Long ago, before our modern world was build, ancient people from India created one of the most sophisticated and powerful mind-body health systems today known as Ayurveda. This ancient healing tradition has a big impact in the world of natural skin care.
Ayurveda has sophisticated knowledge of natural skin care — ayurvedic formulations are combinations of different types of herbs that offer the benefits of both synergy and balance, without damaging side effects. But, it is very important to know that, a single herb can have powerful healing properties and if used alone or in inappropriate combinations, sometimes it does more harm than good.
As in the modern medicine, in Ayurveda there are 3 skin types: Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Vata, Pitta and Kapha are ayurvedic psycho-physiological principles called "doshas" and they are also combinations of 5 natural elements. Vata is air and space, Pitta is fire and water and Kapha is earth and water. A person's ayurvedic skin type, therefore, can be Vata, Pitta or Kapha, or sometimes a combination of two of these doshas.
Vata skin is similar to dry skin, it is thin and cool to the touch, easily gets dehydrated especially in cold and windy weather. Pitta is fire, tends to have more breakouts, freckles and moles, less tolerance to hot food and photosensitivity. It looks ruddy but, is warm to the touch. Kapha dosha is water and earth, so Kapha skin tends to have all the qualities of water and earth, it can be greasy, thick, and more tolerant of the sun. Combination skin types can be Vata-Pitta - dry and sensitive, Kapha-Pitta - oily and sensitive skin and Vata-Kapha - dry with oily zones.
Here are some basic rules of how to take care of all 3 skin types:
Vata skin
Skin care products should be nurturing and must include essential oils or herbs to rehydrate the skin, and to prevent the skin from wrinkles and premature aging.
Pitta Skin
This skin needs cooling and nurturing. Skin care products MUST be resistant to the sun. Tanning and steam treatments are forbidden!
Kapha skin
Because of the thickness and oiliness, this skin is more prone to toxins accumulated under the skin. Both internal and external detoxification on a regular basis it’s a MUST. Scrubbing the skin with a gentle exfoliating clay helps the external cleansing but, also taking herbal ingredients to cleanse the skin from within is very important.