written by Raulla S. Mitchell

Autumn is a wonderful time to talk long walks in the woods, around the lake, at the MN Landscape Arboretum, or the Botanical Gardens in your city, perhaps with a pumpkin latte in hand?  Hey, I get that these seasonal lattes have become cliche, but I must confess that I still get excited about them coming around again.  It’s a little thing that’s part of the seasonal transition, a ritual for me.  As you know, cultural rituals are things we all look forward to in life; they make life fun, beautiful, exciting, heart-warming, all the things that make our hearts happy.

Nature is changing and you can see and feel it all around you.  It feels good when I grab my jacket for the first time before heading out the door.  Now if I could only remember to take it with me and not leave it in the yoga room!

The leaves in my yard and neighborhood change to yellow, burnt orange, crimson before they turn crispy brown on the grass.  It’s a gorgeous sight to behold for just a couple of weeks,  mature trees and canopies painted by Mother Nature.

But when your skin takes a turn for the drier, it can feel a little scary.  Autumn DIY skincare to the rescue!  We have the perfect, non-scary, totally fun, simple, vitamin and antioxidant rich pumpkin face masque with 4 ingredients you’ll find in your kitchen:

When your skin suddenly feels dry and tight, ready to crack like the autumn leaves falling from the trees,  no worries.  Head to your kitchen for a quick, fun and simple fix, a pathway back to beautifully soft and radiant skin!

This one has pumpkin, of course, chock-full of vitamins and fab-for-your-skin nutrients!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons mashed fresh pumpkin (chop pumpkin cubes without the rind, add to boiling water until mash-able – 10 min; you can use pureed pumpkin as a shortcut)
• 1 tsp sweet olive oil (or apricot, sunflower, avocado, grape seed oils)
• 1 tsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp honey
• Combine 4 ingredients and puree in blender.
• Apply to face, neck and decollete while relaxing in your warm evening bath for 10-20 min.  Rinse off with warm water.

Yogurt’s lactic acid very gently exfoliates dead surface skin cells.  Pumpkin, rich in beta carotene, and antioxidant vitamins A and C supports cellular regeneration.  Natural oils (olive, apricot, sunflower, avocado, grapeseed) and honey are fab nutrient-rich natural moisturizers.  Honey is has anti-bacterial properties and anti-inflammatory.

Happy Pumpkin Masque friends!

Do you have a fab autumn DIY spa treatment you’d love to share with us?  We’d love to hear it!  Happy autumn!