Cosmetics trend claims food that's good inside is good for skin

For Jean Halter of Odessa, Del., a facial is the ultimate way to pamper yourself. Make it a chocolate facial, and we're talking stairway-to-heaven stuff for the self-confessed chocoholic.

"I don't even now how to describe it," Halter says of the facial she received at the La Dolce Vita Spa for Wellness in Middletown, Del. "It was very relaxing, number one, and smelled scrumptious. It was a really neat experience, and I'm going to ask for another one."

Her food-infused beauty treat is just one of many culinary-influenced products and services flooding the market.

Generations ago, beauty care often consisted of mashing food at home and slathering it on, in the hope of creating tighter skin or shinier hair. Now beauty products and venues are commercializing that idea, incorporating fruits, vegetables and even chocolate and wine.

In Minneapolis, as Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Intelligent Nutrients, works on his new cosmetics line, he occasionally pours some of his ingredients into a glass, tops it with mineral water and drinks it.

This isn't a case of Dr. Jekyll trying his strange brews on himself. Rechelbacher uses organic, high-grade food in his line that includes cosmetics, hair care and soaps.

Rechelbacher's line is the pinnacle of beauty's return to the basics, because all of the ingredients contain no chemicals or artificial preservatives.

A return to basics

It's a trend, Rechelbacher says, but a trend driven by knowledge.

"We are constantly educating ourselves," he says. "We are getting smarter."

"I think that the pendulum just swings ... and right now it's swinging in the direction of going back to the basics of skin care," says Devon Tucker, owner of Covet Spa in Greenville, Del.

Margie Hartnett, owner of Visions Hair Design, an Aveda concept salon in Wilmington, Del., that carries Intelligent Nutrients products, believes people are becoming more health-oriented.

Antioxidants are the buzzword in food and beauty for their anti-aging benefits. Thus, food products high in antioxidants, such as dark chocolate, wine, fruits, vegetables and teas, also are popular in beauty products.

Vitamins such as C and E and enzymes found in foods like pumpkins, avocados and papayas give a kick to your skin, Hartnett says.

"If you want your hair, body and skin to look better, you have to start from within," says Hartnett.

A handful of Intelligent Nutrients' supplements is available, but a full line of products - including hair care, makeup, pet-care products, personal lubricants and maternity products - will be launched this fall, says Rechelbacher, who plans to open stores in New York and Minnesota's Mall of America.

Rechelbacher says 98 percent of the ingredients in his line are "high-nutritional" substances, with the remaining 2 percent made up of water.

Chocolate is useful in beauty treatments because its caffeine stimulates the metabolism.

"When you smell chocolate," says Chris Sateriale, the owner of La Dolce Vita, "it releases serotonin in the brain and it causes a sensation that is a positive association."

At Covet Spa, the services sound like you've landed in an ice cream shop, with Cherries Jubilee and Pumpkin on the menu.

Tucker says she did a lot of research before creating a mask using unsweetened cocoa powder and cinnamon mixed with the hydrating mineral mask and aloe vera gel from the Epicurean skin line she carries.

"My philosophy is to get back to the root of good skin care while staying at the leading edge of technology," Tucker says.

(c) 2008, USA TODAY International. Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.