Skincare Is Going Bananas: Here’s What Really Works

Raw Banana Skincare: Do Viral Trends Really Work?

Banana Peels

Let’s start with the trend most likely to show up on your social media feed: people rubbing banana peels directly onto their skin.

Many of these posts tout banana peels as being a miracle ingredient, with posters claiming banana peels can solve a number of skin issues including:

• Lines and Wrinkles: Some posters claim Banana peels can smooth wrinkles and tighten skin (with some falsely call banana peels “nature’s Botox”).
• Dark Undereye Circles: Influencers claim the use of banana peels (often cut into “eye patches”) can lighten dark circles and minimize puffiness.
• Acne: Posts claim banana peel application can help with acne by reducing oil production.
• Pigmentation: Others claim peels have the power to address hyperpigmentation and even acne scars.
• Eczema and Psoriasis: Claims of bananas curing chronic skin issues like eczema or psoriasis are exaggerated and false. Even worse, applying raw food products like banana peels to already inflamed, cracked, or compromised skin could cause additional irritation.

It’s easy to understand how these claims took off. Bananas do contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other plant compounds, so it is easy to understand where some of these skincare claims originate. The problem is that a food containing a beneficial nutrient does not necessarily mean rubbing that food onto your skin will deliver that nutrient in a stable, absorbable, or clinically effective form.

Currently, there is no good scientific evidence showing that rubbing raw banana peel on the skin produces meaningful skincare benefits. However, there is no evidence that rubbing the peel onto your face effectively delivers those antioxidants to the skin.

Banana Masks

Instead of rubbing the peel over the skin, another popular DIY treatment involves mashing the banana into a homemade face mask.

These recipes may combine bananas with honey, yogurt, oatmeal, turmeric, aloe, or other household ingredients. These masks are frequently promoted for hydration, glowing skin, acne, wrinkles, and collagen production.

Mashed bananas may leave dry skin temporarily feeling softer. As with banana peels, however, there is little evidence that a homemade banana mask stimulates collagen or produces significant long-term changes in the skin.

The Final Verdict On Raw Banana Skincare

Bananas may be great for breakfast, but there is little reason to add raw bananas or banana peels to your skincare routine.

The problem is not necessarily that banana plants contain nothing beneficial. In fact, they contain several compounds researchers find quite interesting.

The real problem is delivery. Even if bananas contain potentially beneficial compounds, rubbing a peel or mashed banana on your face does not mean those compounds can penetrate the skin in meaningful amounts.

Your skin is designed to act as a barrier. Without proper extraction and formulation, most of the compounds in raw bananas simply remain on the surface rather than reaching the layers of skin where they would need to act.

This distinction leads us to a much more interesting area of banana skincare.

Banana Extracts: Banana As a Skincare Ingredient

Raw bananas contain beneficial properties, but topical application cannot deliver them to the skin. So, what happens when those compounds are extracted and added to a skincare formula? This is where banana skincare starts to become more interesting.

What Is Banana Extract?

Banana-derived extracts can be made from several parts of the plant, including the fruit, peel, leaf, and stem. These extracts may contain antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids, and other naturally occurring plant compounds that can provide real benefits to the skin.

Why Extracts Are More Viable Than Raw Banana

Once again, the difference comes down to delivery.

Extraction allows specific compounds from the banana plant to be isolated or concentrated. Those ingredients can then be incorporated into a skincare formula designed to keep them stable and help deliver them to the skin.

However, simply seeing “banana extract” on an ingredient list does not guarantee results. The specific extract matters: banana fruit, peel, leaf, and stem can contain different compounds, and the extraction method, concentration, and finished formulation can all influence how an ingredient performs.

Do Banana Extracts Really Work?

Laboratory and animal research has explored several properties of banana-derived extracts and compounds that may be relevant to skin health, including:

• Antioxidant activity: Helping defend against oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
• Anti-inflammatory effects: Certain banana-derived compounds may help influence inflammatory pathways.
• Antimicrobial activity: Some extracts have demonstrated activity against bacteria and other microorganisms in laboratory studies.
• Skin repair: Banana-derived materials have also been investigated for their potential role in wound healing and tissue repair.

These findings are interesting, but most of the research is still preliminary. Much of it involves cell testing in laboratory settings rather than large clinical trials on human skin.

The Verdict on Banana Extracts

More promising than rubbing a banana on your face, but not all banana extracts are created equal.

There is legitimate scientific interest in compounds found throughout the banana plant. The challenge is identifying which compounds are beneficial, extracting them effectively, and getting them where they need to go in the skin.

One particular part of the banana plant is now getting attention for exactly that reason: banana stem sap.

Banana Stem Sap: The Most Promising Form of Banana Skincare

Banana stem sap is very different from the fruit or peel you find at the grocery store.

Banana plants do not actually have a woody tree trunk. Instead, they grow from a thick structure called a pseudostem, formed by tightly overlapping leaf sheaths. Sap collected from this part of the banana plant contains a variety of naturally occurring plant compounds that could be highly beneficial for skin health.

Recently, this sap has begun attracting attention as a potential skincare ingredient.

What Benefits Could Banana Stem Sap Provide?

Early research has focused primarily on the potential effect of banana stem sap on:

• Collagen production
• Collagen breakdown
• Skin hydration
• Skin barrier function
• Inflammatory signaling
• Skin elasticity and firmness

One skincare company at the forefront of banana stem sap research is Tano Skincare, which uses stem sap from Musa balbisiana in its skincare formulations. The sap is collected and processed before being incorporated into a professionally formulated product.

What Does The Research Show?

Early research on banana stem sap has produced some promising results, particularly around collagen, hydration, and skin elasticity.

In third-party laboratory testing commissioned by Tano Skincare, banana sap increased collagen production in cultured skin cells by as much as 324% over baseline. Testing also suggests banana sap may help reduce the activity of enzymes that break down collagen and support pathways related to skin structure and barrier function.

It is important to put these findings in perspective. A 324% increase in collagen production in a laboratory does not mean using banana sap will increase the collagen in your face by 324%. These tests show that the ingredient has biological activity worth studying, but human skin is much more complex.

Tano has also tested finished skincare products containing banana stem sap. The company reports its Age Well Face Cream produced a 33% increase in hydration after 30 minutes, a 50% improvement in hydration after four weeks, and a 16% improvement in skin elasticity.

These early results are encouraging, but more independent human research is needed to determine how much of the benefit can be attributed specifically to banana stem sap and how it compares with more established skincare ingredients.

The Verdict on Banana Stem Sap

Banana sap studied than generic banana extracts and shows real promise.

Unlike raw banana skincare, and many loosely defined banana extracts, banana stem sap has been properly evaluated at specific concentrations in controlled laboratory testing and has also been incorporated into finished skincare products that have undergone hydration and elasticity testing.

Early findings do show benefits to collagen production, collagen preservation, hydration, elasticity, and skin barrier support; all of which are intriguing. However, banana stem sap is still an emerging ingredient, and more independent human clinical research is needed to determine how well these benefits translate to long-term use and how it compares with established skincare ingredients like retinol.

Noet Avila is a Board Certified Physician Assistant with a special interest in medical dermatology. She attended PA school at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas, where she earned her masters in Physician Assistant Studies. Since graduating from PA school in 2024, she has worked exclusively in dermatology, gaining valuable knowledge and experience in diagnosing and treating a wide variety of dermatologic conditions. She is dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based care and strives to make every patient feel heard, comfortable, and confident in their treatment plan.

Disclaimer: The contents of the Westlake Dermatology website, including text, graphics, and images, are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for direct medical advice from your physician or other qualified professional.