7 Watermelon Beauty Products to Help You Celebrate National Watermelon Day

The summer fruit is quickly becoming a beauty hero ingredient — and for good reason.

Watermelon has always been synonymous with summer, thanks to the fact that it’s crazy-hydrating and refreshing (it is 92 percent water, after all) and, of course, because it’s delicious. The latter quality aside, the first clue that watermelon might make a great beauty product ingredient is simply the fact that our skin, like the rest of our body, needs hydration. But we don’t need to tell that to anyone who’s ever experienced a long, cold Canadian winter. But more than just the hydration factor, watermelon is full of ingredients that can do wonders for your skin. Like citrulline, for example. It’s an amino acid that improves blood circulation and acts as a natural exfoliator. And lycopene, an anti-inflammatory, which means it can reduce puffiness and redness in your skin, as can vitamins C, A, and B6, all found in watermelon. And since watermelon is full of antioxidants, it can be used to protect your skin from free radicals and treat fine lines, which is why new watermelon beauty products continue to pop up on the shelves of beauty stores.

And it’s not just skin that can benefit from watermelon’s benefits. The fruit can actually have a plumping effect on hair, too, because of how hydrating it is.

The fruit has been used in natural remedies for ages (like rubbing watermelon rind onto inflamed skin to get its soothing properties), but one beauty product really reintroduced watermelon as a beauty hero. Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask, which became one of the most-hyped beauty products of 2017, selling out countless times at Sephora — including the day it launched. In fact, it became Sephora’s best-selling mask that year.

Now, not only has Glow Recipe released a series of new watermelon products (including the brand’s first foray into body care earlier this year), but plenty of other brands got the watermelon beauty memo. We’ve rounded up our faves below.

Garnier Fructis 3-in-1 Watermelon Extract Mask

This one-minute weekly hair treatment can be used as a mask, a leave-in treatment or a conditioner, for an extra boost of moisture that we all need in the summer.

Aceology Hydro Glow & Deep Hydration Watermelon Eye Mask

This refreshing cocktail of vitamin C-rich watermelon extract and aloe vera leaf extract is a great pick-me-up for your under-eye area.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Dream Body Cream

Fun fact: according to founders Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, this lotion was inspired by the Korean tradition of rubbing chilled watermelon rind onto skin to soothe irritation and help cool down heat rash in the summer.

Milk Makeup Watermelon Serum Stick

Milk Makeup’s serum in stick form is must for on-the-go hydration.

Su-Man Refining Facial Polish

This exfoliator is loaded with watermelon, papaya and pomegranate extracts to gently buff away dead skin cells. Sienna Miller is said to be a big fan.

Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel

Bet you didn’t know that everyone’s favourite daytime hydrating gel is made with watermelon rind to plump and soothe skin.

Lancer Method Body Cleanse

Celeb dermatologist Dr. Harold Lancer is known for his skin-changing products — which don’t stop at the neck. This body wash is made with a trio of nourishing watermelon seed oil, marula oil, and kigelia fruit extracts to keep skin supple and soft after the shower.