Caring for Your Skin—Your Largest Detox Organ. {Part Two}

Last week, in Part One of this series, I discussed home recipes for cleansing and toning the skin, how to determine your Ayurvedic skin type, and how to adjust your skin care recipe accordingly.

Today, I’d like to invite you to take my skin imbalance quiz to find out where your skin might be out of balance, and how to moisturize it accordingly.

Join me as we reveal some Ayurvedic beauty secrets right in your own kitchen!

Three Types of Skin

According to Ayurveda, there are three types of skin:

•    Vata skin—rhin, dry and delicate
•    Pitta skin—soft, warm and slightly oily
•    Kapha skin—plump, oily and cool

Please take my Skin Typing Quiz to determine your Ayurvedic Skin Type.

When the skin becomes irritated from excess stress, weather, poor air quality, and/or from improper food and digestive-related issues, the skin becomes imbalanced.

The different skin types manifest imbalances in the following ways:

Imbalanced Vata Skin—chapped, premature wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes.
Imbalanced Pitta Skin—rashes, freckles and discolorations.
Imbalanced Kapha Skin—clammy, excessive oil and edema.

Wrinkles also seem to trend according to skin type parameters:

Vata wrinkles—worry lines (horizontal wrinkles across forehead).
Pitta wrinkles—crow’s feet and brow wrinkles (squinting wrinkles and creases between the eyebrows.
Kapha wrinkles—wrinkles around the mouth or chin with edema.

Ayurvedic Moisturizing

According to Ayurveda, one of the keys to moisturizing the skin effectively is to use the most pure ingredients. The LifeSpa skin care line has absolutely no preservatives and is made from all organic herbs. This is important because preservatives will congest the deep layers of the skin.

A main goal of Ayurvedic skin care is to restore the function of the skin. This is done by “exercising the skin” first, before adding a moisturizer. Last week, we discussed the mechanical nature of a good mask and cleanser/toner meant to drive nutrients deep into the skin and pull out impurities. This push-pull action exercises the skin, thus flushing out deep-seated impurities.

Once cleansed, we can then properly moisturize.

Water—A Controversial Addition to Skin Care Products

Because most skin care products contain added water as a filler, they are susceptible to bacteria and thus require chemical preservatives. LifeSpa products have no added water, and therefore no preservatives are required. This also makes LifeSpa products very concentrated, and water must be added as needed during use to dilute the concentration of the products.

Skin Repair Herbs

There are three skin repair herbs that we use in our Ayurvedic moisturizers at LifeSpa to repair the different skin type imbalances, listed above. Add the appropriate skin repair herb below according to your skin imbalance, determined on the Skin Imbalance Questionnaire:

Vata: Brahmi moisturizes and supports the repair of delicate vata skin and wrinkles.

Pitta: Amalaki is a natural source of vitamin C needed to cool the skin and support the production of collagen for skin elasticity and repair.

Kapha: Turmeric is a natural lymph mover for the skin associated lymphatic tissue (SALT) which supports healthy cellular micro-circulation and a natural inflammation response in the skin.

Ayurvedic Home Moisturizer Recipes

Choose the moisturizer below based on your overall skin type, and add the skin repair herb based on your skin imbalance.

Vata Skin Type Moisturizer—Mix equal parts of raw milk and raw honey into a paste. Add the appropriate skin repair herb based on your skin imbalance. Apply formula to the face for three to five minutes as a skin repair moisturizer. Rinse thoroughly.

•    For vata skin type with vata skin imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Brahmi.
•    For vata skin type with pitta imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Amalaki.
•    For vata skin type with kapha imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Turmeric.

Pitta Skin Type Moisturizer—Gently blend equal parts raw milk, banana, and papaya into a paste. Add the appropriate skin repair herb based on your skin imbalance. Apply to the face for 2-10 minutes as a repairing moisturizer. Rinse thoroughly.

•    For pitta skin type with vata skin imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Brahmi.
•    For pitta skin type with pitta imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Amalaki.
•    For pitta skin type with kapha imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Turmeric.

Kapha Skin Type Moisturizer—Mix equal parts raw honey and lemon juice into a paste. Add the appropriate skin repair herbs based on your skin imbalance. Apply to the face and leave it on for up to 10 minutes. This moisturizer may also be applied to the entire body. Rinse thoroughly.

•    For kapha skin type with vata skin imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Brahmi.
•    For kapha skin type with pitta imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Amalaki.
•    For kapha skin type with kapha imbalance, add ¼ teaspoon of Turmeric.

Determine your Ayurvedic Skin Type with the Ayurvedic Skin Type Quiz.

Determine your Ayurvedic Skin Imbalance with the Skin Imbalance Quiz.

Editor: Lynn Hasselberger

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