IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What are the dietary benefits of pumpkin?
- How is pumpkin added to skincare products?
- Top 3 reasons to add pumpkin seed oil to your skincare routine
- Pumpkin seed oil in Graydon Skincare products
- Summary
Pumpkin is a symbol of autumn. We obsess over it for a couple of months and then forget about it until the leaves start to change again. Pumpkin is a superfood that deserves more!
This member of the gourd family is not just a halloween decoration. In fact, the pumpkins used for jack-o-lanterns are just one type of pumpkin. It almost seems as if the list of pumpkin species is endless! You can find these amazing fruits in every shape, colour and size!
Historically speaking, it’s believed that pumpkins got their start in North America. Nowadays, they can be grown almost anywhere and are easy to plant and care for.
What are the dietary benefits of pumpkin?
Pumpkins are considered a superfood because they contain an abundance of compounds that our bodies need.
Fibre helps maintain bowel health, control blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol.
Minerals including copper, zinc and iron help the body grow, heal and produce energy, enzymes and hormones.
Vitamins including B, C and E work together to help strengthen the immune system, convert food into energy and repair cellular damage.
Essential fatty acids including palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid are necessary for good health and help reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases.
Antioxidants including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, scavenge free radicals produced during the naturally-occurring oxidation process.
The word superfood is often used as a trendy marketing term. In many cases, these so-called superfoods don’t live up to their claims. That’s not the case with pumpkin! Pumpkins are certainly superstars that offer a myriad of health benefits thanks to their superb nutritional profile.
A few of my favourite pumpkin recipes
With so many health benefits, it’s easy to understand why pumpkins have found their way into our hearts and foods. From pumpkin spice lattes, to pumpkin pies and pumpkin soup, they’re everywhere in the fall!
Here are three of my favourite pumpkin recipes that’ll inspire you to get into the kitchen right now.
Vegan Pumpkin Fudge: As someone with a sweet tooth, this recipe is a fall staple for me. There's no baking required (hooray!) just a handful of ingredients, which you probably already have in your kitchen. Most importantly, this recipe is low glycemic so it won't spike your blood sugar.
Get the recipe here!
Super Simple Pumpkin Spice Latte: How can we talk about pumpkin recipes and not talk about the latte? Come on, you can’t not try this super simple pumpkin spice latte.
Get the recipe here!
Just-One-More-Slice Pumpkin Pie: A staple dessert during the holiday season, this good-for-you pie recipe from one of my favourite girlfriends, Joanna Colville Reeves (AKA: The Brit Beet) can be made without gluten, dairy or sugar!
Get the recipe here!
How is pumpkin added to skincare products?
While pumpkin is considered a seasonal food, pumpkin skincare shouldn’t be seasonal.
Most of those helpful compounds that are good for the body when consumed, are also beneficial to the skin when applied topically.
To harness the power of pumpkin in skincare, pumpkin seed oil is used in skincare formulations. The process to make this oil is quite lengthy. Pumpkins typically take 3–4 months to grow before they can be harvested for seeds. Then, the seeds must be manually peeled out of the pulp. After that, the seeds are dried, ground and roasted to prepare for the oil pressing process, which ultimately results in pumpkin seed oil. It’s a time consuming process, but it’s worth it!
Fun fact: It takes about 2.6 kilograms of pumpkin seeds to make 1 litre of oil. That’s about five pumpkins, depending on the variety.
Top 3 reasons to add pumpkin seed oil to your skincare routine
So what can pumpkin seed oil do for your skin? Well, let’s find out! Here are a few of the benefits:
Pumpkin moisturizes the skin
You probably saw this one coming, right?
Pumpkin seed oil can act as an occlusive to help keep your skin moisturized. The essential fatty acids help create a protective layer on top of your skin that minimizes transepidermal water loss to keep the skin hydrated.
Thanks to its high content of palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid, pumpkin seed oil also has emollient properties. This means that it can help to nourish and soften your skin.
A 2019 study(1) to find out whether or not pumpkin can moisturize the skin, confirms this. Conducted on adult women aged 35–45 years who had dry facial skin, researchers treated them twice a week for a total of 8 times. After a month, the researchers used a skin analyzer test tool and found that the women’s skin had become significantly more moisturized, as compared to before.
Pumpkin reduces acne
The rich profile of unsaturated fatty acids in pumpkin seed oil seems to help alleviate inflammatory acne, which are papules, pustules, nodules and cysts. It also contains vitamin A and alpha-hydroxy acids, which are known for their ability to increase cellular turnover. This means that it can also speed up the growth and healing process of acne, helping you to get rid of acne faster.
In fact, there’s a study(2) to back this up. This study was conducted in 2017 from March to June, with a pool of 20 male and female participants. After three months, all participants saw an 84% reduction in acne overall.
Pumpkin heals wounds
Pumpkin seed oil may aid in wound healing thanks to its high content of vitamin A, vitamin E, fatty acids, sterols and phytosterols.
A 2016 in-vivo study(3) seems to support this. In the study, 18 subjects with wounds on their backs were randomly divided into 3 groups. Each group was treated with either a saline solution, Cicaflora cream, or pumpkin seed oil. By the end of the study, the researchers found that the group treated with pumpkin seed oil showed better wound healing than the other two groups.
Pumpkin seed oil in Graydon Skincare products
At Graydon Skincare, we’re dedicated to results-driven, plant-powered ingredients. With such amazing skin benefits, we couldn’t resist incorporating pumpkin seed oil into our skincare products.
Find this incredible superfood ingredient in our Face Glow and Moon Boost Serum!
Face Glow is a lightweight tinted moisturizing skin primer. A true multitasker, it delivers brightening and highlighting effects for an overall dewy and radiant complexion for the perfect no makeup makeup look. It’s won multiple awards and has over 100 five star reviews!
Moon Boost Serum is our velvety-smooth, hydrating multivitamin serum. It’s formulated with non-comedogenic, nutrient-dense superfood oils and extracts. Together, they help to reinforce the skin’s natural barrier while providing it with a healthy glow.
Summary
- Pumpkin is a nutrient-rich superfood that can be incorporated into all types of sweet and savoury recipes.
- The nutritional profile of pumpkin is beneficial when applied topically as pumpkin seed oil.
- Pumpkin seed oil in skincare helps to moisturize and nourish the skin, relieve acne and support wound healing.
- Add pumpkin seed oil to your skincare routine with Face Glow and Moon Boost Serum.
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