Last night I officially became a spa chef! I Bobby Flay’d it up in my kitchen with my favorite flavor of the season – pumpkin. I am a pumpkin fanatic. Nothing says fall like pumpkins to me. Childhood memories of carving silly faces. But, I especially love the smell. The power of pumpkin doesn’t stop there – they can be very beneficial to human skin. I embarked on a journey creating the perfect at-home pumpkin body scrub recipe using all ingredients that are good for your skin. Most of them you’ll already have if you’re in the fall baking mood. I just had to buy the pumpkin puree which only costs around $3.
Why these ingredients? Pumpkin is full of Vitamin A, C and zinc. Honey is an amazing product for your skin because it is an antibacterial, hydrates and smooths your skin as well as provides anti-aging antioxidants. Cinnamon is a natural astringent. Brown sugar helps minimize pores. After some experimentation, I reached the perfect measurements:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
Don’t be alarmed that the brown sugar or cinnamon will turn your pumpkin a darker color. Feel free to play with the amount of sugar for the right amount of scrub you want. I like a good scrub so I added some white granulated sugar to enhance the texture.
Warning: While you may be tempted to eat it, I warn you it is very sweet! Best to just leave it for your skin to enjoy.
I did my usual shower routine but instead of body wash I used my new pumpkin scrub. My bathroom smelled delicious! When I got out of the shower my skin felt like a baby’s bottom. I was very impressed by the softness. This scrub is great for getting rid of dead, dry skin.
Pumpkin is chock full of vitamins and is a rich source of nutrients and antioxidants to help your skin achieve a healthy glow throughout the season. I suffer from dry skin during these brutal New York winters so I’ll definitely be using this again. I say don’t limit this recipe to just your body. You can add more honey to create a moisturizing face mask.
Yum!
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