Save Your Pumpkins! Try These Amazing Beauty DIYs Instead

One of our fave fall activities is going to the pumpkin farm, selecting our chosen one (or seven), and carefully carving various cute designs. It’s a tradition that never seems to tire, even waaay into adulthood.

However, after Thanksgiving, we often discard our pumpkins in the trash. Well, we’re here with a more sustainable alternative – pumpkin DIYs. Seriously, pumpkins are literally bursting with skin-brightening, hair-happy goodness, which is WAY too good to go to waste.

Looking for the receipts? Thanks to high levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, and E, pumpkins provide a surge of brightening and protective antioxidants that shield your skin from aging free radical damage. Pumpkins even protect your skin against UV damage and blue light pollution, although that doesn’t mean you can ever skip on SPF… Just sayin’! As if that wasn’t enough, the yellow-orange pigment, named carotenoids, also helps enhance your glow game. For your hair, it helps restore softness and shine, lock in moisture, and add definition to curls. As we said, pumpkins are too good to waste. Now we have you sold, here are three of our go-to pumpkin DIYs.

Although do note, if your pumpkins have been sitting out for a long time, you should skip this hack. If the pumpkins are just two to four days old, they should be fine to use, but decide based on their condition.

Pumpkin Face Mask

This mask is like a glow-up in a bowl, thanks to pumpkin paired with manuka honey and milk. Combined, they’ll help hydrate and brighten your skin, and the lactic acid found in the milk helps to gently exfoliate the skin. Honey also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which help soothe inflammation and reduce pimple-triggering bacteria, making it a no-brainer for oily or breakout-prone skin.

2 tbsp. blended pumpkin
1/2 tsp. organic manuka honey
1 tsp. cow’s milk

Mix the ingredients in a blender or large bowl and apply to cleansed skin. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then wash off with warm water. Follow with your fave serum and moisturizer.

Pumpkin Hair Mask

If you’re looking for a mask to save your dry, damaged locks or add definition to your curls, this is it. Not only will it seal in moisture, but the fatty acids and omegas in the oils will work together to smooth split ends and strengthen weakened hair strands. Black Jamaican castor oil is another hair-saving hero, which boosts healthy hair growth. Plus, it smells absolutely amazing.

6 tbsp. blended pumpkin
2 tbsp. unrefined coconut oil
1 tbsp. Black Jamaican Castor Oil
2 tbsp. honey

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl or blender and apply to dry hair. Focus application on the ends, as this is typically the driest section, and then work upwards toward the scalp. Let it sit in your hair for 20 minutes, rinse with warm water, then shampoo, condition, et voila!

Pumpkin Body Scrub

During the winter, our skin can become dry and dull – this scrub is the ultimate fix. Aside from the physical exfoliation from the sugar, the enzymes within the pumpkin will gently break down dead skin and rejuvenate skin texture. Sweet almond oil will hydrate and nourish the skin, while hydrating, antimicrobial manuka honey will soften the skin.

1/2 cup raw brown sugar
1/2 cup blended pumpkin
1 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. sweet almond oil

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl and massage it onto dry skin. It can be a little messy, so we recommend doing this in the shower on dry skin. Rinse with warm water, then follow with your fave body lotion.

For more DIYs, check out 10 DIYs using ingredients you’ll probably already have in your kitchen.