When A Pumpkin Spice Latte Isn’t Enough, Folks In Jackson Get Pumpkin-Yam Facials

JACKSON — This autumn, I decided it was time to work on my relationship with pumpkins and yams. 

There’s been a simmering tension between me and these icons of the fall season. Throughout my life, I’ve accumulated a wicker basket’s worth of pumpkin and yam traumas. 

It was time for a reset. 

First, let me come clean: I’ve never been my best self when it comes to carving pumpkins. My jack-o-lantern designs and overall aesthetic remain unoriginal and, at times, confusing. 

Once while handing out candy on Halloween, I overheard a parent escorting his costumed child past one of my jack-o-lanterns remark, “Not sure what they were going for with that.”

The pumpkin I had recklessly carved had one eye and one pointy tooth. I really could have done better. 

As a young man, I never developed a healthy appreciation for pumpkins. My friends and I would prowl our neighborhood after trick-or-treating, steal pumpkins from front porches and smash them in the street.

In college, this insensitivity crossed over to yams. 

Once while flirting with a classmate, I burst out laughing when she offered me a bite of a baked yam she had wrapped in tinfoil and was munching like a taco. 

I should have politely declined, but instead I still carry some yammy regret. 

Growing up, yams had always dwelled in the carnival freak-show corner of my food pyramid. They formed the base of a Thanksgiving concoction topped with marshmallows and brown sugar. 

It was a hard pass, when I really should have opened my heart and widened my palate.

But my pumpkin-yam carelessness carried over into parenthood. Once I delighted in devouring a pumpkin muffin I found stashed in the refrigerator. 

Later that day, I came home to find a note from my 10-year-old daughter: “I was saving that pumpkin muffin. You crushed my dreams.”

This is the baggage I carried into the current fall season. 

That’s why when I stumbled upon an advertisement for a pumpkin-yam facial at the Grand View Spa in Jackson, I recognized it was truly an opportunity for some healing and growth. 

Besides, when adding pumpkin spice to everything people consume for the months leading up to Thanksgiving isn’t enough, why not smear your face with the stuff?

Fall Exfoliation

Here was a chance to literally put a new face on my relationship with pumpkins and yams. 

The Grand View Spa was offering to slather my mug with “pumpkin enzymes, yam extracts and antioxidants” and leave me with “a radiant autumn glow.” 

It was a perfect autumn afternoon when I arrived last week at the spa perched above downtown Jackson by Snow King Resort. Burnt orange and golden aspen leaves quaked in the breeze and the lightly frosted Grand Teton towered in the distance.

Inside, I was greeted by Chris Hilburn, the German-born spa director and a calming presence. 

She guided me to the changing room and turned me loose in a marvelous area with a multi-directional shower, jacuzzi and next-level steam room. 

I promptly flooded the hallway by clumsily mishandling the shower controls, but there were so many towels at the ready, I was able to mop up the situation. 

Soon, Aliviah Anderson came to find me. She became a licensed esthetician while still in high school and recently relocated to Jackson from Arizona, where the blazing sun and desert wind do a number on facial skin. 

Anderson led me into a room that looked like a massage studio, but was also outfitted with special gear like a hot water bubbler that produced a soothing flow of steam.

As I snuggled under a warm blanket, Anderson went to work on my sun-ravaged and crow-footed face. 

Anderson explained the role of the steamer, which she angled in my direction. 

“This is going to open your pores while I am cleansing your skin,” she said. “The protocol for the pumpkin facial, we're using a charcoal exfoliating cleanser. 

"But since it's your first facial, I'm going to use a different cleansing for you. A little bit more hydration. I don't want to overwhelm your skin today.”

Turns out, like the pumpkin-yam shame I’ve harbored for so long, I’ve also been carrying around a lot of dead skin cells on my face. 

“You have a 30-day process, which your skin is working to create new cells,” explained Anderson, as she gently cleansed away the old cells, asking, “Have you ever had a face massage.” 

I have, but not like this one. 

Anderson delicately kneaded my doughy face and explained each step of the process like a master pastry chef working on a complicated, multi-layered baked good. 

Next came the turmeric and gemstone treatment.

“That turmeric is really good for detoxing,” she said. “It’s going to feel a little bit tingly, which is totally normal.” 

As the turmeric leached out a lifetime of poor dietary decisions, Anderson asked, “Do you notice that you carry tension in your face, like your eyes, head?”

I immediately imagined what I look like on Zoom calls and wondered if the rest of the world could see me carrying stress in the bags under my eyes. 

I confessed to Anderson that I hate the way I look on Zoom. 

That’s when she started lathering my face with a mixture of pumpkin and yam. 

Autumnal Enzymes

The Eminence Organics Pumpkin and Yam Facial harnesses the power of fall's favorite harvest vegetables, transforming them into a potent skin-renewing concoction that looks like something you might spread on crusty bread as an appetizer. 

These antioxidant-rich superfoods, according to marketing materials, are packed with natural enzymes that gently dissolve dead skin cells while accelerating cellular turnover, revealing the fresh, radiant complexion hiding beneath summer's accumulated damage. 

The science behind this autumn-inspired treatment reads like a biochemistry love letter to your skin. 

The enzymes in pumpkin work by breaking down keratin proteins that bind dead cells to your skin's surface, allowing them to slough away without harsh scrubbing or irritation. 

Meanwhile, the beta-carotene abundant in both yam and pumpkin converts to vitamin A upon contact with skin, kickstarting collagen production for improved firmness and elasticity. 

Alpha-hydroxy acids including glycolic and lactic acids join the party, loosening cellular bonds to smooth texture and fade pigmentation. 

But the treatment doesn't stop at exfoliation — botanical hyaluronic acid penetrates deeply to lock in moisture, plumping skin and softening fine lines, while green tea extract provides a protective shield of antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals responsible for premature aging.

For me, Anderson’s careful application and intermittent facial massage brought a sense of emotional healing. 

I looked like I’d just face-planted in a fall-themed casserole, but I felt like I could finally move on from my troubled pumpkin-yam past. 

A Salty Experience

After the treatment, my face felt genuinely renewed. 

Anderson led me to Wyoming's first and only co-ed halotherapy salt lounge and served me a chilled pumpkin-spiced chai latte made with pumpkin puree she prepared at home. 

As a salty mist filled the air, I was joined again by Hilburn, the spa’s director, who explained, “Halo is from the Greek word for salt."

“This is Himalayan salt. These are true Himalayan salt stone blocks,” she said, pointing to an enchanting wall of salt lit from behind and casting a lovely orange and brown autumn glow.  

“Salt therapy is as old as humanity,” said Hilburn as I sipped my latte with lips now tinged with airborne salt.

“The salt creates negative ions in your system,” she said. “Inflamation is created by free radicals. So it’s plus and minus. The negative ions eliminate the free radicals.” 

This is the kind of pep talk I really needed. 

Not only had the Grand View Spa cleansed by face with the flesh of fall-ripened pumpkins and yams, it had also canceled out all the negativity I associated with these seasonal vegetables. 

I turned to the Grand View Spa to put a new face on things and it was a smashing pumpkin-yam success.

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.