Who Knew? Pumpkins are Good for the Skin!

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I work as a resident assistant at my university and part of my job is planning fun social programs for my residents (40 freshman girls) to help them meet each other and get involved in their residence hall. Basically, make their campus living experience super awesome and super fun!

This month, I wanted to plan a Halloween-themed social to go along with this month’s festivities. But decorating the hall was too bland, and carving pumpkins was too messy, so it was back to the drawing board for my program idea. While surfing the web for fun party ideas, I discovered that pumpkins are fantastic for your skin!

Pumpkins are considered a “miracle food” for skin. They contain vitamins A and C as well as Zinc, all of which are anti-oxidants and help purify the skin and body of toxins. These toxins present themselves on your skin through acne, rough or dry patches, or discoloration. However, the minerals found in pumpkin can easily help clear up these skin problems.

So, I decided to Google ‘pumpkin skin care’ and dozens of websites popped up. Among the first three were recipes for DIY skin care projects like a pumpkin pie face mask, sugar and spice body scrub, and a cracked heel balm – all of which had pumpkin listed as the main ingredient. And that’s when it hit me: my social for the month had to be Girls’ Pumpkin Spa Night!

The skin care recipes only call for common ingredients, ones that can easily be pulled out of any refrigerator or cabinet, and are super simple to make. The recipes are as follows:

Pumpkin Pie Face Mask (found HERE)

2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon milk (or whipping cream, if your skin is very dry)

1. Combine ingredients and apply to a clean face with gentle circular motions, avoiding the area around your eyes.

2. Allow mask to remain on skin for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water, pat dry, and apply your usual moisturizer.

Sugar and Spice Body Scrub (found HERE)

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1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl.

2. Stand in a tub or shower stall and use a damp washcloth to scoop some of the mixture up. Apply to body, starting with your feet and working your way up, but avoiding your face. Scrub gently using circular motions.

3. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Cracked Heel Balm (found HERE)

Mix Pumpkin and Vaseline in equal quantity and massage on your clean washed heels regularly. You'll soon see the result.

I tried each of these the other night and was quite impressed! My favorite was the scrub, which I applied before actually getting into the shower, and let it sit as I brushed my teeth. When I washed it off, my skin felt soft and smelled warm (kind of like amber soaps do) and yummy. The brown sugar definitely helps exfoliate your skin, but I would consider adding more if you have particularly oily skin.

The pumpkin pie face mask smells fantastic and helped reduce redness on my face. I would recommend blending it very thoroughly before use though, because it can get clumpy and then slide off your face. To make it a more deep cleansing mask, add brown sugar until it's grainy. You can also add whipped cream to make it more soothing.

The cracked heel balm definitely makes your heels softer (I'd recommend usage if you're obsessed with flip flops like I am because they can really damage the soles of your feet), but make sure to leave plenty of time for it to set in before walking anywhere as the balm can be very slick and slippery.

Celebrate the fall by making your own pumpkin skin care products! It's far more cost efficient, better for your skin and body (because it's all natural) and simply just fun!