The Japanese name Edamame is commonly used in America to refer to a dish prepared by boiling green soybeans in the pod, before they ripen.  The Japanese name literally means "twig bean", and is a reference to the short stem attached to the pod. Edamame is becoming a fad dish in many restaurants and sports bars.  ( By the way, you don't eat the pod, just the beans inside.)

Why?  It's a good question, but I have no answer. It could be because soy, and therefore soybeans, has gained a lot of favor as a "health food".. Soybeans certainly are a healthy food to eat, but what about for your skin?

Well, as you can imagine, soy has found its way into many skin treatments and even into cosmetics. Many cosmetic companies are adding soy to their preparations and they promote it for clear skin.  "Soy is fairly cheap, and it does some good," according to

Dr. Ramsey Markus of Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Dermatology. Soy is very helpful in lightening skin color, smoothing skin texture after sun damage and slowing hair growth.  The slowing of hair growth can reduce the need to shave as often, and that may lead to better looking skin in the long term.  You can find a good article on how to use soy in a homemade recipe for lightening dark circles under the eye by visiting this blog Beauty and Personal Grooming.

Soy is very unlikely to cause allergic problems in adults, but you should be careful the first time you experiment with it.  If you are prone to allergies, you want to  make a paste of soy flour, or blend some beans and apply a small amount to the inside of your forearm and see if there is a reaction of any kind.

The bottom line is soy protein is great for the skin.  Creative ways to use edamame for skin health are easy to think of, if you have edamame and a blender.  Go for it, and use natural and inexpensive skin treatments.