Beauty Baking: DIY Pumpkin Pie Body Scrub And Face Mask

By Jenny Buttaccio

​If you haven’t added pumpkin to your beauty routine yet, now is the time. We love these seasonal recipes from Noktivo owner, Jenny Duranski, of her homemade, pumpkin pie body scrub and face mask. Not only are these yummy concoctions great for your skin, but they’re also an excellent way to reuse your leftover pumpkin and reduce waste.

Pumpkin is a multitasking fruit. It’s loaded with healthy vitamins A, C, and E to age gracefully and packed with skin-soothing zinc, potassium and magnesium. And, I haven’t even mentioned the luscious antioxidant assortment yet! These phytonutrients are free radical scavengers defending your skin from wrinkles and reducing age spots. Pumpkin gently exfoliates leaving your skin glowing from head to toe. Plus, these comfort-food-for-your-skin recipes are incredibly easy to make. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen— So grab a pumpkin and let’s get started!  

First: Prepare Your PUree

To begin, cut the top off of your (hopefully) organic pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and stringy innards from the cavity. Separate the seeds and place them to the side. We’ll come back to those later. Next, carve your pumpkin if you so choose. After carving, cut off small pieces of the pumpkin’s meat. Toss the fibrous strings and pieces of meat in a blender. Blend until you have a puréed, paste-like consistency. If you aren’t carving a pumpkin this year, you can use canned, organic pumpkin instead. Ready? Let's beauty bake!

Recipe 1 - Pumpkin Pie Body Scrub

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Add ingredients into small mixing bowl and stir together. The consistency of a good body scrub is that of cookie dough so if it's too thick, add a little bit more oil. If it seems too thin, add another teaspoon of sugar. Massage into skin in the shower using circular motions to gently exfoliate, use caution on bottoms of feet as you will be slippery. Rinse well. Follow with your favorite body serum or moisturizer.

REcipe 2 - Brightening Pumpkin Face Mask

Start with 1 tablespoon pumpkin purée, then choose your second ingredient for your specific skin needs:

• To brighten a dull complexion, mix purée with 1 tablespoon full-fat Greek yogurt. The lactic acid in the yogurt acts as a gentle exfoliator.
• To hydrate your skin, mix purée with 1 tablespoon of honey. Honey is full of antioxidants and very moisturizing to the skin.

Gently apply the mask on cleansed skin and allow mask to sit for 10 minutes. Dab off with a warm washcloth. Follow with your favorite green beauty balm or moisturizer.  

Inner Outer Beauty: Eat Your Pumpkin Seeds

Simply spread the seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite sea salt. Roast in the oven at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes, making sure to stir the seeds occasionally. Seeds should be golden brown when finished. Presto! You have an easy, fun snack with skin nourishing nutrients like zinc, copper, magnesium, and a host of antioxidants. These little seeds truly are food for your skin. 

Enjoy!

Did you try our pumpkin pie body scrub and face mask? How did you like them? We want to hear from you. Leave us a comment below, or tag @noktivo in your post to share your love of beauty baking with us. -XO