Surprise Beauty Booster: Pumpkin!

By Melanie Rud
April 17, 2011
Credit: Andrew McCaul
This gourd can make you gorgeous, whether you snack on its seeds or apply these product picks.
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Skin-saving snack

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This gourd can make you gorgeous, whether you snack on its seeds or apply these product picks.

Prone to blemishes? Have sensitive skin? Add pumpkin seeds to your trail mix. They're packed with zinc, which has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that may help calm irritated skin from the inside out, according to Miami-based dermatologist Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD. And adding zinc to your diet may help mild to moderate facial

acne, suggests recent research from India.

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A dreamy serum

Credit: Andrew McCaul

Heal chapped skin by rubbing a few drops of Om Aroma Pumpkin Night Serum ($58; omaroma.com) onto your face before bed; the pumpkin-seed oil's vitamin E and linoleic acid make skin more supple while you sleep.

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Hand healer

Credit: Andrew McCaul

For soft hands that don't feel greasy, smooth on Lush Handy Gurugu Hand Cream ($17; lushusa.com), which moisturizes and soothes with quick-absorbing pumpkin-seed butter.

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Strand saver

Credit: Andrew McCaul

Healthy Sexy Hair Pumpkin Purée Treatment Masque ($17; amazon.com/beauty) has strand-strengthening amino acids and moisture-rich fatty acids—both of which are derived from this wonder fruit. You're left with shiny hair that smells amazing.

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Pore perfecter

Credit: Andrew McCaul

Exfoliating pumpkin and antibacterial honey in MyChelle Creamy Pumpkin Cleanser ($17; amazon.com/beauty) help keep skin clear.

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Softening scrub

Credit: Andrew McCaul

Enzymes from pumpkin pulp and pumpkin-seed oil in Bella Luccè Pumpkin Glow Body Scrub ($27; bellalucce.com) dissolve callused skin, making this perfect for dry elbows.

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Gentle toner

Credit: Andrew McCaul

If scrubs and peels are too harsh for your sensitive skin, soften up with Molton Brown Skinbalance Toning Lotion ($32; moltonbrown.com). Potassium and vitamin K (found in the formula's pumpkin enzymes) exfoliate skin without irritating and make any treatments you apply afterward more effective.

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Magic mask

Credit: Andrew McCaul

Channel your inner aesthetician by doing a weekly at-home treatment with Freeman Good Stuff Organics Revitalizing Facial Mask ($7; freemanbeauty.com). Leave the mask on for 10 minutes, and its enzymes will gently dissolve dead skin cells to reveal brighter, smoother skin.

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By Melanie Rud