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!

Review: Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque

Perhaps I'm the last to jump on the bandwagon with this product, but I recently discovered Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque. While I had heard plenty of rave reviews on it in the Youtube community, I could never seem to find it until recently, when I popped into Walgreens and it was there! It's certainly a low-price object (only $3.99) and was practically hidden on the bottom shelf below tons of more expensive drugstore skin care products.

However, this Masque needs to be more properly advertised. It is quite possibly the best facial mask I've used in years and I'm almost convinced it works on all skin types. The Masque was originally made for people with oily, acne-prone skin, but is not too harsh for those who have normal or even dry skin. Queen Helene (the manufacturer) claims that the Masque will dry up acne, pull out blackheads, and shrink pores (my BIGGEST skin problem). Another great thing about the Mint Julep Masque is that it's 100% Vegan, meaning it is not tested on animals nor does it contain any animal products. Vegan skin care can be outrageously expensive, but this Masque is reasonably priced and ethically made.

The Mint Julep Masque is your typical, classic facial mask with minty green coloring and all. After applying it, you need to let it sit until it dries (the bottle recommends 15 minutes. I sat for 20-25 minutes, but it had hardened in 10 minutes). The formula smells very minty (Vannesa said it reminded her of toothpaste, but not in an unpleasant way) and is extremely thick in consistency. Before applying the Masque, I washed my face with my favorite Neutrogena Oil-Free face wash to get rid of my makeup and any surface dirt.

A quick shot of the Masque before application.

Just after applying the masque.

The masque's packaging.

After applying the Masque, I experienced an intense cooling sensation and could literally feel my pores shrinking. As the Masque dried, it did become very stiff and at some points I felt like I couldn't really move my facial muscles because my skin was tight. I don't think this is a bad thing at all, but I could see how it might freak some people out.

The Masque is all dry! It only took about 10 minutes.

According to the Masque's packaging, you can remove it with warm water and a washcloth. I, however, removed it in the shower, and I think it came out just fine. Once I towel-dried my face, I was impressed to see that the masque had not dried out my skin, but rather shrunk my enormous pores and greatly reduced the size of a pimple I'd been struggling with (said pimple is now gone. Yay!).

After picture! You might not be able to really see, but my pores looked MUCH smaller and my skin just looks firmer and healthier.

Obviously, I would clearly recommend this product. I have absolutely NO complaints about it. In fact, I'm going to go buy another 5 tubes right now so I don't have to worry about running out!

Beauty Basic #1: Love the Skin You're in

I kind of think that this goes without saying, but nevertheless...

Treat your skin with the utmost respect!

I mean, seriously, you only get one. If you don't take care of it, you will regret it. Undergoing fancy medical procedures when you're 40 because your skin looks like it's 80 is not fun, chic, or affordable. Plus, procedures like face lifts, resurfacing, and laser treatments have long, painful recovery times.

So to keep things simple, just spoil the heck out of your skin now. It'll help you in the long run.

Need another good reason to keep your skin healthy? No matter how much makeup you use, it is almost impossible to cover up heavily damaged skin. Not to mention the fact that makeup can clog pores and agitate super-sensitive skin.

There are several things you can do to keep your skin healthy. Firstly, drink a ton of water! Water is the best treat you can give your skin. It makes it soft to the touch and gives it a healthy glow. Coffee and soda are not so good for your skin as they can dehydrate you.

Berries are also a great food to incorporate into your diet. The antioxidants found in berries have been shown to help flush out your system and the berries themselves contain great vitamins for your skin. I would highly recommend blueberries! Mix some with low-fat yogurt and some granola (for those of you who crave a crunch) and you've got a yummy, skin-healthy snack.

But if you're looking for a full-on skin care regiment, pull up a chair and get comfy. My routine is not exactly short, but it's as simple as it can get..

First, let me point out that while this skin care regiment works for me, it might not necessarily work for you based on your skin type. For the most part, I have normal to dry skin. Soo.. if you're someone with oily skin, the moisturizers I use could be too thick for your skin and could result in breakouts. In these cases, I will try to make suggestions for other skin types.

Before I brush my teeth every morning, I wash my face with Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash (listed as $5.49 on the Neutrogena website). I really love this face wash because it has a very neutral scent -- good for guys and girls -- and doesn't strip my skin too much of it's natural moisture. Still, I find it very effective and my face always feels clean and smooth after using it.

I'll be honest.. I rarely use a moisturizer during the day on my face. I spend a lot of my time walking from class to class, and I feel that when I'm outside, my makeup tends to slide all over my face if I have a moisturizer on. However, during the winter, it is a necessity and I constantly reach for mark.'s Matte Chance Moisturizer ($16.00). This moisturizer is lightweight, so I really don't feel it on my face, yet I know it works because I don't get chapped skin.

I do recommend using a primer underneath your makeup because it forms a barrier between your skin and concealer or foundation. L'Oreal Studio Secrets' Magic Perfect Base (usually about $12) is extremely creamy so you only need to use a little bit at a time. This means that the tiny little jar it comes in can easily last you five months.

I cannot stress the next step enough: ALWAYS wear sunscreen. Find a good formula with little to no smell that is oil-free like Neutrogena's or even Copper Tone and wear it every day. Your skin will thank you by being firm and wrinkle-free when you hit your mid-to-late 20s. The sun can really damage your skin more than you realize, so sunscreen is always the way to go. Some foundation formulas contain SPF. Use these foundations if you don't want to put pure sunscreen on your face!

Depending on how tired I am at night and how heavy my makeup is, I may or may not reach for makeup remover before showering. If my makeup is extremely dramatic, I use Boots Expert Sensitive Gentle Eye Make Up Remover ($5.49 at Target) with a cotton ball allover my face before hopping in the shower. This is a formula that I find needs to be washed off quickly though, because it can feel rather oily on the skin.

If my day makeup is still on, and therefore not really dramatic I use Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Cream Cleanser to wipe everything off in the shower. It smells fantastic and has a very silky feel to it.

I'm a big fan of Bath and Body Works so I have like three of their shower gels in my shower at a time, and just alternate days with them. Definitely use a loofah in the shower to scrub off dead skin cells and keep your skin healthy looking. I'd recommend getting a new loofah once every four or five months because it'll lose its roughness over time, and then instead of scraping off dead skin cells, you're really just moving them around. Eww!

Just before I get out of the shower, I really love to use Neutrogena's Deep Clean Relaxing Nightly Scrub ($7.99 and yes, I clearly love Neutrogena). It removes any remaining dirt and smells so relaxing.. definitely the best thing to use before going to bed.

Immediately after showering, I'd recommend using a body lotion on your legs and arms to lock in moisture. For me, my legs and arms get particularly dry, but if you have other dry areas, use the body lotion there as well. At the moment, I'm loving Bath and Body Works' Dark Kisses, but since all of their scents are fab and I like to use them all, I'd recommend stocking up on their travel sized bottles ($5 or 3 for $10, but they also go on sale during the semi-annual sales). These travel sized bottles are also available when new scents are about to premiere and only cost $1 then!

When I do break out, I normally use Neutrogena's On-the-Spot Treatment ($6.99) before bed, before putting on concealer, and in the mid-afternoon. It's really important to not pick at pimples though, because they can easily get worse or start to hurt.

So that's basically how I take care of my skin. If you have any questions or want some beauty banter, leave a comment!