Red pitaya (dragon fruit) has benefits for human body. Not just the fruit, the peel is also rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, and antioxidant for skin health.
In the hands of UGM students, the peel of pitaya combined with corn cob are made into useful products that have economic value. The students turned the peel and cob into facial mask, named as Toga Mask.
The five students, Geri Malpin Saputra, Nihayatuzain Amanda, I Putu Karang Adisurya, Herliana Valentia Putri, and Hanny Marlinda made the product during the Student Creativity Program for Entrepreneurship under the guidance of Iman Sabarisman, S.T.P., M.Si. The Agroindustry students developed it after earning grants from Higher Learning Directorate General.
Team chairman, Geri, said they made the product for concerns that much fruit peel and corn cob only became waste among society.
“Firstly, we want to resolve the problem of waste and secondly to make the waste into a beneficial product with economic value,” he said on Friday (22/6) on campus.
Geri said the pitaya fruit peel had various compounds good for skin health. It is high in vitamin C which is 75 percent as well as vitamin E and antioxidant that can tackle free radicals and moisturise the skin.
“The high content of vitamin C has the role to give nutrition to the skin and lighten the skin,” he said.
Meanwhile, corn cob is made into carbon and activated in the form of powder that is later mixed with the peel. The active carbon, he said, is believed to be able to remove comedo, cleanse the face, and eliminate excessive facial oils.
The product is safe to use as it is made from natural materials. Togamask sells for Rp7,000 each. Order can be placed on Instagram @togamask and mobile no +62858-5806-8028.
“In the future, we will develop the mask in many variants and aroma,” she said.