FOOD FOR YOUR FACE

If you can't eat it, don't rub it on. Ayurveda shows us healthy ways to nourish our skin and make it glow.

If you were offered a meal made with cetyl alcohol, iodopropyl butylcarbamate, sodium dodecylhenzenesulfonate, disodium EDTA, BHT, red dye #17, and yellow dye #10, would you want to eat it? Millions of people do eat these chemicals every day (you may even be one of them), since they are standard ingredients in two of the most popular brand-name moisturizers and beauty soaps that Americans use on the skin one of the body's major organs of absorption.

Hundreds of new beauty products come onto the market every month, and a burgeoning number of new natural bath and body shops have sprung up in just the past five years. Consumers have not only more skin care options than ever before, but also more confusion about what treatments are truly good for the body and skin. If we are to believe the manufacturers, every product is good for everyone, and all of them are made with exclusive formulas rich in pure-sounding ingredients like botanicals, biominerals, enzymes, and extracts. While many of them do contain authentic natural ingredients, what the advertising headlines and large type usually fail to mention are the many other synthetic and chemical ingredients such as dyes, preservatives, emulsifiers, and fragrances that also go into these products, and therefore into our skin. Despite FDA approval, many of the ingredients we use today have not been around long enough for us to know their long-term effects on health.

Ayurveda sets much higher standards than either Western medicine or government regulators, because its basic view of health, and its concept of natural, is at once more encompassing and more refined. Moreover, having tested its theories for 6,000 years directly on human subjects, ayurveda justifiably may claim to know the long-term effects of its treatments and products. Ayurveda states that everybody and everything is composed of five fundamental elements five vibrational modes called space, air, fire, water, and earth. Each of us, like a microcosmic universe, is born with all five present. However, we all have them in a unique proportion that determines our individual features, including our skin type, and our inherent mental and physical tendencies. The secret of absolute beauty is to live in harmony with nature's design for us as expressed by our personal mix of elements that is, our constitutional type.

Although we get most of our nutrition orally, the skin ingests nutrients as well. In fact, unlike the food we chew and swallow, which is broken down in the stomach before it is absorbed, creams and lotions applied to the skin bypass the digestive process and go full strength directly into the bloodstream. Like all ingested substances, they become raw material for building new body tissue or they become potent toxic waste. For this reason, think of your beauty products not as cosmetics, but as food. If you cannot eat it, do not use it on your skin. This is the ayurvedic standard for pure and natural.

The oils and skin care preparations in this article can be made easily at home using foods and natural food products exclusively. As in all genuine ayurvedic preparations, their sole ingredients include plants and herbs or their essences and extracts, pure vegetable oils, pure water, clarified butter (ghee), honey, milk, and whole vegetables and fruits. Ingredients such as herbal essences and extracts that are not found in supermarkets are usually available in health food stores or pharmacies that carry naturopathic remedies. You could safely eat any beauty product made of these authentic ayurvedic ingredients, and indeed, a client of mine in Switzerland once called to ask if she could use my herbal cleansing powder to spice her soup. She certainly could have, had she liked the flavor.

Use only ingredients selected for your skin type according to their balancing properties. In general, dry skin types will use warming, grounding ingredients to balance vata. Sensitive skin types will use cooling, soothing ingredients to balance pitta. Oily skin types will use light, stimulating ingredients to balance kapha.

THE SKIN CARE ROUTINE

The first rule of ayurvedic skin care is: Cleanse, nourish, and moisturize. No matter what type of skin you have, this three-step routine for the external care of the skin is essential to counteract the daily effects of environment, stress, and the skin's natural process of cell degeneration. It is the very minimum you must do to maintain a normal, healthy, youthful complexion. And even if you do nothing else for an existing skin problem, keeping this regimen every day can help to improve your condition, sometimes in a short period of time.

All normal skin is rosy, lustrous, unblemished, smooth, evenly colored, soft, firm, and elastic. Dull, sallow, ruddy, pale, blemished, dry, discolored, sagging, puffy, and wrinkled skin are indications of imbalance and premature aging due to stress, poor habits, exposure to the environment, and of course, improper skin care. All these symptoms result from a decline in skin functions such as new cell growth, elastin and collagen production, blood circulation, secretion of ground substances, immune activity, and enzyme activity, which give the complexion its color and glow. Therefore, in order to keep the skin looking young and radiant, your beauty products and treatments must at least provide exfoliation to remove dead skin cells; epidermal stimulation for new cell growth; antioxidant properties for cellular rejuvenation and repair; improved capillary blood flow; immunostimulation; and penetrating moisture and nutrients to replenish all seven layers of skin tissue. The three-step process of cleansing, nourishing, and moisturizing the skin using only herbs and oils appropriate for your skin type fulfills all these basic requirements.

PROPER CLEANSING: The secret to proper cleansing is to get rid of any dead cells and toxins not thrown off naturally by the skin; remove all makeup, dirt, grime, and chemical pollutants; clear out clogged pores; and eliminate infection-causing bacteria without also stripping away the skin's natural oils and water. Most cleansing products, including soaps, shampoos, and scrubs, dry the skin and alter its pH balance, causing it to become more alkaline. In fact, advertisers have led us to believe that the best cleansers are the ones that make the most suds and leave a squeaky clean sensation. In principle, this result sounds good, especially if you have oily skin. But in fact the body always seeks to normalize its processes that is, to balance and heal so when we remove the skin's natural oil content, it responds by producing more oil to compensate for the loss. Of course, if you have dry skin already, you do not want to make it drier, and if you have sensitive skin, you do not want to irritate it with harsh chemicals and soaps.

Ayurveda uses herbal powders to clean and exfoliate the skin on a daily basis. The herbs act as a gentle scrub to clear away the dirt, toxins, pollutants, and dead cells, but they do not strip away the necessary moisture in the skin. At the same time, they are balancing, nutritive, healing, and totally free of toxic ingredients.

PROPER NOURISHING AND MOISTURIZING: When the soap bubbles have burst and the skin starts to squeak, the first thing we look for after using harsh cleansers is a soothing lotion or cream to replace the natural fluids we have so thoroughly washed away. Unfortunately, these products rarely do the job as well as nature. The first obstacle to their success is often the skin itself. Many products are simply too dense on the molecular level to permeate the tissue adequately, so they never penetrate to the cellular level where their nutrients can be used. What happens instead is that the unabsorbed substances leave a film on the surface of the skin hair conditioners create the same problem in their attempt to undo the damage of harsh shampoos. This film clogs pores, collects dirt and grime, and generally requires astringents to be removed, thus perpetuating the dry skin problem that the lotion or cream was meant to relieve.

In ayurveda, we feed the skin only pure essential oils, which are naturally hydrating and rich in nutrients, and also fine enough to penetrate the skin completely to rejuvenate the cells. Gently massaged into the skin, essential oils help to improve circulation and strengthen the connective tissue, thereby reducing wrinkles. Their aroma also helps to balance the doshas, and the essence itself provides protection from infection. For those of you with overactive sebaceous glands, the idea of using oils to remedy oily skin may seem contradictory, if not plain crazy. However, I urge you to give it a try. Essential oils penetrate all seven layers of the skin within a few minutes to supply nutrients and restore the body's subtle intelligence. They disappear directly into the cells, where they are needed; they do not leave any greasy residue on the surface of the skin.

We apply the nourishing face oils (essential oils diluted in a base of vegetable oil or ghee) mixed with water (for young or normal skin) or with liposomes (for mature or scarred skin). Made of lipids, the same substance that composes the cell wall, liposomes facilitate the absorption of the essential oils into the skin. Liposomes also carry additional moisture into the cells, which helps the rejuvenation process as well. While I recommend that you use liposomes, I do not recommend that you try to make them, since the process is complex. Most commercial liposomes are made with egg protein; Bindi and Tej liposomes (see Resources) are made with bean extract and oil. Either kind will do the job.

The herbs and oils used in the daily skin care routine, as well as the methods of application, differ according to complexion type, but the basic guidelines for the procedure are the same for everyone. They are:

>Do the three-step routine twice a day, once in the morning and once before bedtime. (If you have oily skin, do the full routine three times a day in the summertime.) The complete routine takes five to 10 minutes.

>Before you begin, remove face and eye makeup. Use ghee or pure vegetable oil (not essential oil) on a cotton ball and wipe gently. Sesame oil is good for dry skin; sunflower oil or safflower oil is good for sensitive and oily skin.

>If possible and if applicable do the skin care routine after exercising but before meditating.

>Cleanse the face before or during a bath or shower, and apply the nourishing oil and moisturizer afterward.

>Always massage oil on wet skin.

>Always massage the face and neck using a gentle stroke in an upward and outward direction only. Do not scrub, or rub up and down, to avoid stretching the skin.

>Always massage around the eyes in a circular direction from the outside corner of the eye to the inside using the ring finger to ensure the gentlest touch.

>After you complete the final step, wait at least two to three minutes before applying makeup.

>For deeper exfoliation and added nourishment, do a weekly fruit face mask.

DRY SKIN (VATA)

TO CLEANSE: Mix 1 tsp. almond meal, 1/2 tsp. dry milk, and 1 pinch sugar. Store in a spice jar.

In your palm, make a paste using 1/4 tsp. cleanser and warm water. Apply paste all over face and neck and gently massage into the skin for about 1 minute. Do not scrub. Rinse well with warm (not hot) water. Do not dry. Special instructions: If your skin is very dry, do not follow the cleansing routine above. Instead, wash with a mixture of 1 Tbsp. heavy cream (the dairy product) and 2 drops lemon juice.

TO NOURISH: Mix 1 oz. sesame oil, 10 drops geranium oil, and 5 drops each neroli and lemon oil. Store in a dark glass bottle with a dropper. In the palm of your hand, mix 3 drops of nourishing oil (above) and 6 drops water.

While your skin is still wet, gently massage mixture all over face and neck for about 1 minute, or until skin absorbs all the essential oils.

TO MOISTURIZE: Melt 1 1/2 oz. cocoa butter in a double boiler. Add 4 oz. avocado oil. Remove from heat. Using a dropper, add 1 oz. orange tea 1 drop at a time while stirring the mixture. When it is cool, add 3 to 4 drops each geranium and rose oil.

Gently apply moisturizing cream over surface of face and neck. Do not massage it into the skin. Apply as needed during the day.

SENSITIVE SKIN (PITTA)

TO CLEANSE: Mix 1 tsp. almond meal, 1/2 tsp. ground orange peel, and 1/2 tsp. dry milk. Store in a spice jar.

In your palm, make a paste using 1/4 tsp. of the mixture and rosewater.

Apply paste all over face and neck and gently massage into the skin for about 1 minute. Do not scrub. Rinse well with cool (not cold) water. Do not dry. Special instructions: If your skin is very sensitive, use this cleanser only once a day at bedtime. In the morning, wash only with plain heavy cream (the dairy product). Rinse thoroughly with cool water, then continue with the normal nourishing and moisturizing steps below.

TO NOURISH: Mix 1 oz. almond oil and 10 drops each rose and sandalwood oil. Store in dark glass bottle with a dropper.

In the palm of your hand, mix 2 to 3 drops of nourishing oil (above) and 4 to 6 drops water.

While your skin is still wet, gently massage mixture all over face and neck for about 1 minute.

TO MOISTURIZE: Melt 1 oz. cocoa butter in a double boiler. Add 3 oz. sunflower oil. Remove from heat. Using a dropper, add 2 oz. rose tea 1 drop at a time while stirring the mixture. When it is cool, add 5 to 6 drops sandalwood oil.

Gently apply moisturizer over surface of face and neck. Do not massage it into the skin. Apply extra moisturizing cream as needed throughout the day.

OILY SKIN (KAPHA)

TO CLEANSE: Mix 1 tsp. barley meal, 1 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. dry milk. Store in a spice jar.

In your palm, make a paste using 1/4 of the mixture and warm water.

Apply paste all over face and neck and gently massage into the skin for about 1 minute. Do not scrub. Rinse well with warm (not hot) water. Do not dry. Special instructions: Do not use soaps or astringents containing alcohol to reduce oils. If you have whiteheads, wash first with a paste made of 1/4 tsp. neem powder, 1 pinch sugar, and water. Then follow steps as above.

TO NOURISH: Mix 1 oz. sunflower oil, 10 drops lavender oil, and 5 drops each bergamot and clary sage oil. Store in dark glass bottle with a dropper.

In the palm of your hand, mix 2 drops nourishing oil (above) and 4 drops water.

While your skin is still wet, gently massage mixture all over face and neck for about 1 minute.

TO MOISTURIZE: Melt 1 oz. cocoa butter in double boiler. Add 3 oz. almond, safflower, or canola oil. Remove from heat. Using a dropper, add 2 oz. rosemary or basil tea 1 drop at a time while stirring the mixture. When it is cool, add 1 drop camphor oil, 2 drops bergamot oil, and 3 drops lavender oil.

Gently apply a very small amount of moisturizer over face and neck. Do not massage it into the skin. Use once in the morning and evening only.

WEEKLY FRUIT FACE MASK

To make an exfoliating mask, use:

For dry skin: banana or avocado pulp; For sensitive skin: banana or pineapple pulp; For oily skin: strawberry or papaya pulp.

Do your normal cleansing routine only. Then apply pulp to face and neck, and lie down for 10 to 15 minutes with the legs raised to increase the blood supply to the face. Rinse with water, then finish with your regular nourishing and moisturizing routine.

From Absolute Beauty by Pratima Raichur with Marian Cohn. Copyright 1997 by Pratima Raichur. Reprinted by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

RESOURCES

For ayurvedic products created by Pratima Raichur, N.D., contact Bindi Facial Skin Care, P.O. Box 750-250, Forest Hills, NY 11375; (800) 952-4634; or Tej Ayurvedic Skin Care, Inc., 162 W. 56th St., Rm. 204, New York, NY 10019; (800) 310-0179.

Ayurvedic products and essential oils can be ordered from Auromere, Inc., (800) 925-1370; Frontier Herbs, (800) 669-3275; or HerbalVedic Products, (414) 889-8569.