RMUTT Aesthetic Health and Thai Spa Students Produce Health and Beauty Products Using Dragon Fruit skins and Pumpkin seeds

50 third year students from RMUTT Thai Traditional Medicine College’s Bachelor of Science in Aesthetic Health and Thai Spa have reached out to the Lamsamkaeo Municipality in Pathum Thani province to teach them how to use dragon fruit skins and pumpkin seeds, natural fruit wastes, to produce health and beauty products. Dr. Juthaporn Kwansang, the professor overseeing the project, mentioned that this service is one of many face and body courses that third year students in the Bachelor of Science in Aesthetic Health and Thai Spa should take. This time she decided to let third year students service the Lamsamkaeo Municipality as students are required to obtain on-the-job experience outside RMUTT. They taught the Municipality how to use dragon fruit skins – high in betacyanin, vitamin C, vitamin B, and pumpkin seeds, which contain beta-carotene, vitamin E, as ingredients used for health and beauty products, namely liquid soaps, shampoos, and hair conditioners.

Ms. Chanida (Jay) Rujiput said that she was the moderator, in addition to teaching the Municipality how to produce the products. She was both very excited and afraid that the locals would not understand what she was attempting to teach. However, the locals were friendly and cooperated with her. Teaching the Lamsamkaeo Municipality was comparable to learning in a second school, in which she could apply knowledge learned in the class with locals.

Moreover, after talking to the locals, Ms. Pimkarn (Pim) Buathong recalled that they were interested in learning and wanted to use what they learned to create more value. The group she taught was responsible for producing liquid soap, shampoo, and hair conditioner made from dragon fruit skin extracts. Step-by-step, she taught the locals how to obtain extracts from dragon fruit skins. Dragon fruit skins were cleaned with water, cut into small, pieces, then extracted using Propylene Glycol in a ratio of 1:4 for approximately 30 minutes.

Additionally, Ms. Yata (Farng) Pochana said she had to teach the locals how to produce products made from pumpkin seeds. To teach the locals, she divided them into three smaller groups. Pumpkin seeds contain suitable vitamins for nourishing the skin, especially vitamin E. She was well prepared as she did research prior to teaching the locals so she could answer any questions they had. This service served as good preparation for her to be able to apply knowledge learned to help the locals so they could produce their own products to sell or use in the household.