Angela Bassett has always been goals: body goals, relationship goals, and skin goals. You just look at her and she exudes sexiness, beauty, sophistication and intelligence all in one. Bassett’s glow as a 65-year-old woman is legendary. Her body and her skin are like that of a woman half her age. But how does she do it? She shares a few secrets.
Even though she helped create a whole line of skincare, Bassett still swears by a pantry staple: coconut oil.
But what makes coconut oil so alluring? About 65% of coconut oil’s composition is medium-chain fatty acids, and they’re partially the reason why coconut oil is beneficial to your skin. Based on what dermatologists and research studies have found, certain medium-chain fatty acids like lauric acid and linoleic acid are the heavy hitters in coconut oil. “I always put on coconut oil—skin is the biggest organ!” Bassett told the New York Times.
One of the best things about coconut oil is that it’s natural. To get the most out of it, you’ll want to use pure, unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil. This is because cold-pressed coconut oil doesn’t use heat in the preparation process and maintains more of its nutrients.
But even though it’s natural, coconut oil isn’t for everyone. But it could be worth trying if you’re looking to add a hydration boost to your skin without any added ingredients or chemicals.
(Photo credit: @im.angelabassett IG)
In a viral 2018 video from her “Mission Impossible Fallout” press tour, Bassett revealed exactly what she eats. “Monday, Tuesday, I may eat carbs [small portions of breads or pasta], fruit; Tuesday, Wednesday, protein, veggies—veggies every day—no fats those four days, and then the last three days, I flood it with fat,” she said. “Good fat, though: maybe coconut oil, salmon, almonds, almond butter, you know, olive oil, that sort of thing.” “I don’t do any dairy, all right?” Bassett said during her press tour. “I don’t do any bread flour. I’ll do Ezekiel bread, which is sprouted.” “I just found this P28 [High] Protein Bread and I add tuna fish with yogurt, Dijon mustard, a little paprika and pepper, a couple of olives, and red bell pepper. It’s protein with protein. So you’ve got a sandwich without feeling guilty!”
Besides what she puts on her skin or in her body, Bassett credits the love of her body to the love she has for her family and the health struggles they’ve had. “I lost my mother to heart disease as a result of type 2 diabetes and only learned of the connection years later,” Bassett told Prevention.com. That’s why she sees her doctor every year for an annual checkup, and if something doesn’t feel right, she speaks up not only for herself, but for those around her.
“I have always been committed to practicing health and wellness, and now that I know and understand the link between type 2 diabetes and heart disease, as well as my family’s history, it empowers me to maintain control of my health.” “For me, losing my mother was a wake-up call to start talking about the risk of heart disease with my family members who also have type 2 diabetes, like my uncle Ralph,” she added.
(Photo credit: @im.angelabassett IG)[/caption]
On an episode of the “Tamron Hall Show”, Bassett appeared with her longtime esthetician Mamie McDonald. McDonald created the popular Skin by Mamie and is the woman behind the skin of “Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi, Mary J. Blige, Tasha Smith, and even Tamron Hall.
RELATED: Angela Bassett’s Body Secret at 63: “You Have To Keep It Interesting…”
In the segment, McDonald explained some of the various regimens she likes to bring out that natural glow of your skin.
While she admitted Bassett’s skin relies heavily on her good genes passed down from generation to generation, she still shared some keys to how Bassett keeps it looking tight and right without surgery. She also gave tips on how we can keep our skin looking just as good.
She suggests using a mask three times a week if your skin is really oily, and twice a week if your skin is in need of hydration.
In 2016, Bassett teamed up with celebrity skin specialist Dr. Barbara Sturm to create a skincare line for women of color, called the Dr. Barbara Sturm Darker Skin Tones line. “Skin is skin, but African American skin has particular attributes,” Bassett told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s robust and thicker.”
“We have natural sunscreen. It can be oily, which can aid you as you get older. It has a lot going for it, but we can also get hyperpigmentation in the sun. So we are trying to deal with various color differentials in our skin. And the keloid scarring, if you’re prone to that, can cause any little scratch to become something. So we address those sensitivities.”
RELATED: Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance: “God Brought Us Together”
Bassett told the Times that she uses a “cleanser, hyaluronic serum, light cream, and Dr. Sturm eye cream” on a typical day. “I always put on coconut oil—skin is the biggest organ!” she added. Besides the things you can do on the outside like creating a great face mask, staying hydrating, etc, Bassett said one crucial gem she lives by to stay beautiful:
“It’s your frame of mind,” she said. “It’s your mind, your mental state. We all have the capacity to be as beautiful or as ugly as we choose. It starts from the inside.”
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