Herbs of Ayurveda for the Skin:

Friends, wouldn’t it be grand if your skin held your energy softly though the stress of life and protected you in all of its contact with the outside world? Wouldn’t it be even grander if there were knowledge sufficient to keep your skin radiant through the challenge of summer heat, sun and insects? Well it is grand and the herbs of Ayurveda that you will learn about in this article will give you the foundation of a skin care system to keep the largest organ in your body clear and flowing freely even when challenged. The various herbs and preparations in this article are inexpensive compared to the fancy cosmetics that claim to do the job that these simple herbal remedies do easily and without unnatural ingredients. These herbal wonders are simple infusions of herbs into oils and clay, and are as safe as honest prayer.

Before we start with the specific conditions of heat rash, jellyfish stings, sunburn, hives, insect bites, and eczema lets have a general discussion of the skin within the context of Ayurveda, the herbal system of India. All skin is not equal in Ayurveda. Because there are three basic types of people Air, Fire or Earth/Water (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) in this elegant system of healing, there are three types of skin. Basically there is dry skin for the airy Friends (Vata), hot skin for the fiery types (Pitta) and oily skin for the heavier earth types (Kapha). This means that you choose herbs and skin care products based on your skin and body type. Our skin should be pampered with herbal oils daily and there is specific Oil for Vata, one for Pitta and Kapha skin is best served by a slightly astringent oil such as Grape seed Oil. Fortunately you do not have to reinvent the wheel or take a bunch of classes about Ayurveda to take excellent care of your skin. This article will make it easy to pick products that will work for your skin issues because the incredible manufacturers of the natural skin care products industry have done your homework for you by making some awesome skin care products. All of these products mentioned are available in the D.C. area at health food stores and herb shops that sell high quality natural skin care stuff.

Before we get into specific skin issues and any kind of skin care based on the three body types, lets learn about some great products and herbs that are good for all folks and all skin types. My three favorite products that I have been using myself this season are Solar Recovery from Zausner Cosmetics, Vata Oil from Ananda Health Products, and Cactus Juice from Safe Solutions. Solar Recovery is one of the best smelling and soothing skin sprays ever in the 30 years I have been in the herb business. It was developed by a tennis pro and his beloved after they became frustrated that even aloe products could not stop his skin from drying out in the hot Californian sun. The spray which comes in 12 ounce bottles , one of which has lasted me all summer and I use it daily, contains Vitamin E, Calendula, Sesame Oil, Geranium, Sandalwood and Seaweed extract. It was designed to spray on before and after exposure to the sun and it is the most wonderful gently soothing stuff to prepare the skin prevent sunburn. I feel like I must say that it has no sunscreen factor so it is not going to block the suns rays just protect your skin with the essential oils of plants. I don’t burn at all in the sun so it has been perfect for me. Also I have found that if my skin is a bit dry from working in the garden Solar Recovery is perfect. I also experience stress in my eyes and have found that a quick spray of Solar Recovery takes the tension right out instantly. I have not personally used it for sunburn since I use my own advice from this article, but the tennis pro inventor of this product tells his own story of healing sunburn with it. I have never met him, but I believe him probably because I have such good feelings about this stuff.

My beloved wife Linda swears by Cactus Juice as the best mosquito protection and she has access to all of the products available in the industry to compare it to. It smells like tangerine, which is a great change from most of the other products in the natural foods industry, that smell strongly of citronella. Early reports from all the garden workers at Smile including myself say that Cactus Juice is by far and away the best mosquito repellant with natural ingredients developed so far. The Cactus in Cactus Juice is Prickly Pear cactus and it also contains Tangerine Oil and Geranium Oil. It comes in a 6-ounce bottle one of which has lasted 4 people who work in our gardens at Smile Herb Shop this whole season.

Vata Oil is my all time favorite product for daily skin care for those with dry skin especially in exposure to the sun. Vata oil’s name in India is the mouthful Mahanarayan Taila which means Glorious God’s Oil. Vata Oil is a blend of 25 herbs in sesame oil developed centuries ago for exposure to the East Indian Sun. Take it from one who has been to India twice the sun there is much more intense that anything I have experienced in the USA including the Arizona desert sun. Vata oil is all that I use now for sunbathing or long garden days. This oil was designed to reduce dryness caused by excess air (excess Vata in Ayurvedic language) The sun gently merges the dryness reducing Vata Oil into your skin and the Vata reducing herbs in it are very relaxing as well as incredible for your skin. For everyday use 1-2 drops per square foot of skin, and slather it on when you are going to be in the sun for extended periods of time. If you are one of those folks who does not need much oil on their skin you can mix Vata oil with water as you apply it or put it on while dripping wet after a bath or shower and it cuts the oily feeling in half. Vata oil is a bit more expensive and comes in a twelve ounce bottle. I have found that it takes two bottles per summer season for a big guy like me (I’m 6’6” tall).

Friends these three products are my top herbal picks for non-problem use to keep the skin soft, uneaten by insects and well moisturized. Each of them is excellent and together they are the foundation of a summer skin care program that works wonders. In the second half of the article lets go over the treatment of various skin conditions with herbs. The five we will learn about are Heat Rash, Hives, Sunburn, Insect Bite (if you forget to use your Cactus Juice), and Eczema.

Heat Rash is a common enough problem in the hot summers we “enjoy” in this area caused by heat, friction or both. An infused oil of Saint John’s Wort and Calendula works wonders to give relief to itching immediately and in most cases the rash itself is gone in one to two days. Take your finger and apply enough to cover the area completely as fully as possible without the oil running and the soothing relief of these two herbs will comfort thee. Apply the oil as soon as you are uncomfortable again every three to four hours.

Hives are more serious usually caused by allergies or stress due to trauma. The Saint John’s and Calendula Oil works well here as well, but there must be a stress reduction program and internal use of herbs as well. The category of herbs to begin with is named alteratives because they alter your blood chemistry to a healthier state. Alteratives used to be called blood purifiers but that has generally fallen by the wayside and now they are called alteratives. Some of my favorite herbs in this category of action are Lemon Balm, Red Clover, Red Root, Sarsaparilla, and Yellow Dock. I also made up a blend twenty-five years ago that has been popular ever since named Tommy’s Blood Purifier, which is a great tasting alterative blend. Drink three to five cups daily to treat hives internally.

Sunburn is to be avoided by limiting your exposure to sun and by protecting your skin with sun block or Vata Oil as described above. However, if it unfortunately occurs, 1 ounce of Saint John’s Wort Oil in an 8 ounce bottle mixed with Vata Pitta Oil with two drops of Sandalwood Oil is the perfect antidote. Vata Pitta Oil is a very soothing oil made from Bala (Sida cordifolia) and milk. Bala is a soothing herb (called an emollient) used in Ayurveda the same way we use Marshmallow Root here. Also I would try Solar Recovery as described above.

Insect Bites and jelly fish stings are best treated naturally with Jewelweed Lotion from Rainbow’s End Herbals, which will stop most itching from ant or spider bites as well as mosquito bites. In our experience non-allergic reactions will go down immediately within an hour especially if the Jewelweed Lotion is cold. Allergic reactions, of course, take longer to heal calling for reapplication every four hours for a day or two. Another strategy that works is a product named Sting Remover from the same company that makes Solar Recovery. Sting Remover is a clay-based powder that contains aloe, natural vitamin E and papain, an enzyme. All you do is add a few drops of water to the powder and apply to the sting. I have always found the wisest herbalists to be those who speak from there own experience so I love it that the owner of the company purposely stung himself with jellyfish and allowed horseflies to bite him in order to find out how well Sting remover works.

Eczema is a skin disease characterized by hot scaly patches. We have found three things to work for this annoying condition: Raw Shea Butter, a product called Gator Balm, and Infused Calendula Oil. Gator Balm is the easiest to apply since it is already whipped into a cream form. Gator Balm is made from colloidal oatmeal, avocado oil, chickweed, comfrey goldenseal, and Shea butter. It is applied directly to the skin and has many believers among our customers. Raw Shea Butter is something we use to apply to the top of drums to keep them from getting too dry, and it does the same thing for dry scaly skin. Shea Butter is to some degree a natural sunscreen and is very inexpensive. Last but not least is the infused oil of calendula which is very gentle on traumatized skin as is Shea Butter.