Occasional redness. Discoloration. Dryness. You likely don’t want skin problems to be the first impression you show the world. Plus, they can be uncomfortable. That’s why nourishing your skin is so important.
While there are plenty of lotions and potions on the market, Ayurveda takes skin health a little bit deeper. In Ayurveda, the skin is considered a window to your inner state of balance (or imbalance), and healthy-looking skin starts with a whole-body approach.
Read on to learn how to achieve your healthiest glow from the inside out in Haveda’s Ayurvedic skin detox support guide.
Key takeaways
- Ayurvedic skincare starts with nourishing the body from the inside out with healthy eating, beneficial lifestyle habits, and a regular schedule.
- Ayurveda emphasizes the role of stress and emotions in cultivating healthy-looking skin.
- Pitta dosha, made up of the fire and water elements, is primarily responsible for the color and texture of the skin. Balancing Pitta is essential to achieving radiant skin.
- Knowing your Ayurvedic type can help you pinpoint your skin’s unique needs.
Haveda’s Ayurvedic detox guide for healthy-looking, radiant skin
Ayurvedic skincare is all about the whole person, not just what you put on top of your skin. It involves a holistic approach that starts internally—with the body and the mind.
While there’s no current scientific evidence that the skin can be detoxed, Ayurveda teaches that both dosha and ama (impurities) build up in all bodily tissues, including the skin. Through the subtle process of cell metabolism, a function of agni (the digestive fire), it’s believed these tissues can be cleansed.
Want to support detoxification processes in the skin with Ayurvedic wisdom? Here’s how.
Learn Pitta’s part in skin health
According to classical Ayurveda, Pitta dosha is responsible for the skin’s health, including its texture, tone, and radiance. Made up of fire and water elements, Pitta “digests” or absorbs the products we put on our skin—and in Ayurveda, any occasional redness or irritation means increased Pitta is involved.
Pitta is also believed to play a major role in the blood, liver, and digestion. Imbalances in these areas can manifest in the skin. The skin then serves as an organ for flushing out impurities, which can aggravate the skin and cause occasional irritation, redness, non-cystic acne, and more.
This is why balancing Pitta dosha is essential to supporting skin health. Some ways to do this include:
- Regularity in your routine, including sleep and mealtimes
- Mild, not strenuous, exercise
- Gentle yoga practice
- Pranayama, or breathing practices
- Meditation
- Sun protection
- Cooling colors like blue, green, purple, white, and pastels
- Cooling scents, including sweet, flowery fragrances like jasmine, rose, and lavender
Another tip from classical Ayurveda for reducing Pitta imbalance is to donate blood. Donating blood requires the body to replace it, which helps support the body’s natural detoxification process. Summer, when the heat is at its highest, is the ideal time for blood donation.
Reduce stress
In Ayurveda, the skin is considered a mirror of what’s happening physically and emotionally inside you. If you’re under stress, your skin may react with occasional breakouts, redness, dryness, or other discomforts. Other “hot” emotions like anger, envy, and fear can all leave their trace on the skin as your body attempts to expel excess Pitta that may have built up due to emotional upset.
Ayurveda encourages a regular schedule as the first step in reducing stress, which is fueled by Vata dosha (wind and space). Some ways to introduce regularity and reduce stress include:
- Waking and sleeping at the same time daily.
- Eating at regular mealtimes.
- Including soothing practices in your routine, like Abhyanga or self-massage.
- Emphasizing nourishing, easy-to-digest foods like soups, stews, and porridge.
- Exploring the use of adaptogenic herbs with a qualified practitioner.
Encourage healthy digestion
Aside from stress, your body may send signals about the state of your digestion through the appearance of your skin. The digestive fire, or agni, plays a crucial role in overall health by processing both foods and experiences so you can integrate them and take in their nourishment—physical, emotional, and spiritual.
To encourage healthy digestion, Ayurveda offers specific ways to stoke the digestive fire. These include:
- Eating for your doshic type by following relevant diet tips for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
- Practicing appropriate food combining, such as not eating fruit with other foods.
- Consuming a diet of seasonal, whole foods.
- Taking only small sips of water during mealtimes.
- Staying hydrated by drinking water or bone broth throughout the day.
- Using digestive herbs for additional support (see list below).
Know your skin type
Though Pitta is important in Ayurvedic skin health, your underlying doshic makeup, or constitution, also contributes.
For instance, Vata skin types tend toward occasional dryness and the appearance of wrinkles. Vata skin benefits from increased moisture and gentle exfoliation.
Pittas often have sensitive skin that’s more likely to experience occasional redness or breakouts. It’s commonly referred to as combination skin in mainstream skincare. Pitta skin benefits from a gentle skincare routine that helps minimize the appearance of redness, soothes, and promotes an even skin tone.
The Kapha skin type is usually on the oily side and may be prone to occasional breakouts in the deeper layers of the skin. Kapha skin benefits from gentle astringent cleansing, toning, and light moisturizing.
If you aren’t sure what your Ayurvedic constitution is, seek the guidance of a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner.
Nourish the skin from within with constitution-supporting foods
Considering Pitta's role, focusing on eating nourishing foods that reduce heat is essential. Spicy-hot, sour, fried, and acidic foods aggravate Pitta while cooling, bitter, sweet, and mild foods pacify it.
Some ideal foods and drinks to support Pitta include:
- Cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon
- Cilantro
- Aloe vera
- Coconut water
- High-quality cow’s milk, almond milk, or coconut milk
Another Ayurvedic staple that supports healthy digestion and pacifies Pitta (key for encouraging healthy-looking skin) is a combination of cumin, coriander, and fennel. You can use these spices to season meals or steep in hot water to make tea.
Herbs for skin support
In addition to a nourishing diet with Pitta-pacifying foods, you can use herbs (with the support of a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner) to support your skin’s radiance and overall wellness.
Skin-supportive herbs include:
- Turmeric
- Neem
- Brahmi/gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
- Manjistha
- Hibiscus
- Licorice
- Sandalwood
- Aloe vera
Herbs that support digestion may also support normal detoxification processes in the body and the skin. These include:
Your DIY Ayurvedic skincare routine
Ayurveda has two staples for your daily routine, known as dinacharya in Sanskrit: dry brushing (gharshana) and massage (abhyanga).
Dry brushing
Garshana involves using a brush or gloves to gently exfoliate the body from head to toe. This helps remove dead skin cells, encourages healthy movement of the lymph and plasma, and promotes healthy circulation throughout the body. It’s usually performed after waking and immediately before abhyanga, an Ayurvedic warm oil massage.
Ayurvedic massage
According to Ayurvedic tradition, abhyanga lubricates the skin, cleanses the sweat glands, calms the mind, helps hydrate and rejuvenate the tissues, and supports circulation. It’s best performed with oils that are ideal for your unique constitution.
These oils include:
- Coconut, almond, or sunflower oil for Pitta
- Sesame or mustard oil for Kapha
- Sesame or almond oil for Vata
The oils may be infused with herbs to enhance their nourishing effects.
You can receive abhyanga from a massage therapist or do it yourself as a self oil massage.
DIY face masks and exfoliants
To take your Ayurvedic skincare routine even further, you can create a personalized face mask. Because these DIY products often include chickpea flour, almond flour, and powdered herbs, they perform double cleansing as face masks and exfoliants.
Before you start, consult a qualified herbal practitioner to confirm your herb choices are right for you.
Choose a base
First, choose your base: chickpea or almond flour. In Ayurveda, chickpea flour is believed to have cleansing qualities, while almond flour is said to be more soothing and nourishing.
You can also choose alternatives like oat flour, coconut flour, or finely ground flax.
Choose your herbs
Next, select the powdered herbs you’d like to add. These can include herbs from the list above, like neem or hibiscus.
Add your liquids and a scent
Now, you can choose various liquids to enhance your mask, such as:
- Rose water
- Aloe vera gel
- Glycerin
- Non-comedogenic oils, like jojoba and argan
For scent, add a few drops of skin-safe essential oils to a carrier oil, such as sesame or almond. Choose essential oils for your dosha, like grounding vetiver or bergamot for Vata, soothing rose or lavender for Pitta, and stimulating eucalyptus or citrus for Kapha.
Step by step
- Mix 2 tbsp of your base flour with 1 tsp each of your powdered herbs.
- Add your wet ingredients 1 tsp at a time until you create a paste-like consistency.
- Apply the mask to your face and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes. To prevent it from drying completely, spritz with water or rose water.
- Wash with warm water and pat dry when done.
⭐ You can also opt for pre-mixed masks and face cleansers depending on whether your constitution is Vata, Pitta, or Kapha.
Conclusion
Ayurveda’s whole-person approach is a powerful way to care for your skin by first supporting your overall health. Nourishing yourself from the inside out with a whole-food diet, a regular schedule, and lifestyle habits that balance your doshas can help you on your health journey. Radiant, glowing skin will follow!
FAQs
What supports clear skin, according to Ayurveda?
Ayurvedic skincare involves caring for the skin and body from the inside out. It starts with a healthy emotional state, a seasonal, whole-food diet, and healthy digestion. Supporting clear skin involves reducing Pitta dosha, or the fire and water elements, in the body and mind.
Which Ayurvedic herb is best for skin?
Several Ayurvedic herbs are used for the skin, including neem, amla, turmeric, manjistha, and aloe vera. However, it’s important to work with a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner to determine which herb is right for your type.
Meet the Author Crystal Hoshaw
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