Monsoon Skin Care: Ayurveda Tips and Remedies for Flawless Skin

The fresh looking landscape with heavy showers, lush greenery, dark clouds, raindrops and what not, everything around us looks picture perfect. But can we say the same about our skin? Well, humidity in the atmosphere casts a negative impact on our skin.

The imbalance of doshas in our body during monsoon season paves way to skin problems like acne, pimples, eczema, dermatitis and mainly, fungal infections. Therefore, the first step towards a holistic Ayurvedic approach to monsoon skin care is to identify the skin type or prakruti, which are Vata, Pitta or Kapha. Those with dry, thin, dehydrated, cool to touch and vulnerable skin that is prone to rashes during windy or dry weather falls under Vata category. Ones with skin that has breakouts, less tolerance to hot elements like weather or food, photosensitivity, more patches and moles are said to be under the category Pitta . And Kapha skin would be thick, greasy and would show better tolerance to sun. Apart from these three, one could also have a combination skin: Vata-Pitta (dry and sensitive), Kapha-Pitta (oily and sensitive) or Vata-Kapha (dry and oily in some areas).

A few changes in your daily skin care routine and lifestyle is all that is required for a fresh and glowing skin. Here are some of the key Ayurveda tips and remedies to take care of your skin during monsoon season:

Balanced Diet
Incorporate a lot of fruits and green vegetables, warm and hydrating foods in your diet particularly nuts and their oils (almonds, walnuts, soy-bean oil, etc.). Have light food as Agni or the digestive fire in our body would be weak and indigestion could lead to various skin problems and infections. Include black pepper, ghee, amla, ginger and lemon in your meals. Avoid fried, spicy, cold, preserved food and acidic foods such as tomato, vinegar and citrus fruits. Replace your morning tea or coffee with herbal teas comprising of cardamom, tulsi, ginger, cinnamon, etc. Consume warm soups, stews, dal, curry, herbal teas and rice as part of your daily diet. Keep your skin hydrated by drinking at least 8 to 10 glasses of water every day to or include healthy juices like beetroot, cucumber or carrot juice.

Oil massage
During monsoon season our skin pores open up due to the humidity and moisture content in the air. Thus, it makes the skin more receptive to Ayurvedic medications and oil massages. Herbal oil massages can combat chances of fungal and bacterial infections caused due to the moisture on skin. Mix neem oil and sesame oil together and gently massage your skin for 15 minutes. Other Ayurvedic oils like Pindathailam, Balaswagandhadi kuzhambu and Dhanwantharam kuzhambu can be used. Then, take a bath in lukewarm water. Follow this process at least once in every week.

Location: Alappuzha, Kerala, India

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