Good-Enough-to-Eat Beauty Treatments

(CBS)  With thanksgiving over and leftovers abundant, there are some alternative uses for these festive foods that don't involve eating them.

Pumpkin pie, cranberries and potatoes can be used as natural, inexpensive beauty treatments, beauty expert Stacy Cox told Debbye Turner Bell on "The Early Show."

After a hard day of cooking and cleaning, a JELL-O mold eye mask is a creative way to reduce puffiness. Slice the mold into circles or squares, wrap them in plastic wrap and let them chill for 30 minutes. Apply your favorite eye cream, then place the newly-made eye pads over your eyes for 10 minutes.

"Anything cold is going to help reduce puffiness and darkness around the eyes," Cox explained.

The next treatment she suggested uses pumpkin, which is a Thanksgiving staple and also used in many spa facials.

To make a pumpkin pie face mask, take 2 teaspoons of cooked pumpkin puree, 1/2 teaspoon of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of regular or soy milk. The honey, Cox said, adds moisture to dry skin, while the lactic acid in milk gently exfoliates the skin. If you have oily skin, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the mixture. Leave the facial on for five-10 minutes, wash it off with lukewarm water and apply an appropriate moisturizer.

You can also take the pumpkin face mask and add some brown sugar to it to make a pumpkin face and body scrub, Cox continued.

A third option is a cranberry-mint facial cleanser - which looks good enough to eat but is also good for your skin. Take 1 cup of cranberry puree (or about 40 cranberries) and add 10 mint leaves, 1/4 cup of plain yogurt and 1/4 cup of warm water. Mix everything together and wash your face with it.

Finally, mashed potatoes can be transformed into a Thanksgiving body scrub. Take two cups of leftover mashed potatoes and add 1 cup of sea salt and 1 cup of aloe vera juice. Mix everything together and use on dry spots, like your elbows.