Ayurvedic Skin Care according to Skin Type - 2
Skin Care as per your Dosha
Vata Skin Care
For Vata skin to stay youthful, skin care products used should be very nurturing. They must include some essential oils or herbs in combination, which can nourish the skin and rehydrate it, otherwise it may be susceptible to wrinkles and premature aging.
Going to bed on time, eating regular meals, and following a regular daily routine are essential components of a holistic approach to Vata skin care, as are eating foods that help balance Vata and nourish the Vata skin.
Suggestions for caring for Vata skin:
Vata skin types, for instance, will want to eat more warm, unctuous foods and favor the sweet, sour and salty tastes to balance the dry, rough, moving Vata dosha. Provide added nourishment to your skin by including organic milk, whole grains and green leafy vegetables in your diet. Drink lots of lukewarm water everyday for internal hydration. Eat plenty of sweet juicy fruits, they help cleanse the body from within and provide hydration as well. Include a little healthy fat such as Ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil in your diet for added lubrication. A warm oil self-massage is excellent for keeping skin lubricated. Use a gentle, all-natural moisturizer to keep facial skin hydrated. Provide added deep lipid support with facial oil. Get plenty of rest so your mind as well as your body have the opportunity to recharge. Use a gentle, moisture-balancing cleanser and splash your face with water several times when you cleanse.
Pitta Skin Care
The Pitta skin type needs both cooling and nurturing. Use skin care products that help enhance resistance to the sun. Avoid tanningtreatments and therapies that expose your delicate, sensitive skin to steam for extended periods of time.
The Ayurvedic herb Flame of Forest can help protect Pitta skin fromphoto sensitivity. But like other Ayurvedic herbs, it needs to be used in combination with other herbs for a balanced effect on the skin.
Suggestions for caring for Pitta skin:
If you have a Pitta skin type you will thrive on sweet, bitter and astringent tastes, as found in sweet, juicy fruits, rose petal preserve, and cooked greens. Avoid hot, spicy foods. Stay away from harsh, synthetic cosmetics; they can damage your sensitive skin and cause breakouts. Avoid hot spicy foods and an excess of deep-fried foods, they add heat to an already fiery constitution. Eat lots of sweet juicy fruits and have some rose petal jam in cool milk every day. The rose is considered cooling for mind, body and emotions. Use cooling oil, such as coconut oil, for the daily massage. Cook with cooling spices such as fennel and licorice. Take extra care to protect your skin when you go out in the sun. Use gentle, natural skin care products for cleansing and moisturizing. Provide added lipid support, such as facial skin oil, every other day.
Kapha Skin Care
Kapha skin, because of its thickness and oiliness, is more prone to
accumulate ama -- toxins under the skin. People with Kapha skin need to
do detoxification on a regular basis, both internal detoxification and
external detoxification to flush toxins from the skin,
Scrubbing the skin with a gentle exfoliating clay can help external cleansing.
Kapha skin types may also need to take herbal formulations to cleanse
the skin from within.
Suggestions for caring for Kapha skin:
The oiliness of Kapha type skin calls for a diet that is warmer, lighter, less oily, and free of heavy, hard to digest foods. Eating more bitter, astringent and pungent tastes help stimulate digestion and balance Kapha skin. Avoid too many sweet foods or deep-fried foods, they add to the oiliness in the skin. Exercise everyday to improve circulation. A daily warm oil massage can also help circulation. Eat plenty of organic vegetables and fruits to help cleanse the body from within. Cleanse your skin twice everyday; exfoliate with a mud-mask at least once a week. Cook with warming spices such as ginger and black pepper to stoke the digestive fire and inhibit the accumulation of Ama inside the body.
Nourishment for skin:
Besides following the diet for your skin type, following foods are terrific skin-enhancers: leafy green vegetables; easily digested proteins such as paneer, milk, tofu, sunflower seeds; foods high in zinc such as quinoa; and beta-carotene-rich foods such as carrots and sweet cherries. Almonds and walnuts support the skin with their protein and lubricating fat content. Some skin-friendly spices include turmeric to nourish the first four layers of the skin; cumin to rid the body of ama; black pepper to cleanse the channels, and fennel to balance the transformational ability of the skin. All antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, such as pomegranate, apple, pear, and bitter, green leafy vegetables are also excellent for the skin. Eat only fresh, whole and organic foods. Stay away from packaged, canned, frozen, processed, and packaged foods.
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