Ayurvedic Skincare Remedies for Unruly Skin

Are you looking for simple, non-toxic, DIY herbal remedies to naturally hydrate, clear and balance your skin? Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old traditional healing system of India, has all-natural, earth-based solutions for gently supporting the health and integrity of your skin. Through a holistic approach to medicine, Ayurvedic treatment requires looking at the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of each person in order to determine one’s current state of balance. Ayurveda teaches that when we take care of our bodies through appropriate diet, sleep and responsible use of prana (life force energy), our internal state of balance will manifest externally through a healthy body, mind and skin. Let’s take a look at some tried and true Ayurvedic recommendations for caring for your skin.

Ayurveda is based on the philosophy that everyone has a unique dosha that governs their constitution or physical, emotional and spiritual health. The 3 doshas are vata, pitta and kapha. One’s unique blend of the 3 doshas determines which foods, forms of exercise, lifestyle practices and skincare protocols will be the most beneficial for maintaining optimal health and wellbeing. Therefore, in order to learn which Ayurvedic skincare products and practices are best for you, we encourage you to start your journey by taking our Discover Your Dosha Quiz. 

One of the 3 Pillars of Life outlined in Ayurvedic medicine is that quality sleep is imperative. When we get adequate beauty sleep, our internal body has the opportunity to cleanse and detoxify as well as replenish and restore itself for the next day. Generally speaking, Ayurveda recommends that people predominant in vata dosha get at least 8 hours of sleep, people predominant in pitta dosha get between 7-8 hours of sleep and people predominant in kapha dosha do best on 6-7 hours of sleep each night. Also important is being in sync with the sun. This means that you would ideally fall asleep by 10pm and awaken with the rising sun (around 6 am). This doshically aligned schedule will not only help you to establish a healthy sleep routine, but it will make you feel good and allow your skin to glow!

When your mind is consumed with to-do lists, worries sadness and/or frets, these stress-inducing emotional states tend to not only affect your mental health, but they also have a measurable impact on your body’s ability to digest and assimilate foods, focus on the present moment, keep the nervous system in a balanced state of homeostasis and even support your skin to be its most radiant self. We know that reducing stress is easier said than done, but luckily the science of Ayurveda and its sister science, Yoga, have a plethora of tools to utilize so that you can keep stress at bay. Practices like dinacharya, pranayama, meditation, yoga, abhyanga, stress-relieving herbal remedies and of course, Ayurvedic skincare rituals, are all highly accessible practices that will relieve stress while nourishing your skin, body, heart and mind. 

Now that you have some simple Ayurvedic lifestyle recommendations to support the health of your skin, let’s take a look at what remedies Ayurveda recommends for some common skincare ailments- premature wrinkles, dark spots and acne.

Wash your skin with milk to moisturize and soften your skin! Simply blend ¼ cup warm heavy cream or cow’s milk with 5 drops of geranium essential oil. Dip a cotton ball into the mixture and gently massage the milk cleanser onto the face. Once completely applied to the face, lay down for 20 minutes to allow the Milk + Geranium Cleanser’s healing properties to nourish the skin. Next, simply rinse your face with room temperature water and follow up with your PAAVANI Vata Toner, Vata Serum and Floral Water. If you are vegan, you can swap the dairy milk for almond, oat or coconut milk or coconut cream. Another alternative for a luxurious milk cleanser would be to combine your Milk + Geranium Cleanser with your PAAVANI Vata Cleanser & Mask. If you don’t have any milk products available, you could also combine your PAAVANI Coconut Milk Bath with PAAVANI Floral Water and your PAAVANI Vata Cleanser & Mask.

Hydrate and nourish your skin daily with plant-based oils like: argan, rosehip, sesame and almond. When applying, always combine your facial oils with water (like our Floral Water) to assist the oil’s healing properties in penetrating deep within the skin’s layers. For a ready made face oil, we love the combination of the PAAVANI Vata Serum and Floral Water to reduce premature wrinkles. We also love The Legion of Bloom Wellness’ ZANA Lasting Beauty Ayurvedic CBD transdermal roll-on as a booster treatment in combination with your daily face oil.

Incorporate kansa into your skincare ritual! A Kansa Wand is a traditional Ayurvedic facial massage tool that, when combined with your PAAVANI Serum and Floral Water, helps to increase circulation, detoxify the skin, relax the facial muscles, smooth fine lines and promote collagen production, all perfect for reducing fine lines and wrinkles. 

Add 3-4 saffron threads to ¼ cup warm buttermilk. Allow the saffron to infuse for 5-10 minutes then dip a cotton ball into the mixture and apply to the skin. Once the Saffron + Buttermilk Cleanser is applied to the face, lay down for 20 minutes to allow the cleanser and its healing properties to balance the skin. Then simply rinse your face with room temperature water and follow up with your PAAVANI Vata Toner, Vata Serum and Floral Water. If you are vegan, you can swap the buttermilk for almond, oat or coconut milk. Another alternative for reducing the appearance of dark spots is to combine the Buttermilk + Saffron Cleanser with your PAAVANI Vata Cleanser & Mask. 

Combine 1 tablespoon of whole, plain yogurt with ½ teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Apply the yogurt mask to the face and lay down for 20 minutes. Rinse the mask off with room temperature water and follow up with your PAAVANI Vata Facial Toner, Vata Serum and Floral Water. The science behind this simple Yogurt + Lemon Mask is that lemon contains a high concentration of Vitamin C while yogurt contains lactic acid. When combined together and applied topically to the skin, they can work to lighten dark spots and even skin tone. 

Honey blended with ½ teaspoon lemon juice is another Ayurvedic remedy for reducing dark spots. We suggest using Manuka honey for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and its ability to create a facial mask that is an ideal consistency. Honey also makes an excellent skin exfoliant which can help to slough off dead skin cells that increase the appearance of dark spots. The result of this simple Honey + Lemon Mask is a smoother, brighter complexion. To use, apply the face mask to the skin and lay down for 20 minutes. Rinse the mask off with room temperature water and follow up with your PAAVANI Vata Toner, Vata Serum and Floral Water.

Aloe vera gel mixed with rose powder is a wonderful way to deliver antibacterial, acne fighting ingredients to the skin. To create, simply blend ⅛ cup of aloe vera gel with 1 teaspoon of rose powder. Apply the mask to the skin and lay down for 5-10 minutes. Rinse the mask off with room temperature water and follow up with your PAAVANI Clarify Toner, Clarify Serum and Floral Water. 

It may not smell as delicious as other skincare ingredients like rose, saffron or honey, but the skin healing, antibacterial actions of apple cider vinegar make it a powerful ally when it comes to clearing acne. To use, dip a cotton ball into a small bowl of apple cider vinegar and gently massage onto the face. Follow up with your PAAVANI Clarify Serum and Floral Water. If you love the effects of this Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse, you may also like the PAAVANI Clarify Toner. 

Blend 2-3 drops of tea tree essential oil with 1 tsp. neem oil and apply directly onto acne and/or blemishes. Both tea tree and neem are powerful antibacterial agents that will also cool and soothe the sometimes inflamed nature of acne prone skin. If you love the effects of this simple Ayurvedic practice, you might also enjoy the PAAVANI Clarify Serum designed for blemish prone skin. 

As you can see, Ayurveda’s holistic approach to skincare has many ways to balance and maintain the health and vitality of your skin. It is essential that, when treating the skin, the health of the physical, mental and spiritual bodies must also be taken into account. That’s why, understanding your body through the lens of the doshas, receiving proper rest and utilizing daily Ayurvedic practices to counterbalance the effects of stress, will all amount to greater health and harmony in the body and mind which will, in turn, be reflected through the skin. We hope that we have encouraged you to take the health of your skin into your own hands through this holistic view and wish your skin much healing success as you try out some of our Ayurvedic remedies for unruly skin. We would love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below.