7 Ayurvedic Tips For Healthy Skin And A Natural Glow

Well before big-name cosmetic and pharma brands came out with age-defying skin care solutions, ayurveda used natural herbal remedies to keep skin looking youthful. Did you know that ayurveda views skin care from multiple fronts just like the modern holistic approach to health?

By addressing elements such as varnya (brightening skin), sandhaniya (regenerating cells), shothahara (fighting inflammation), vranaropana (healing), and tvagrasayana (slowing aging), ayurvedic remedies can keep your skin looking and feeling great.¹

An ayurvedic regimen for skin care involves eating right (according to your body type or dosha), using an appropriate ubtan or mix of flours, legumes, and herbal remedies, and moisturizing with organic oils. Here is a closer look at the treatments, herbal formulations, and remedies you could explore.

1. Use Herbal Face Packs To Slow Down Aging

Certain herbs like gotu kola are used in ayurveda to keep skin looking youthful and defy aging – in an activity called vayasthapana which allows all the three doshas of the body to be held in balance.² A face pack that helps more mature skin is made from a combination of clay, honey, aloe vera juice or spring water, evening primrose oil, and rosa mosqueta.³

2. Use Lemon And Papaya To Look Radiant

That ever-elusive “naturally radiant,” glowing skin that we all covet is something ayurveda addresses through varnya herbal remedies. Homemade sandalwood paste-based remedies or those that use Indian madder, Indian sarsaparilla, or vetiver can work well.⁴

Face packs can be made from a variety of fruit and vegetables, depending on your skin type. A simple home-made facepack of lemon, which has varnya properties, and papaya, a natural face cream which softens the skin and removes blemishes, can do wonders for your complexion.⁵

Herbal cleansing powders made from powdered herbs of aloe vera, manjistha, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, lemon peel, vetiver, comfrey, tulsi, nutmeg, and sandalwood mixed with clay/chickpea flour can be used for a variety of skin types. Simply change the base you mix it with for different effects.

If you have dry skin, try mixing it with aloe vera juice or fresh cream or milk; if you have oily skin use yogurt or a lemon juice base; and for normal skin you could use spring water or any herbal tea.⁶

3. Use Sesame Oil Or Buttermilk To Moisturize Your Skin

You already know that moisturizing the skin is an important step to keep it looking good and retaining that youthfulness for longer. Ayurvedic remedies use this same principle to treat skin naturally.

Nurture your body from within with the right foods rich in antioxidants and, on the outside, with ingredients like rose petal, gotu kola, costus, grapefruit extract, and bombax.⁷

Traditional face masks make use of goat’s milk or even buttermilk for their ability to soothe and soften the skin and enrich the skin with vitamins A, E, B6, and B12. Sesame oil is a popular base due to its biologically active compounds that act as antioxidants and moisturize as well.⁸

4. Use Aloe Vera To Cut Inflammation And Sunburn

Use anti-inflammatory ayurvedic ingredients to protect your body from the relentless assault of chemicals, allergens, stress, and other inflammatory substances. Shothahara herbs like aloe vera, rose petal, and bombax are effective remedies and preventive agents.⁹

Aloe vera can be used easily, by pulping the leaves or using its juice, to soothe sunburn and heal and smoothen skin. For skin that is irritated, red sandalwood paste combined with powdered paste of the root of khas is useful in treating allergic reactions on the skin or other skin irritations.¹⁰

5. Use Gotu Kola Or Honey To Repair Damaged Skin

Rebuild tissue, heal your skin, and repair it using sandhaniya herbs such as shameplant. If that healing needs to be deeper, you should turn to vranaropana herbs such as gotu kola.¹¹ Honey has both properties and can be used in topical applications as well as internally to heal wounds to the skin and enhance the activity of medication.¹²

6. Try Ksheera Sekam And Navarakizhi Therapies To Nourish Skin

A range of specially designed therapies and massages in ayurveda can help nourish your skin. A nourishing warm oil massage conditions your skin from the outside and helps improve circulation. Herbal exfoliants are used in gharshana, an ayurvedic dry massage, to help slough away dry, old skin and reveal fresh, glowing skin beneath.

The ksheera sekam therapy, where a medicated milk bath is used to allow your skin to soak up nutrients directly, and the navarakizhi, where rice-herb bundles dipped in milk are applied to your skin, both help tone up your skin and nourish it. And if you thought a relaxing facial was something you would not find in ayurveda books and treatment centers, think again!

Ayurveda looks at your skin type and suggests a natural face pack for you in a therapy called mukhalepam or lepa.¹³ A skin-nourishing face pack can be made from clay, aloe vera juice, egg white (or water), and honey for those with dry or normal skin; or clay, aloe vera juice, honey, and lemon juice or fennel tea if the skin is oily.¹⁴

7. Eat Amla And Turmeric To Keep Your Skin Healthy From Within

Avoid rich oily or heavily spiced foods that can overload your digestive system, causing breakouts on your skin. Light food that you can digest easily eases this load. Think leafy greens, cauliflower, zucchini, apples, melons, and pears. You can also turn to cooling vata-normalizing and pitta-pacifying herbs like coriander seed, cardamom, or fennel to keep your skin glowing.¹⁵

Eat more vitamin and antioxidant-rich foods like the amla (Indian gooseberry) as well as spices like turmeric, which can help fight free radical damage and photodamage. They can give your skin the nourishment it needs to replenish and heal itself. Antioxidants can also help you avoid wrinkles and inflammation or breakouts.¹⁶

Amla, when taken with neem, can help stave off pimples caused by blood impurities.¹⁷ Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial remedy that can help you from the outside and within. It has been used historically to make skin look fresh and glowing and to keep off bacteria.¹⁸

Your Doubts Answered

1. A Simple Ayurvedic Diy Face Pack To Treat Hyperpigmentation?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Turmeric is highly regarded in treating the skin lesions and is also an easily available herb. Just take a pinch of turmeric, mix it with a spoon of milk cream and apply it on the hyperpigmentation marks. Leave it to dry on the skin and then wash it after 15 mins. Regular use will lighten the skin and also clears the skin of blemishes and marks.”]

2. Will Using Sesame Oil On My Face Cause A Breakout?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Ordinarily Sesame oil is mild on skin, however, if you have an oily skin type then it may result into breakout or acne, a good workaround would be to exfoliate the skin with gram flour and turmeric to clear the pores off dirt and oil.”]

3. What Is A Good Ayurvedic DIY Face Pack I Can Use Before Sleeping?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Ayurvedic face packs are meant to be applied and left on the skin till it dry from the body heat and then wash it off, the entire ritual takes not more than 20mins. Overnight face pack is not recommended as it blocks the pores and leaves the skin dry and lusterless. Plain Rosewater or fresh milk could be dabbed on the skin and left overnight for toning the skin.”]

4. When Do You Start Seeing Results After Following An Ayurvedic Skincare Routine?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Ayurvedic skin care routine ideally involves internal as well as external food and nutrition. Healthy tissue formation in Ayurveda (Dhatu saarta) is said to first reflect on the skin hence a good regimen would begin to show up in as less as 3 days of following it religiously.”]

5. What Is A Good Ayurvedic DIY Face Pack I Can Use In The Morning?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Mix turmeric in fresh aloe vera gel and apply it on the face. Let it dry off, this would ideally take 15 to 20 mins. It’s an all in one treatment to cleanse, lighten the complexion, tone and tighten the skin.”]

6. I’m Interested To Use Turmeric On My Face But I’m Worried About It Leaving A Yellow Stain. Any Tips?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Use of turmeric with milk-cream reduces the yellowish stain, moreover, milk-cream is the ideal adjuvant for its skin applications considering their individual properties. If the yellowish tint on the face persists and is of concern then it can be gently washed with a paste made out of chickpea powder and luke-warm water. Using soaps and facewash to get rid-off the yellow stain is discouraged.”]

7. Do I Need To Make A Fresh Batch Of An Ayurvedic Face Pack Every Time? Or Can I Make It In Bulk And Store It?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Ayurvedic face pack in powdered form can be prepared in bulk and used within a couple of months, whereas, sealed and unopened packs can last even for a year. It’s best to prepare a fresh herbal paste and apply it immediately for good results. However, considering the time constraints, preparing small portions and refrigerating in an airtight container could be an option.”]

8. People Say Papaya Will Help Treat Hyperpigmentation. Is It True?

[expert_opinion expertname=’sheetalsuvarna’ opinion=”Papaya with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action aids to combat the effects of imbalanced doshas that presents on the skin in the form of rashes, pigmentation, and pruritis. With its properties to pacify Pitta (Fire element) and enhance the formation of Rakta Dhatu (Blood forming tissue) Papaya is recommended. Ripe fruit can be consumed as well as a paste could be applied externally to feel the effect.”]

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