The time of year has arrived. Pumpkin finds its way into everything from coffee to ice cream. And while it certainly adds a festive autumnal flair to our pantries and scented candles, it does even more for our skin. Naturally packed with vitamins nutrients that are proven to be beneficial to our health, pumpkin can leave your skin softer, brighter, and noticeably younger.
What sets pumpkin apart
Pumpkin does a wondrous job at toning and tightening your skin. This is largely due to the fact that it is naturally rich in alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). AHAs act as an exfoliant, sloughing away dead skin cells and raising healthy new cells to the skin’s surface, which reduces pore size and rids skin of impurities.
On top of that, pumpkin is also loaded with beta carotene. Beta carotene gives the colorful orange pigments to pumpkins, carrots, and squash. Our body converts this into vitamin A (otherwise known as retinol), which has been proven to help plump surface wrinkles by boosting collagen production. Retinol is also known to lighten brown spots, fight UV radiation, and combat acne. Vitamin A is so powerful, in fact, that it is often seen as the gold standard of anti-aging vitamins.
Pumpkin is also a potent antioxidant, which helps contribute to its ability to increase collagen production. Antioxidants also provide protection from environmental pollutants, like free radicals.. Free radical damage, caused by both UV rays and pollution, is the number one factor in collagen deterioration. Pumpkin’s powerful antioxidants work as a shield to protect our skin from these harmful stressors, which helps keep skin looking youthful and vibrant.
How to incorporate it into your routine
The use of pumpkin in skin care has seen a measurable boost in popularity over the last couple years. DIY recipes for various masks can be found everywhere with all sorts of varied ingredients and results. And while making a facial concoction in your kitchen sounds like fun, there is both room for error (as certain ingredients may not be skin-safe) and the levels of potency are not nearly as effective as they are in properly formulated products.
Instead, we suggest using a pumpkin enzyme mask. DRMTLGY’s Pumpkin Enzyme Mask combines the age-refining benefits of pumpkin with vitamin E and skin-softening Jojoba beads to leave you skin bright and exceptionally hydrated. It gently warms as it’s applied for a comforting, nourishing effect.
Watch as Tammy (@tammysagelessbeauty) uses our pumpkin mask. In just minutes she applies the mask and rinses it off to reveal brighter, more radiant skin:
