While winter definitely takes its toll on moisture, summer seems to be a constant flurry of protecting skin from the sun and soothing it when it’s seen too much damage. And though there are tons of over-the-counter products to help with this, the traditional Indian healing system of Ayurveda has a few tips, too.

Ayurvedic Oils as Sunscreen

After scientific research showed that certain Ayurvedic oils had SPF powers, many natural health gurus pounced, claiming that these oils could be used in lieu of sunscreen. And according to Anna Pamula of Renu Day Spa in Illinois, traditional Ayurveda does call for using these oils to help protect your skin from the sun’s rays.

“All vegetable oils have UVB And UVA protection qualities,” she says, noting that while plants certainly depend upon the sun to grow, they also need to protect themselves from sun damage.

Different oils have different SPF values, ranging from SPF 2 in the case of coconut oil to SPF 4 for sesame, SPF 6 for hemp, SPF 10 for soybean, and a whopping SPF 40 for carrot seed and SPF 50 for raspberry seed.

That said, some doctors, like Joshua Zeichner, M.D., the director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, note that lab results aren’t enough to prove that applying these oils instead of sunscreen will help in practice.

“In theory or in the lab, an oil may give [some] protection, but in the real world, you’re applying it to the skin with other ingredients and you’re sweating and it’s exposed to UV light — the conditions are very different,” Dr. Zeichner tells NY Mag. “It may not be stable.”

You may be better off opting for a natural sunscreen and boosting your skin’s natural sun-repelling power by consuming lots of antioxidants and avoiding certain essential oils: bitter orange, angelica, and lemon verbena can increase sun sensitivity, so shelve those until fall.

Ayurveda for Post-Sun Skin

One thing that experts do agree on across the board is that Ayurveda can be used successfully and safely if you’ve accidentally overdosed on sun exposure.

“You generally want to opt for cooling, calming and soothing oils,” says Kerri Axelrod, a certified holistic health coach. She suggests coconut oil after over-exposure to the sun to reduce inflammation, heal minor sunburns, and prevent redness.

Vasant Lad, founder of the Ayurvedic Institute, meanwhile, suggests mixing equal amounts of powdered sandalwood and turmeric and applying the paste to a sunburn to help it heal itself.

Classic aloe vera is yet another great way to soothe a sunburn. Choose fresh, organic aloe vera and apply the juice directly to the sunburn to help it heal.

For dry skin associated with too much time in the sun, sand, or sea, Axelrod suggests shea butter or a combination of lavender oil and sandalwood oil for their soothing properties. Placing a few drops of these essential oils into your bath a few times a week to can help you take advantage of their cooling effects after a bit too much time on the beach.

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Keeping skin beautiful may be easier than you think. Learn how your dosha affects your skin and the basics behind the Indian practice of Ayurvedic skincare.

We talk a lot about solving skin issues like breakouts, dryness, and irritation. What if there was a way to stop these problems before they occur? Like prevention of disease, heading off skin trouble is a possibility too.

With Ayurveda, India’s holistic medicine system, the idea is to keep the body and mind healthy, preventing health issues before they are a real problem. The life science takes an individual’s dosha into account and prescribes a lifestyle around it. This is thought to maintain balance, warding off discomfort and potential disease.

What’s good for the body/mind has to work for skin too, right? Right! Ayurveda can be used in supporting skin health and beauty, as well. Identifying your predominant dosha is the first step to not only supporting your skin, but really getting to know your complexion.

The three doshas –vata, pitta, kapha—hold certain physical, mental, and emotional attributes. This, of course, includes aspects of the complexion. Let’s take a look.

The Dosha Skin Types and Ayurvedic Skincare Products

Vata dosha: This skin type tends toward dryness and is usually thin with smaller pores. Vata skin types experience less acne than the other two doshas, but when they do get a zit it is usually dry and small, occurring mostly on the forehead. Common imbalances are premature aging, excessive dryness, and wrinkles. To keep Vata skin balanced, be sure skin receives adequate moisture. Oil serums are good for maintaining hydration in Vata skin. Use cream cleansers for dry skin, to avoid disrupting pH balance, and exfoliate gently. Battling congestion? Be sure you are getting enough water to keep digestion flowing.

Products for Vata Skin: Cleanse, exfoliate, and brighten skin with Kahina Giving Beauty Facial Cleanser, made with healthy oils to clean without stripping. RMS Beauty Oil is the best at helping skin hold in moisture and even skin tone. A bit of turmeric lends a natural glow. To give the complexion instant softness, smoothness, and help clear pores use Wedderspoon 100% Raw Organic Manuka Honey Active 16+ as a facial mask.

Pitta dosha: Like the fiery personality of a true Pitta, this dosha skin type is usually sensitive or combination, with pale or pink tone. Congestion and acne show up in the T-zone and are of the red, inflamed variety. Common imbalances are acne, redness, inflammation, irritation, and rosacea. Calming ingredients are ideal for Pitta skin. When battling breakouts, steer clear of harsh or drying ingredients. Dried out skin will only rebel by producing even more pimples. Moisturizing treatments with aloe or other mild hydrators are perfect for balancing this skin type.

Products for Pitta Skin: Keep delicate skin calm and happy with Dr. Alkaitis Organic Herbal Toner, made with soothing chamomile. Rosehip oil is anti-inflammatory and lightly moisturizing, but gentle enough for sensitive skin. Try Pai Chamomile & Rosehip Calming Day Cream. To gently exfoliate without causing irritation use Pai Kukui & Jojoba Skin Brightening Exfoliator.

Kapha dosha: Like their personality, Kapha skin is cool, smooth, and even. It is also more oily and has larger pores. Kapha skin is soft and usually sees fewer wrinkles than the other doshas. Cystic acne is Kapha and crops up mostly around the mouth. Common imbalances are excessive oiliness, blackheads, and cystic acne. Pore clearing, lightly hydrating ingredients are best for this skin type. Remember, even oily skin needs adequate moisture. Light plant oils are ideal.

Products for Kapha Skin: To cleanse skin and keep pores clear, try Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser. Apple juice and sugar cane provide exfoliation, while willow bark extract stops blemishes in their tracks. Follow up with Juice Beauty Oil-free Moisturizer to keep skin clear and healthy. When zits crop up, blast ‘em with Juice Beauty Blemish Be Gone.

Still not clear on which dosha skin type you fall under? Take Dr. Pratima Raichur’s skin analysis quiz.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Images: Top image of woman framing face with hands, vata skin type, pitta skin type, kapha skin type via Shutterstock. 

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Do you feel in constant battle with acne or wrinkles? Always working to diminish their appearance or prevent them from recurring? You may be missing the message. Face mapping can tell you a lot about your inner health.

We sometimes forget that skin is more than just a pretty cover that we try to keep looking its best. The skin is an organ, the only one we can see when we look in the mirror, and tells us a lot about our inner health. We just have to slow down and notice the subtle cues.

Ayurveda has always been about reading facial cues to uncover health disturbances. No, not a smirk or grimace. More like those pimples or wrinkles we spend so much time fretting over.

Before you go about banishing imperfections, find out how your breakouts and lines correspond to physical and emotional health. Do you tend to get pimples on your forehead? Have more prominent lines around your eyes? Redness on the chin? These all point to imbalances you cannot so easily see.

Why even worry about it when we can simply make a doctor appointment for blood tests or scans? Paying attention to early signs can help to get your system back on track before real disease sets in. Ayurveda acknowledges six phases for disease to become established in the body. Taking note of issues and altering your lifestyle before they are a big deal can prevent worsening health in the future.

So, you are ready to take action now. How do you know what your zits and wrinkles are saying?

The three doshas correspond to different regions of the face – forehead = Vata, chin and jawline = Kapha, the middle = Pitta. First step, notice which dosha your issues are in. Imbalanced vata skin tends to see clogged pores, dry skin, and wrinkles. Pitta imbalance shows up as redness or inflammation. Kapha usually looks like cystic acne or excessive oiliness.

Balancing the dosha that seems to be troubled is the first step toward healthier skin and system. But face mapping goes much deeper than this. Each region has specific spots that connect to internal organs and emotional states.

Face Mapping Basics

Above Brows: Blemishes above the brows relate to gallbladder and liver, suggesting the system needs a detox. Wrinkles on the forehead are called worry lines but can also tell of a diet too high in unhealthy fats and sugar. A diet void of processed foods and destressing with meditation will help these issues.

Between Brows: Blemishes between the brows signifies insufficient sleep or a diet too high in unhealthy fats. Creases in this area are connected to liver (right side) and spleen (left side). It may also mean repressed anger.

Dark Undereye Circles: Racoon eyes relate to poor circulation, while puffiness can mean impaired kidney function. Be sure you are getting enough water, regular exercise, and adequate sleep. Crow’s feet come from squinting and smiling, plain and simple. Wear sunglasses when outdoors to protect this delicate area. It is also important to note that dark circles can coincide with allergies, either seasonal or food related.

Nose: Connected to the lungs and heart, breakouts and redness in this area may mean internal inflammation. A diet rich in essential fatty acids and keeping caffeine and spicy foods to a minimum should help. Vitamin B can help to prevent breakouts and it may be a good idea to have your blood pressure checked if you experience pimples or broken blood vessels of the nose regularly.

Cheeks: Breakouts and irritation here could mean liver (left cheek) or lung (right cheek) issues. Chinese medicine suggests too much sugar is related to right cheek issues, while spicy foods and being overworked correspond to the left cheek. Problems on either side may also mean slow metabolism. Of course, we can’t forget that cheeks come into contact with grease and dirt from our hands, phones, and pillow cases too. Remember how Mom always told you to keep your hands off your face? Mom really does know best. Keeping this area clean will help to prevent blemishes.

Mouth: Blemishes around the mouth and on chin are usually related to hormones. Overly processed foods and lots of sugar can also cause zits here. Organs linked to this area are intestines and colon. If this seems to be your problem area, cut back on the junk and sweets in favor of a healthy, whole food diet rich in fiber. And, of course, reduced stress is beneficial too. Deep lines on the sides of the mouth can mean reproductive or pancreatic issues. Problems in this region can also be related to a closed mind or outdated opinions.

This is a lot to take in and you certainly should not try to diagnose any serious health issues yourself. If you are having persistent breakouts or are wondering why you have wrinkles one place and not another, these tips can set you in the right direction.

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Traditional medicinal plants have been used for centuries to treat local communities. From herbal and tribal medicine to the Science of Ayuveda, nearly 80 percent of the world depends on medicinal plants. And even if you think it’s some sort of pseudo science, understand that pharmaceutical drugs use these plants as direct ingredients and you couldn’t have one without the other. At the same time, an undiscovered plant could also hold the key to curing a deadly disease like AIDS or cancer. But just like our rainforests, oceans, and animals are all vulnerable to a changing climate, so too are the medicinal plants that we depend for healthcare.

“Of the 7.2 billion people who live on Earth now, about 5 billion of them don’t go to the local Walgreens to get their prescriptions filled,” Lewis Ziska, a U.S. Department of Agriculture plant physiologist specializing in plants’ response to global warming said to The Daily Climate. “Rising CO2 levels and climate change may have a huge impact on native peoples’ ability to provide for their own healthcare.”

How does global warming impact these medicinal plants? Well, for starters, as the planet warms, many of these so-called weeds start to move north. This means that they don’t grow in the areas that needed them the most. Plus, rising carbon levels may actually change the plant chemistry, making them less effective in the long run, and that could have devastating effects on the communities that rely on them.

One Indian study looked at the impact of climate change on medicinal plants used for Ayurveda. According to the study, the best herbs must be collected from a certain region of the Himalayas, as they are considered the most potent. In fact, Ayurvedic text names 351 Ayurvedic formulations and 175 pharmaceutical drugs that are sourced from one region. These areas are located at high regions in the Himalayas.

According to the study:

Medicinal plants are highly valuable to human livelihood and the medicinal plant wealth of India is well recognised. Studies on possible effects of climate change on medicinal plants are particularly significant due to their value within traditional systems of medicine and as economically useful plants. There is evidence that climate change is causing noticeable effects on life cycles and distribution of the plant species.

Small pockets of vulnerable land may be home to large portions of our medicinal plants and once they disappear, we’re in real trouble. Not to mention, that they may also hold the key to diseases that have yet to be cured. What if a vaccine for a chronic killer is hidden in a region that falls victim to deforestation? Or maybe it ceases to exist because it’s no longer protected by a shield of ice caps or snow. What a shame it would be if we never found that long awaited cure because the plant no longer existed as a result of our warming planet.

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Image of medicinal plants from Shuttershock

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Slow Food. Slow Fashion. Slow Beauty? The ancient Indian science of Ayurveda teaches that practicing a slow beauty approach is the best path to a more beautiful you. 

The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen is Bollywood actress Karenna Kapoor. I was at the airport ticket counter in Mumbai and turned to my left to see a face so so symmetrical and finely boned that her nose, lips and eyes appeared to hover in place above her flawless skin’s surface. Like looking at the Taj Mahal at sunrise—your eyes can’t quite take it in all at once—she was surreally beautiful.

But while all Bollywood actresses will undoubtedly be familiar with the following beauty practices, this isn’t about a handful of gorgeous film actresses singing and dancing on a soundstage in the western Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. Across the country, you will see women everywhere with soft skin, thick hair and sparkling eyes thanks to the culture’s widespread practice of the healing tradition of Ayurveda. Using a range of holistic treatments including yoga, massage and plant medicines, the ancient system encourages health and restores radiance. Here are 5 essential ayurvedic practices that go beyond cosmetics and surface treatments and promote the kind of beauty that comes from having a healthy and relaxed body.

1. Hair Oiling.  Ever wondered why Indian women have such thick, glossy locks? It starts with a warm oil massage of the scalp. Before you wash your hair, warm some coconut oil and gently massage it into your scalp. The massaging motion helps to increase circulation and speed the turnover of dead skin cells,  and the oils condition the hair for a healthy shine.

2. Abhyanga. The practice of abhyanga—a daily full body self-massage with oil—is one of the best anti-aging strategies there is. Not only are you moisturizing your skin, but also the technique is said to detoxify and tone your body on a deep cellular level.

3. Eye Palming. Our eyes were not meant to stare at computer screens all day. If yours are red and fatigued, Ayurvedic science has a simple solution that is surprisingly effective—eye palming. Take your palms and rub them together for 10 seconds until the friction creates a mild heat. Then place your palms over each eye and gently rest them there. Repeat 2-3 times for instant relief.

4. Neti Pot. You may have heard of using a neti pot to clear stuffed up sinuses and ease allergies, but according to Ayurvedic wisdom, daily cleansing of the upper respiratory tract using a neti pot of warm salt water can help achieve so much more. A clear, relaxed sense of breathing that results from daily use is said to also diminish under eye circles, eliminate gray hair and ease wrinkling of the skin.

5. Dosha Specific Aromatherapy. Ayurveda teaches that each human possesses a unique combination of the doshas: three subtle energies, known as Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Ill health occurs when any of these doshas is out of balance. Once you determine which dosha is most prominent for you, essential oils can be used to bring these forces into harmony to promote physical, emotional and spiritual growth.

Interested in learning more? Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda by Pratima Raichur is a great resource full of in-depth information (that inspired this post) about the doshas, how to perform the beauty practices, and ayurvedic philosophy.

Top Image: Kareena Kapoor 

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