Years ago, when I still lived at home, I remember my mother scooping avocado for a salad she would make, then keeping the avocado peel—only to be used later for rubbing all over her face.  She would encourage me to do the same, and I remember my reaction time and time again,”You mean put salad on my face?” I would say this, completely disinterested in any of her home-made beauty treatments. Years have gone by since my first recollection of salad on my mother’s face, and only now, at age 42, I have started to reflect and become curious about what else she would use. I don’t remember the one or two over-the-counter products she would use for her beauty regimen, because mostly she’d use whatever she found in her fridge or pantry, things like avocado, cucumber, papaya, olive oil, milk, honey, and coconut oil.  The outcome has been very beautiful, healthy skin. These days, I have a new found appreciation for everything that I saw my mother spread and massage into her skin.

My mother in her 60s—a natural beauty

Recently, I decided to try the papaya on my face, albeit a sticky and messy experience, but the results have been surprising. I’m happy to report that my skin looks remarkably fresh, even glowing I might add, and this only after one treatment. I’m not going to lie, it always seems like a big deal when you have to go out of your way to do something, and it’s not like any of us have the extra times on our hands anyway. It’s so much easier to just tear open a pack of something instead. But once you try this, I don’t think it will seem laborious in any way whatsoever. Make sure that the papaya is ready to eat, and before devouring it all, set aside a tablespoon. All you have to do is mash it up with a fork, then massage into skin, and voila, that’s all it takes. Papaya contains a blend of nutrients, all of which contribute to healthier looking skin. It’s things like the papain enzyme, vitamins A, E, and C, as well as other anti-oxidants. Using papaya helps renew the skin, it’s a great exfoliate; it maintains the skin’s moisture, cleans and helps clear the skin from acne, it also brightens it up—especially if you are suffering from age spots or other blemishes.

Just remember, as a rule for good face keeping— you are better off applying any sort of treatment to the face once your pores are moist and open, preferably after you’ve showered. I left the papaya mush on my face for at least fifteen minutes before washing it off with warm water, followed by a splash of cold water.

My husband who usually doesn’t notice anything slightly different about me, I’m not kidding, I can parade in front of him with a completely new haircut or color— this time however, he actually noticed my skin! He told me that my skin looked very pretty. For me, that’s proof enough that papaya really does work very well as a mask for the face. It’s a given that good looking skin is a matter of healthy eating as well, but coupled with a wonderful beauty regimen one can easily achieve the best results.

With eyes shut (can’t help it,) my skin looks glowing after papaya mask