The Highlights
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Why Ancient Face and Body-Care Practices are so Needed Now -
The Ayurveda Philosophy in a Nutshell -
What’s your Ayurveda Skin Type? -
Ayurveda Face Care Rituals–The Basics
Why Ancient Face and Body-Care Practices are so Needed Now
The world we live in, with its alignment to the digital clock and AI (rather than the Earth or our body clocks) sometimes moves so fast we think we don’t have time to slow down and take care of ourselves. When the truth is, we absolutely MUST. That’s the difference between just surviving and THRIVING.
I look forward to my face and body care rituals in the morning and at night. Its 5-10 minutes of concentrated ME time, when everything can just wait while I take care of my skin. That might seem shallow but truly it is not. Your skin is your largest organ, the barrier between you and infectious bacteria. It is also home to a microbiome that lives symbiotically with you, protecting your skin and your immune system. The critters in your skin biome like to eat plant based things; the chemicals found in conventional face care systems will kill them. No bueno for your long term skin health.
That’s where Ayurveda—and really, every ancient healing system—comes into play. These knowledge systems hold generations of wisdom about the natural world, its rhythms, and the plants that nourish and heal us when we’re out of balance. These understandings were shared by our ancestors, who carried medicinal plants with them and passed their remedies along as they traveled. They preserved this wisdom through centuries of war, migration, colonization, persecution, and environmental changes because, long before modern science, their survival depended on it.
What I love about Ayurveda, the holistic care system that I have inherited, is that it isn’t fixed in time or space, dependent only on plants grown in a certain location. Foremost, It’s a philosophy, an approach that is expansive, responsive and happy to incorporate and include plants and wisdom from where you live, that resonate with core Ayurveda principles.
The Ayurveda Philosophy in a Nutshell
Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine from India, has been practiced for thousands of years. Its focus is on balancing the body, mind, and spirit using natural remedies and practices, like various types of yoga, massage, and meditation. The term Ayurveda translates to knowledge of life, and its goal is to restore balance to the body’s energy forces known as doshas.
In Ayurveda, the body is composed of five elements that form three key doshas—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. These doshas shape every aspect of a person’s physical, mental and emotional constitution. We’re talking about everything from how your body’s systems are firing, to mood, energy levels, to mental clarity to a sense of spiritual peace. Imbalance to your doshas, caused by factors like diet, stress, lifestyle, and pollution, unaddressed, can lead to dis-ease.
The Vata dosha represents movement and air. It governs bodily functions like breathing, circulation, and the nervous system. When balanced, it promotes creativity and energy, but when imbalanced, it can cause dryness, anxiety, and restlessness.
The Pitta dosha is associated with fire and water. It controls digestion, metabolism, and body temperature. When balanced, it promotes focus and vitality, but when imbalanced, it can lead to anger, inflammation, and skin issues like rashes or acne.
The Kapha dosha is associated with earth and water. It governs structure, stability, and lubrication in the body, providing strength and endurance. When balanced, it promotes calmness and immunity, but when imbalanced, it can cause sluggishness, weight gain, and congestion.
Ayurveda herbal medicine seeks to bring doshas back into balance for an optimal experience. It's like getting your car serviced and tuned so that all the fuel you put in makes your car run at optimum levels. Alleviation of symptoms becomes an indicator that the herbs are actually doing their rebalancing work. It’s a gradual process. That’s actually the beauty of it. The process allows your doshas a little bit of time to adapt to where the plants want to take it.
What’s your Ayurveda Skin Type?
Ayurveda emphasizes the balance of doshas , circulation, moisture, and metabolism to maintain skin health. Treatments target skin imbalances by addressing lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors, similar to using products for your specific skin type in Western medicine.
But how do you know what dosha your skin is? You can identify your skin's dosha, by observing its characteristics and how it behaves over time. Here's a basic Ayurveda guide:
Vata skin is typically dry, thin, and delicate, with a rough or flaky texture that is prone to cracking. It tends to be cool to the touch and can feel tight or easily irritated, especially in cold or windy conditions. Vata skin is prone to early signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and dullness, as it lacks moisture and elasticity. It often requires deep hydration, moisturizing and added “anti-aging” nourishment to maintain balance and prevent dryness or sensitivity.
Face Chai for Dry and Sensitive Skin is made for Vata skin.
Pitta skin is typically warm and soft, with a balanced texture. But it is prone to issues like redness, inflammation, and pimply breakouts. Pitta skin is sensitive to heat and sun exposure, often developing rashes, freckles, acne, or irritation in warmer weather. It may also react to hot foods or stress. While it can have a natural glow when balanced, pitta skin requires cooling and gentle, calming care to avoid irritation and maintain its health in a sustained way..
Face Chai for Normal and Combination Skin is made for Pitta Skin.
Kapha skin is typically oily, thick, and smooth, with a soft and supple texture. Because it produces an excess of sebum, it tends to have good elasticity and is less prone to wrinkles, aging slowly. However, it can be prone to excess oil, clogged pores, blackheads, and acne, particularly in humid or damp environments. Kapha skin often feels moist and can sometimes appear puffy or congested. It benefits from regular cleansing and exfoliation to prevent build-up and keep it clear and balanced.
Face Chai for Oily and Break-out Prone Skin is made for Kapha Skin.
Ayurveda Face Care Rituals–The Basics
I don’t see Face Care as a routine. It's bigger and more profoundly important than that.
I have memories of watching the women in my family engage in their own face and self care rituals in women’s only, private spaces. It was a special place for communion, sharing information, troubles, gossip, support, and care. It had the resonance of The Red Tent, a practice that carried over into my teenage years when my friend and I, emulating our mothers, would create spaces like that for ourselves. These memories were also with me when designing Face Chai–the sense of ritual, taking time for self-care, communion, self-knowledge and understanding.
As I grew older, I would use face and self care rituals to create sacred moments of care and connection with myself. They became an oasis at the start and finish of busy days keeping up with my then small children and to do list. I still rely on them in my daily activities as artisan entrepreneur, caregiver to my partner, Thom and emotional support for my loved ones.
Ayurveda’s approach is gentle and holistic, using plant and ingredients to bring your doshas back into balance. The pace of Ayurveda is in alignment with the pace of nature going through its cycles, something our bodies completely resonate with. Our skin has its own pace of healing, something Ayurveda fully respects and honours through its choice of plants for maintaining the balance skin’s doshas need for optimum health.
In addition, Ayurveda has developed a face care ritual that gives us reasons to slow down and engage in daily self-care, balancing, and grounding. This is a wonderful way to awaken your skin to the start of the day as well as its close. I’ve designed the Face Chai Steps in keeping with these principles. Each Step can be used in multiple ways to meet your skin’s needs.
In Ayurveda, face care is a hands-on process. While tools for facial massage exist, your hands are preferred. Human touch is essential for everyone, and self-touch plays a vital role in self-soothing, self-awareness, and self-acceptance. Your fingers are naturally skilled at massaging, smoothing, and aiding lymphatic drainage. In this case, your own "built-in biotech" is the best tool you have!
Generally, for each skin dosha/type, these rituals are:
- Gentle Cleansing
Cleanse with a mild, non-drying cleanser that is as soap free as possible so as not to strip skin’s inherent sebum/oil content or its microbiome. Ayurveda recommends using oils to cleanse or using plant powders and clays for a light exfoliating clean.
- Cool and Tone Skin
Give skin a layer of hydration after cleansing with toners made from botanical teas or waters. This is meant to be hydrating, soothing, and cooling depending on your dosha needs. It also gives the skin biome some needed nutrients.
- Moisturizing
Use nourishing oils to deeply moisturize, ease dryness, feed your skin biome and protect your skin.
Apply oils with daily face massages (Abhyanga) to improve circulation and bring the glow back to your face. It’s a wonderful ritual to include in your skin routine, relaxing and calming.. Apply moisturizing oils after cleansing to lock in moisture and improve skin elasticity in the morning or at night.
- Hydrating Face Masks
Once a week, apply hydrating face masks made from plant powders and clays blended with botanical teas or waters (like coconut water or aloe juice) or fruits (banana or avocado) or honey and yogurt to calm, exfoliate, nourish and glowify the skin.
So make time to participate in face care rituals that bring a calm pause before your start your day or an oasis of ME time before you sleep. Your whole being will thank you. And the bonus? Happy, Healthy Skin!