How Ayurvedic Beauty Trends Can Reshape Your Beauty Routine

10. Target Pimples and Inflammation with Neem Oil Even when you’ve found that perfect skincare routine, the occasional pimple or blemish is going to happen. Neem… Samantha Davis - May 5, 2022

Neem oil is a powerful astringent and anti-inflammatory, making it perfect for targeting troublesome acne spots and pimples. Shutterstock.

10. Target Pimples and Inflammation with Neem Oil

Even when you’ve found that perfect skincare routine, the occasional pimple or blemish is going to happen. Neem oil works great for spot treatments because it is full of antioxidants that target redness and inflammation. It’s also an anti-fungal and anti-microbial, offering many of the same benefits as tea tree oil. Unlike tea tree oil, however, neem oil has cooler properties under the principles of Ayurveda. This makes it better for spot treatment during the summer, while people who need warming ingredients during the summer months should use tea tree oil.

In addition to working as an astringent to clean the skin and bacteria that cause acne and pimples, neem oil is full of healthy fats and Vitamin E to nourish the skin. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps with inflammation. It also plays several critical roles in skin health, including helping with the production of collagen that helps plump skin and depletes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Dab a little oil using a cotton swab on small areas of ance or inflammation before bed. You can rest and the neem oil will do its magic overnight.

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Yoga for the face stimulates blood flow, promotes relaxation, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Shutterstock.

11. Do Yoga for Your Face to Reduce Signs of Aging and Promote Relaxation

One of the major benefits of yoga for your face is that you can do it literally anywhere. Start with Lion’s Breath, which releases tension in the face that causes fine lines and wrinkles. Lion’s Breath involves taking a deep breath and filling your belly with air. Then, stick your tongue out as you exhale and sigh. Do it about five times to relax tension in the jaw, temples, and face. Forward fold is another position to try. Fold over at the waist, use your hands to grab your opposite elbows, and shake your head like you’re saying yes to promote blood flow to the head and face.

You can also do a spinal twist. Sit in a chair with arms and use them as leverage to twist your spine, imagining that you’re wringing the toxins out of your body to increase blood flow. Yoga benefits the skin because as you breathe in deeply, everything relaxes and flows more freely through the body. Blood flow increases and brings oxygen and nutrients to your skin’s surface. This is why practicing yoga long-term has been proven to give people a healthy glow. As an added benefit, regular yoga practice makes you more aware of your breathing during the day. This makes it much easier to practice mindfulness.

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Dry brushing opens the pores and exfoliates the skin. It also stimulates the lymphatic system to help remove toxins from your body. Shutterstock.

12. Try Dry Brushing to Exfoliate Skin and Boost the Lymphatic System

Dry brushing is one of the best habits that you can do for both your skin and your lymphatic system. When you dry brush, it opens up the pores and stimulates the surface of the skin. As the skin is stimulated, it encourages the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients. Research shows that in addition to exfoliating and unclogging the pores, it also helps plump skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and even cellulite. Furthermore, the flow helps stimulate the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is responsible for removing toxins from the body, which stops them from clogging pores and leaving blemishes on your skin.

Dry brushing is best done with a brush that has short, rough bristles. However, if you have more sensitive skin, a raw silk glove will give the same benefits without causing further damage the to skin. With dry brushing, start at the feet and move up the body, making short brushstrokes that go in the direction of the heart. After doing the legs, dry brush your arms (moving up from the hands and toward the heart), as well as your belly and back. You’ll want to make short strokes on the arms and legs and use a small circular motion on the back and stomach.

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Being aware of what is in your beauty products will help you choose better, more nourishing ingredients for your skin. You can even make your own DIY masks. Shutterstock.

13. Be Aware of What’s In Your Beauty Products

You’ve probably noticed the trend of natural ingredients as you’ve read down this list. One common theme that you’ll notice in Ayurvedic beauty trends is the use of herbs, spices, oils, and extracts that have been used for centuries. Even though Western medicine hasn’t quite caught up to the science behind why these works, you only have to look at the long history of use to know that alternative medicine really works. The disaster that was 2020 brought about a new interest in self-care, as well as caring about what you are putting on your skin.

This has led to a shift in the beauty industry and there’s greater availability of natural products without parabens, sulfates, and other not-so-good ingredients. There’s also the option of creating some of your own beauty products to pamper yourself. It’s really easy to make yourself a DIY face mask or hair mask from ingredients you already have in the kitchen! Some of the best ingredients include aloe, avocado, various oils, sandalwood, turmeric, oatmeal, tomatoes, and more. You’ll want to choose organic ingredients when possible since any toxins in produce can be absorbed by the skin.

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Get in the habit of making relaxation a priority. When you’re stressed, it’s evident on your skin. Shutterstock.

14. Manage Stress for Better Skin Health

In contrast to Western medicine, where symptoms are treated as they arise, Eastern medicine like Ayurveda focuses on the body as a whole. For example, a person suffering from dermatitis doesn’t necessarily need a topical cream or steroid. Instead, an Eastern doctor might recommend dietary changes, reducing stress, or other techniques that reduce inflammation in the body that causes flare-ups in the first place. You’ll notice that adding Ayurveda rituals to your body routine may be just what the doctor ordered- not only for your beauty, but also for your mental health and general well-being.

Stress wreaks havoc on the body. When you experience stress, it triggers certain responses and the production of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in the body. While this is a survival mechanism that once served us, in today’s fast-paced environment, stress triggers inflammation. This inflammation worsens conditions of the skin like dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis. It also causes cardiovascular problems, affects the digestive system, and depletes immune health. With stress having so many negative effects on your skin and your health, using Ayurvedic beauty techniques and relaxing during your beauty routine really helps.

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Certain foods trigger inflammation in the body, which often results in the aggravation of inflammatory health issues and skin problems. Noticing what causes this and avoiding it brings you one step closer to healthy skin. Shutterstock.

15. Notice How Your Diet Affects Your Skin

All things are connected under Ayurvedic principles, and that includes your diet. In the past few decades, researchers have taken a closer look at the modern diet and how it affects all types of health. Diet has been identified as one of the reasons that those who follow a more Western lifestyle have a higher rate of diabetes, heart attack, obesity, cancers, and other conditions. Eating the wrong foods also causes inflammation, which makes inflammatory conditions like IBS, arthritis, eczema, and psoriasis worse. The foods you eat can even cause premature aging and wrinkles, acne, and other problems with your skin’s appearance.

For some people, eating certain foods triggers inflammation. Scientists believe this is from all the advancements that humans have made, including those related to the modification of food. Our ancestors did not have the equipment or knowledge to pasteurize dairy products, add preservatives to food, or process and turn grains into bread, pasta, and cereals. Instead, they ate a natural diet heavily based on where they lived and what could be hunted, gathered, or farmed. When people eat heavily processed foods, the body doesn’t digest them well and it causes inflammation. Some people also have a sensitivity to gluten (from processed wheat) and dairy for this same reason.

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Self-care makes a great social activity, whether you get together with friends or join a class for yoga or guided meditation. Shutterstock.

16. Make Self-Care a Social Activity

Even though self-care means pampering and taking care of yourself, there’s no reason you can’t get other people involved. Self-care with friends could mean indulging in avocado masks or other Ayurvedic beauty trends while you catch up or taking a yoga class together. All that matters is that you are doing something you enjoy and that you are present in the moment. Make it a habit to put aside the phone when you’re with your friends and be present. Being present deepens your connection to the moment you’re living in and lets you really experience the positive benefits of being with someone you care about.

If you don’t have a lot of friends who indulge in self-care, you still don’t have to go it alone. There are podcasts that focus on guided meditation and other Ayurvedic principles. Guided meditation is a lot easier for some people than regular meditation since it gives the mind something to focus on. Taking a class with an instructor, whether for yoga, guided meditation, or another practice, is also a great option. You can look around town for classes or find one online. Many people say that the spiritual connectedness they feel between themselves and other people in class after deep breathing together is a unique, positive experience.

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