If you’re used to confining your skincare choices to a familiar pre-assigned skincare type, as most of us are, we’re about to ask you to think outside of the box, although really, considering skin from this particular P.O.V isn’t novel: it’s been practiced in Ayurvedic medicine for circa 5000 years and forms part of a daily and seasonal routine in India to this day. If you’re already eating for your dosha , get ready to consider your skin that way too. Here’s why Ayurveda looks at skin differently, and how to build a skin routine accordingly.
You are not your skin ‘type’
Ayurvedic skincare goes a whole lot deeper than ‘acne prone’, as founder of Ayurvedic skincare brand Samaya Abida Halstenberg explains:
“The basic premise within Ayurveda is that each of us is born with a unique constitution type. The three types are Vata, Pitta and Kapha and each of these is characterised by a set of internal and external traits. There are various factors that can throw a person out of balance such as stress, pollution , seasonal changes and so on. In order for a person to be healthy and well, they need to balance their individual constitution. Lifestyle as a whole is important because what you eat, how you exercise and the skincare you use all play an important part in achieving this balance.”
“In Ayurveda, skin is considered a manifestation of inner health. Our skin is our largest organ and what we apply on it is absorbed to a far greater extent than most of us realise. So skincare can also be a tool to balance one’s constitution and achieve healthy and beautiful skin. This is the theory behind choosing skincare according to dosha.”
So, rather than label yourself as oily skinned forevermore because your t-zone is beaming, Ayurveda considers that this slickness is telling of your overall wellbeing and reflective of your natural tendencies, lifestyle and environment, rather than simply a surface issue to be ‘tackled’. It’s technically the opposite of cosmetic, as Ayurvedic experts and founders of Escapada Emilia Herting and Maeve O’Sullivan illustrate:
“Ayurveda, alongside traditional Chinese Medicine, was a very early adopter of the mantra that “beauty comes from within” as a system. The centuries-old science (Ayurveda means ‘science of life or longevity’ in Sanskrit) shows the benefits of balancing the whole body, supporting digestive health, optimising energy and treating the whole individual according to their constitution.”
Basically, whacking on a spot cream will likely not address the root cause of your breakouts- adapting your skincare, diet, lifestyle and outlook to your unique constitution, on the other hand, could be revealing of what’s really going on. As such it’s time to divine your dosha…
Doing skin by dosha
If we’re putting the common skin definitions aside for the purpose of this piece, how do you go about diagnosing your constitution? Emilia and Maeve give a rough idea of skin inclinations according to dosha:
“There are a few signs that will help you to determine your dosha based on your usual skin type:
Vata: Thin, dry, fine-pored, delicate and wrinkle prone skin.
Pitta: Susceptible to rashes, breakouts and rosacea if your dosha is out of balance.
Kapha: Oily, prone to enlarged pores, blackheads and pimples, commonly suffer from eczema .”
Alongside these external skin manifestations, however, there are many other holistic factors that will align you more closely with one dosha than another, for example if you err towards Vata, you may be very energetic, lively and impulsive and have a tendency towards cold extremities and have a tall, slender build. Pitta meanwhile is typified by a focused mind, strong appetite, tendency to overheat easily and a medium build, whereas Kapha leans towards a more relaxed disposition, with a heavier build, good long-term memory and preference for hot, dry weather. These are just a few characteristic qualities of the three doshas- there are many more indications of which dosha you may be most closely aligned with, and Abida has crafted a ten question quiz on her website to give you an idea of where you’re ‘centred’. You could also ‘sniff and see’, as Abida highlights that your dosha can show itself in a sensual manner:
“There is also a link between scent preference and constitution type. People who like rose typically have dry skin and tend to be Vata types, people who like jasmine tend to have sensitive skin and are usually Pitta types and people who like earthier aromas like vetiver and sandalwood tend to have combination or oily skin and are typically Kapha types.”
If that’s not an excuse spend an afternoon deep breathing in the aromatherapy section of your local health food shop, we don’t know what is, but be prepared for more confusion- I emerged as a double dosha woman post ten-step quiz. That would be because...
You can have more than one dosha
Just as we don’t all neatly fit into a skin type, many of us can have a ‘combination’ dosha, and working out where you are on the dosha spectrum is a case of monitoring how you feel both emotionally and physically. Emilia and Maeve recommend nourishing all three doshas, rather than simply focusing on one, but noticing where skin, mind and body might need some extra TLC and adjusting your activity levels, diet, skincare and lifestyle accordingly, depending on what you need more of at any given time, and what’s available to you. For instance, if your skin has come out in an unexpected rash, you may want to adopt a Pitta approach, even if that’s not your usual dosha, which could translate to prioritising soothing ingredients in skincare such as aloe vera, incorporating cooling, refreshing food and drink into your diet and bypassing spicy, pungent options for a bit, plus adding in a meditation session and swapping a HIIT session for Hatha yoga to promote mental calm. As skincare goes, this is a 360º thing, and a 365 process too...
Your dosha can change with the seasons
In addition to bearing flare-ups and any other dosha altering factors in mind, your doshas are also subject to shift with your yearly calendar, as Emilia and Maeve describe:
“It is helpful to follow the Ayurvedic daily routine that best suits your dosha, but it is equally important to follow the Ayurvedic seasonal routines (Ritucharya) for us to stay in good shape and health and keep skin balanced. Seasons change and our eating habits, lifestyle, physical activity and everything else needs to change accordingly. This is simply because our body is built in such a way that it responds to every season in a unique fashion and we need to aid our body in doing so by adapting according to the needs of the season. When we fail to do so, our skin can sometimes seems to fall apart, resulting in dryness, rashes and breakouts.”
In essence, it’s about tempering our approach depending on our environment and giving skin and body what it needs throughout the year, rather than subscribing to one particular skin type or health blueprint all year round. Think cooling, soothing skincare and a lifestyle to complement the calm come summer, and comforting skincare and habits during the winter months, if that’s what your system’s craving. Of course you may suffer from aggravated rosacea in December, in which case a light, cooling, anti-inflammatory Pitta style routine may be just what the doctor ordered- you don’t necessarily need to faceplant warming oils or thick face creams. ‘You do you’ is pretty much the Ayurvedic mission statement.