Celebrate The Pumpkin

Celebrate The Pumpkin

Ciao bella,

One of the only saving graces to the end of summer and the start of autumn are the magnificent colors of the season. The grand pumpkin! Bright eye candy! It's an uplifting sight to see them lined up at farm stands and piled up in front of the grocers. Such a sturdy fruit, so yummy and then again another of Mother Nature's beauty treatments and medicinal cures!

This orange squash is native to North America. Approximately 90 percent of pumpkins from United States are grown in Illinois. Pumpkin color can vary but most popular are orange and yellow.

Inside the core, which contains the seeds, is high in nutrients with the seeds having a high Zinc content, known to be terrific for the skin. The Zinc helps to heal acne blemishes and sooth irritated skin. The alpha-hydroxy acids help to exfoliate and revitalize. The pulp is also used to reduce the appearance of scarring. The bright colored fruit are chalk full of multivitamins which nourish the skin.

The vitamin C maintains skin health by preventing the collagen from breaking down. Vitamin A softens and cleanses and softens the skin.

In days gone by it was staple food of the Native Americans. They used it to make medicine and wove dried strips of it into mats. Was also used as a cure for freckles and as a remedy for snakebites! You can find the benefits of pumpkin in your beauty aisle. There are peels and facial masks and anti-aging creams along with lotions, shampoos and body washes.

Here is a do-it-yourself facial with this extraordinary fruit! Mix 2 teaspoons pureed pumpkin, 1/2-teaspoon honey, and 1/4-teaspoon heavy cream. Smooth on face leaving on for 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water for glowing, smoother skin!

Buona giornata and God bless the United States of America!

Here's wishing all my associates at The Post-Gazette and my readers a fun and spooky Hallowe'en!

Mary N. DiZazzo-Trumbull

Read prior weeks' "All That Zazz" columns at www.allthatzazz.com. Mary is a third-generation cosmetologist and a Massachusetts distributor of Kosmea brand rose hip oil products. She may be contacted at (978) 470-8183 or mary@mary4nails.com.

The Beauty Shoppe

The Beauty Shoppe

Ciao bella,

Mom and Nana in their Beauty Shoppe, circa 1940s

I simply adore live theatre. I attend at every chance I get. Recently I attended "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning" at The Lyric Stage here in Boston.

The whole play was set in a beauty shop of all black women called "Mary's Press and Curl." It was 1945, just before World War II ended. The woman, Mary, lost her husband early on in the war. She decided to turn her big house into a boarding house for women and turned another room into her beauty shop.

The camaraderie of the women as they gathered together with their customers was very touching. Of course each day was a different scenario, however filled with compassion and understanding. They would console the gals in many ways who wondered if their men were coming home to them or if they were even still alive. Remember it was World War II and letters, if any, were far and few between. The men who did return presented another set of problems. The gossip of everyone's business held seat front and center as always in a gathering of women. Yet there was always a sympathetic ear. The shop was a place to vent and break down revealing their feelings. The shop was a place to fantasize and dream of what life will be like in their future. Wishing for better days and also perfect hair. Many experimental hair straightening solutions failed leaving girls vulnerable to ridicule and running to Woolworth's wig department! The shop acted as a refuge to hide from the problems made by the war. It was a place of comfort and sharing.

The memories of my Mom and Nana's Beauty Shoppe came flooding back as reminiscent times told by my Mom so long ago. The familiar "tools of the trade" from the era in the play were very much alike as well. Including the scenarios that women pull through by expressing their inner thoughts to hear advice or a kind word. It got me thinking -- the beauty shoppe was more than just a place to get your hair done.

Beauty and wisdom all do lie in the menu of services in a Beauty Shoppe.

Buona giornata and God bless the United States of America!

Mary N. DiZazzo-Trumbull

Read prior weeks' "All That Zazz" columns at www.allthatzazz.com. Mary is a third-generation cosmetologist and a Massachusetts distributor of Kosmea brand rose hip oil products. She may be contacted at (978) 470-8183 or mary@mary4nails.com.