All 3 skin types when in balance are healthy, glowing & radiant regardless of what your leading dosha is. Once you know your skin type the basic steps of Ayurvedic skincare apply - cleanse, hydrate, nourish or moisturise... just these 3 steps done daily are enough to correct an imbalance & if revitalising is required then try our natural & gentle food based exfoliant/ masks & body treatments...
The aim of each ritual is to strengthen the tissues of the skin, supporting the healthy flow of nutrients throughout each of the 7 tissues or dhatus, allowing the skin to naturally regenerate, heal, & radiate health.
Select your dosha to discover your specific dosha traits and beauty rituals. Vata / Pitta / Kapha
Not
sure of your dosha? Take the Rasasara skin test.
An introduction to beauty rituals...
Cleansing
Cleansing is about removing foreign materials from the skin OR removing expressions of waste from the internal to the external via sweat & oil glands. Foreign materials being - make-up, air pollutants etc Internal being - toxicity - removed from the internal channels through the most convenient glands. Cleansing therefore should support the removal of this buildup, but not deposit any unnecessary substances back into the skin; in particular anything with a fine molecular structure that will be reabsorbed by the skin.
Compressing
Often we tend to over cleanse, stripping our skin of natural oils, compressing detoxifies & cleanses the skin without doing this; opening the pores, softening & warming the skin, allowing toxins to be expelled & face nourishing oils to penetrate quickly & deeply into the skin.
Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, gently cleansing, refreshing & softening; essential oils are inhaled & therefore the prana (a Vata energetic) is stimulated & strengthened.
This also means that essential oils penetrate into the central mind channel where olfactory qualities generate nervous system responses to the rest of the body. Making compressing a very powerful tool for those who are prone to operating from the sympathetic nervous system.
Compressing the skin upon waking & sleeping is therefore beneficial for all 3 doshas (skin types). All skin types benefit from compressing as an alternative
cleansing agent.
Hydrating & Nourishing
Cream based moisturisers are made from of a base of oil & water that has been emulsified with vegetable or petrochemical-based emulsifying agents. Moisturisers without emulsifiers look like salad dressing (oil & water sitting on top of each other). Emulsifiers allow the manufacturer a shelf-life for their product and create a lovely texture. Fragrances & preservatives can be hidden.
Our skin eats the oil & drinks the water however has no use for emulsifiers which just sit on top of the skin often clogging the pores. The preservatives & fragrances are what often create sensitivity to commercial products. Even products that use vegetable-based emulsifiers can cause reactions or feel heavy on the face as your skin simply has no use for them.
Rasasara Skinfoods offers Face Nourishing Oils & Aromatic Hydrating Mists as separate products that are designed to work synergistically. There are no unnecessary emulsifiers, fragrances or preservatives. Your skin is nourished with exactly what it needs & is never clogged or exposed to harmful or irritating ingredients. This is why Rasasara products are suitable for everyone, even the most sensitive skin.
Combining Rasasara Face Nourishing Oil with Hydrating Mist provides the following benefits:
- The Aromatic Hydrating Mist hydrates the skin much like drinking water hydrates the body. The Mists help to keep the skin pliable & able to function, removing build up & hydrating our skin tissue. This means you don't get a build up of substances on your skin.
- Combined with the Mist, the Face Nourishing Oil penetrates into the skin so the oil is absorbed & greater nourishment of the tissues is achieved.
- Skin often needs more hydration. Having the Oil & Mist separately allows you to hydrate more often & experience its benefits any time of the day.
Exfoliating
People often feel that if their skin is dry or rough they need more moisture. What your skin may actually need is exfoliation. The lifecycle of your skin cells means that new skin cells are constantly being generated to replace existing skin cells. If we over moisturise without exfoliating the dead skin cells can become compacted & hard, making the skin feel dry because it is more difficult for oils to penetrate the skin. Exfoliating, hydrating & nourishing together reduce the hardness & soften the skin - creating more vibrancy.
Our Herbal Face Cleansers are a very gentle exfoliant composed of natural grains, herbs, spices & clay minerals that can be used once a week or once a day.
Mixed with water their texture assists in sloughing off dead skin cells. The skin is able to absorb nourishing oils & hydrating mists far more effectively when there are less dead skin cells. Clay minerals work to nourish
& refine skin, whilst spices & herbs act as a cleansing & purifying agent, simultaneously strengthening the tissue structure of the skin. The thicker your skin, the more exfoliation generally is required. Dry/Vata & Oily/Kapha skin types can use them more often than Sensitive/Pitta types.
Masks
The act of leaving substances on the skin provides a dual action upon the skin: the skin very gently exfoliates whilst being nourished. Herbal Face Exfoliant/ Masks are unique and incredibly versatile. By adding fresh ingredients you can deeply nourish your unique skin type.
Daily Self Massage
Daily self-massage takes between 10-30 minutes & is best practiced before bathing or showering. Using warm oils, the heat of the water & the water itself enables the oils to penetrate deeply into the body & enter the digestive system where they can help loosen stored toxins & enable them to be more readily eliminated by the body.
Massage should be light and rejuvenating. Start from the outer limb & massage towards the heart using circular
soothing motions on the joints and light, stimulating movements up & down the limbs. As the body heats up, your
skin will begin to glow.
The practice of daily self-massage is an incredibly rewarding personal experience. The power of touch when applied by oneself to one's body is uniquely uplifting. If you are unused to massage the experience can at first seem cumbersome & clumsy. Bringing your conscious awareness to your state of being during the massage has the affect of connecting your mind, body & soul. What a great start to the day!
Those looking for adventure can add mantras, humming & singing or focused breathing to the practice. We here at Rasasara have found that daily self massage brings much greater awareness to activities such as yoga or tai chi
that may follow afterwards.
Application of warm medicated oils or Ayurvedic Aromatherapy oils all over the body is Abhyanga pronounced a-by-unger which is Sanskrit for massage.
The benefits:
- Helps in alleviating muscular fatigue
- Relieves muscular & nervous tension & pain
- Detoxifies the system and enhances circulation
- Creates homeostasis in the body
- Calms the mind & uplifts the spirit
- Ayurvedic oils not only work on a physical level but also on a metaphysical, psychological & emotional level, thereby nurturing your inner senses & leaving you totally relaxed with a feeling of overall wellbeing rejuvenation & peace
- Ayurvedic Aromatherapy oils can be used in conjunction with other Aromatherapy oils & a full Aromatherapy lymphatic drainage can be completed yielding excellent results.
Although the massage comprises a general full body massage, the primary dosha of the client should be considered when choosing the pre-blended or individual essential oil combination for massage. The correct strokes are also important! See in 'Self Massage' your specific dosha: Vata / Pitta / Kapha
Not sure of your dosha? Take the Rasasara skin test.