Pumpkin season is here and as much as we have fn carving them for Halloween, they're great for using in your beauty routine too.
Pumpkin is filled with plenty of beauty-boosting ingredients that your skin will love, and the fact that its natural means there is plenty of natural benefits and its good for all skin types too.
Packed with more than your daily dose of vitamin A, plus plenty of vitamin C, potassium, a special blend of antioxidants and its moisturising texture altogether mean that pumpkin is the perfect product to use on skin and hair.
Not only is it packed with disease and wrinkle-fighting ingredients, but it smells heavenly and is safe for most skin types.
Once you’ve used pumpkin in your beauty routine you’ll only be upset that you didn’t start sooner. They're rich in plenty of different nutrients, including zinc, magnesium, copper and potassium, as well as vitamins A, K and C. Pumpkins are also rich in beta-carotene, which is known for its sun protection properties.
Here’s how to use pumpkin in your beauty routine:
Table of Contents
Body scrub
Get rid of dead skin cells and reveal a youthful skin tone with this pumpkin body scrub.
Combine the wrinkle-fighting vitamin A in pumpkin, the exfoliating properties of the enzyme papain in papaya and the moisture-locking characteristics of honey and you’ve got a recipe for skin success.
Recipe: Mix fresh pumpkin with honey, papaya and sugar and apply to areas of the skin that are rough and dry and massage the mixture in for a minute or two and rinse.
Face mask
The brown sugar and yoghurt are exfoliants that will slough away dead skin cells, while honey is a humectant that absorbs water from the ait and naturally moisturises the skin.
Recipe: Mix together one cup of pumpkin, two tablespoons of brown sugar, one tablespoon of honey and half a cup of yoghurt. Spread on a thin coating with your fingertips or a cotton pad and leave on skin for 8-10 minutes.
Body moisturiser
Create a moisturiser that you use in the shower with the combination of pumpkin and coconut oil, it can be pretty messy so apply whilst you're in the shower, let it penetrate the skin and then rinse off.
Hair Mask
Leave your hair feeling soft, supple and nourished by combining pumpkin with honey and coconut oil and leaving it on hair for 20 minutes or so. You'll want to do this before you wash and condition your hair.
Facial peel
High in zinc and vitamins C and A, this gourd-like squash helps help and protect the skin from free radicals, all the while gently dissolving dead skin cells. The addition of the egg helps to bind the face mask together while also nourishing and lifting the skin.
Recipe: Whisk together about 150g of pumpkin and one egg. Mix in either a splash of apple cider of cranberry juice and slather the mixture on your face. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes and rinse off for a more refreshed complexion.
Don’t forget the seeds...
Rich in monounsaturated fats, magnesium and zinc these seeds shouldn’t be wasted. Instead sprinkle them with olive oil, season and pop them in the oven for a crunchy and skin-healthy snack. Since zinc is a big part of the cell metabolism process getting your daily dose ensures all your cells maintain collagen and turn over at a normal rate, all the while protecting against cell damage and UV radiation.