• pumpkin also has exfoliating properties, and it's plentiful right now
• honey attracts moisture to the skin and helps a mask stay where you put it, too (a few drops of water will help cut the stickiness)
• olive oil or argan oil will add conditioning benefits and help make a hair mask easier to manipulate
• coconut oil is an excellent addition; it can actually penetrate the hair shaft
• brown sugar + avocado puree should make a great moisturizing scrub for hands and body (this was inspired by manicurist Oksana's tip that she uses avocado oil and sugar as a a scrub; avocado puree would leave less oil in the sink or tub)

Would you try an avocado beauty treatment? What would you put in your recipe?