Bromelain in Skincare
Meet bromelain! A natural exfoliant found in pineapple and used extensively throughout skincare. Bromelain is a complex of protein-metabolizing enzymes and it breaks down proteins (think about that tingle on your tongue after eating a lot of pineapple). This makes it fabulous when it comes to sloughing off dead skin cells.
It is a light cream to beige colored powder–we source ours from the United States, collecting bromelain from the fruits and stems of pineapples.
Because of its exfoliating properties it may be used as a gentle exfoliating agent in facial creams and masks. We use USDA Certified Organic Pineapple and Papaya fruit extracts in our mask, but you could formulate your own without the extracts just by adding bromelain powder, like we did in our summer exfoliating enzyme mask recipe which you can see here.
Typical usage is at or below 1%, and like most exfoliants it can irritate or sensitize sensitive skin.
Recipe Idea
You can have fun with this ingredient with other ingredients from your kitchen. This is a single-use idea:
Strawberry and Honey Passive Exfoliant – Face Mask
- 1/2 cup fresh strawberries
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp Bromelain
How you do it:
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor, and blend until smooth. Add a generous layer to clean face, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Rinse clean with warm water.
Please note we have not challenge tested this recipe.
