Pumpkin Enzyme Facial Mask

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Miss Campbell is cooking up something new in the kitchen.

This hydrating enzyme mask is the festive dessert your face has been asking for and is great for dry wintered skin. It also makes a great little homemade holiday gift for friends too.

Remember that saying ‘you are what you eat’? Well, turns out it’s true. I recently read the book ‘Eating For Beauty‘ by nutrition expert Robert Wolfe. He explains the profound impact our nutrition has on our health inside and out and the biological and chemical mechanisms that are involved. Wolfe focuses particularly on the enzymes found in foods and their important properties for our health and beauty. Without going to much into detail, enzymes are proteins that catalyze (increase the rate of) chemical reactions. Enzymes are found just about everywhere and especially in fruits and vegetables……surprise surprise. Long story short, when we over-cook, over process, add in loads of chemical stabilizers and shelf our foods and products for long periods of time, we are destroying a lot of those naturally occurring enzymes.

We are all pretty aware of the additives, food colorings and conservatives in the food we eat and negative impact on our health. Old news right? But one thing I have never really paid much attention to are the beauty products that I use (i.e. shampoo, body soaps, facial cleansers). The biggest message I took away from Wolfe’s book was to be more careful about what cosmetics and personal care products I use. As our skin (dermis and epidermis) are semi-permeable, Wolfe says that if we would not eat it, we probably should not be putting on top of our bodies either.  I’m not saying we should all run to throw out all our products that we love, or taste our body creams to see if they are edible. But, we should be wary of products that may be loaded in harmful chemicals, dyes and perfumes.

Why pumpkin is a skin superfoodPumpkin is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Zinc which are all important for health skin and cell repair.  Pumpkin also is known to contain enzymes which help renew skin cells.  Pumpkin seed oil yields those essential fatty acids that regulate proper sebum oil production. This is important for normalizing oily and dry skin.

Not only is this masque 100% natural and organic, it is also super cheap to make. All of these ingredients together costs me less that .40 for at least 6 home facial treatments.

Recipe

  • 1 cup steamed and mashed fresh organic pumpkin
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp pumpkin seed oil
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg

Directions  : Peel and chop your slice of pumpkin and steam for 10-15 minutes (you may also boil the pumpkin, but you will be draining a lot of the nutrients into the water). Wait for pumpkin to cool then mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. This mask can be used immediately on clean skin. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse. Works great while enjoying a hot bath. Store in a glass jar in your fridge for up to 5 days.

It’s finally the holiday season. Go and get some of that much-needed R&R!

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