Ayurveda is the ancient medical system from India, the ‘science of life’. While Ayurveda is a complete medical system offering both preventative health measures and treatment for common diseases, health maintenance with Ayurveda can truly beautify the body as well as the mind. Ayurveda’s preventative lifestyle can make you look gorgeous and beautiful even without makeup. By maintaining a healthy body and mind, and with the occasional help of these no makeup look products and supplements, you can achieve the no makeup look you’ve always wanted.
Here are some key principles of Ayurveda which when followed, nurtures the body and maintains glowing, healthy and supple skin without the need for make up.
Ayurveda’s Approach To A Gorgeous No Makeup Look
Diet, Your Bodily Tissues + Skin
Foods To Nourish All Skin Types (Pathya)
Foods To Avoid (Apathya)
The Art Of Eating Food
Skin And Mental Health
Improving Beauty With Ayurveda
Daily Routine (Dinacharya)
Four Season Routine (Ritucharya)
Ayurvedic Herbs + Remedies For A No Makeup Look
Rejuvenation Therapy (Rasayana)
READ MORE: Why Good Ayurvedists Don’t Drink Smoothies, Everything You Need To Know About Shirodhara, Abhyanga: Ayurvedic Massage Benefits
From the Ayurvedic point of view, the factors responsible for gorgeous looks can be categorized into two groups, factors contributing towards beauty and factors improving beauty.
Factors contributing towards beauty take care of the body from the inside. Outer beauty is the reflection of good health. According to Ayurveda, one is in perfect good health when all these are in homeostasis.1
1. Three Doshas
Perfect health is achieved when all the bodily humors (three Dosha), all the body tissues and components (Dhatus) and all the excretory functions (Malakriya) are in their normal functioning status.
2. Digestive Fire
Metabolic fire or Agni is responsible for digestion, assimilation and metabolism. When Agni is in equilibrium, strength (Bala) and complexion (Varna) result.
3. Calm Mind
A pleasantly disposed and contented mind, senses and spirit (Prasanna-atma-indriya-manah) also plays an important role in personality development.
Ayurveda has a unique perspective on beauty and does not focus only on external makeup to achieve a state of true beauty.
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According to Ayurveda, all the tissues (dhatus) when present in their excellency (dhatu sarata) are responsible for the maintenance of the beauty of a person. The nourishment of tissues depends upon the state of digestive fire (agni).
Proper digestive fire helps in digestion of food and makes all nutrients of food available to the tissues. It also expels toxins and excess waste from the system, keeping the digestive tract clean and giving the outer body a fresh glowing and gorgeous look. Strong, healthy and balanced digestive fire (Agni) is necessary to keep the body and mind balanced and beautiful.
Diet and the art of eating effects the digestive fire (Agni). So, correct selection of diet along with following correct dietary rules plays an important part in maintaining good health.
Ayurveda recommends a diet which has all six tastes (sad rasas), which in turn plays a role in homeostasis. There are certain food products which are beneficial for health and skin.
READ MORE: Vata Diet: Everything You Need To Know, Pitta Diet: Everything You Need To Know, Kapha Diet: Everything You Need To Know
Don’t know your Ayurvedic Body Type or Prakriti? Click HERE to take the FREE Quiz >> HERE
Drink plenty of water (at least 2-3 liters per day). Include clarified butter (cow ghee), buttermilk, milk (cow, goat, buffalo), honey, split green gram, split red lentil, red rice (Rakta-shali), rice which is harvested in 60 days (Shashtika), wheat and old barley in your diet. Rock salt (Saindhav lavana), simple hot cereals or soup prepared using rice, water and mild spices, leafy greens, pointed gourd, garlic and mustard can all be used in your diet. Spices such as cumin, fenugreek, black pepper and turmeric will be beneficial.
Pomegranate (Dadima), Indian goose berry (Amalaki) and Terminalia chebula (haritaki) pacifies all the three doshas (Tridosha Shamaka) and are all good for the skin.
READ MORE: Tridoshic Vegan Pomegranate Pudding, Amla: The Sour, Anti-Aging Ayurvedic Super Fruit + Amla Recipes
Avoid uncooked raw food, curd or yogurt, the solid portion obtained after boiling curd or buttermilk (kurchika), germinated grains, dry vegetables, excessive sour and salty food, jaggery, radish and incompatible food combinations (Viruddhaaahar).
Incompatible food combinations (viruddha ahara)2 hinder the digestive process and give rise to many types of skin diseases. These combinations include milk and banana, fish and milk, milk with yogurt, Tulsi and milk, black tea or green tea with milk, garlic and tea, heated honey, heated curd, alcohol and green tomatoes or potatoes, potato chips or fried potatoes, milk and nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants), mixed juice of grapes and pomegranate and yogurt eaten at night. What a list!
Some more tips…
After eating an excessive quantity of food one should avoid indulgence in sexual activity, physical exercise, intense heat, swimming in cold water, exertion, suppressing the urge to vomit and improper administration of the five-fold detoxification treatment called Panchakarma. Otherwise all the three doshas get vitiated which can cause skin diseases.3
READ MORE: When To Eat: The Best Time To Eat Different Foods, Ayurveda On Sex: Health Benefits, Seasonal Practices, Post-Sex Regimen + Ayurvedic Aphrodisiacs
The ancient Ayurvedic scholar Charaka gave Ayurvedic dietary guidelines (ahara vidhi vidhan) which when followed properly aids in healthy digestion and glowing, healthy gorgeous looks.4
These guidelines include always eating freshly cooked, warm and unctuous foods in proper quantities. Proper quantity means that one should eat to half the stomach of solid foods, 25% water and the remaining 25% should be left empty.
Eating when the previous meal is digested, having your food in a proper place equipped with all the accessories and eating according to your body type (prakriti), digestive fire (agni) and bala (strength). Avoid food which has contradictory potencies. Don’t eat in a hurry nor too slowly. Avoiding talking, laughing or being unmindful while eating.
READ MORE: When To Eat: The Best Time To Eat Different Foods
Skin acts as a mirror. It reflects all that is felt by living beings. Mental stress, fatigue, fear, tension and sadness can all show up on the skin. The brain and the skin have many interconnections as the skin has a vast neurologic and vascular network.
Trouble causing chemicals called neuro-peptides are formed in the brain in response to stress, work pressure, relationship issues, and depression which can cause inflammation, widen blood vessels and generate excess moisture. All of these can exacerbate skin problems.
Mind body relaxation like yoga and meditation reduce the flow of these neuropeptides leading to less reactive skin. Ayurveda has mentioned the codes of conduct as to how a person should live and what he should do or should not do (Achararasayana and Sadvritha5) along with a list of suppressible urges like greed, grief, fear, anger (Dharaniya vegas).6 This ensures proper mental health which plays an important role in personality development
which helps in enhancing external beauty.
Ayurveda elaborates upon a variety of supportive actions that help improve beauty. Daily routine (Dinacharya), seasonal routine (Ritucharya), skin care according to body type, Ayurvedic herbs and remedies for gorgeous, no makeup looks and blissful rejuvenating therapies can make your daily life, internally and externally, quite beautiful and spa-like.
READ MORE: 16 Morning Routine Ideas From Ayurvedic Medicine, An Ayurveda Breakfast: 10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas From Ancient Indian Wellness
The Ayurvedic daily routine includes procedures which delay old age and keep a person fit, healthy and young for a long time. These procedures also increase the beauty of the hair, skin and eyes. The following procedures are included in Ayurvedic daily routine.
1. Wake Up Before Sunrise (Brahmamuhurta)
Waking up just before sunrise is essential for health maintenance, as the morning hours are clean without pollution. Moreover, the juvenile rays of the sun emitted during dawn are very beneficial to health. They tend to elevate mood and bring peace of mind and freshness to the senses.
At this time, the urge to use the bathroom comes naturally as this is the period (Kala) of Vata dominance and Vata is responsible for all movement in the body. Proper evacuation of the bowels is indicated at this time as it flushes the waste products outside the body, bringing lightness and energy.
2. Oral Hygiene
In order to keep yourself confident, proper care of the teeth and lips is important. Brushing and cleaning the tongue should be done daily twice, once after waking up in the morning and again after intake of food in the evening.
Mouth wash with oil pulling (Kaval and Gandush) is also beneficial as it removes Kapha and absorbs toxins from the oral cavity. A mouth freshener such as chewing betel leaves (Tambula) or cardamom seeds (Ela) can help in healing cracked lips.
All these practices remove the coating from the mouth and bring a sensation of freshness. They prevent bad breath, dental caries and lips from cracking and enhance the dental health with stronger gums, bright teeth and a healthy looking face.
READ MORE: Oil Pulling Benefits, Side Effects, Coconut Oil Pulling, Will Oil Pulling Help A Toothache?
3. Care Of The Eyes And Ears
Regular application of Collyrium (Anjana) removes dirt from the eyes, controls infection and helps in its proper functioning. Ayurveda advocates the intake of Triphala, honey (Madhu) and clarified butter (ghee) every night for proper nutrition and prevention of any disease of the eyes.
According to Ayurveda, the ears should be subjected to daily massage and installation of oil. Oil has a bactericidal property. It softens ear wax so it is removed easily and it prevents water entry during bath. Besides this daily massage and installation of oil in the ears helps to prevent aggravation of Vata dosha.
4. Care Of The Sense Organs
Nasal instillation (Nasya) and herbal smoking (Dhumapana) prevent diseases above the clavicle. Nasal drops are indicated daily. Two drops of warm oil into each nostril in the morning (Prathimarsha Nasya) has an effect on both the skin and hair. It prevents premature greying of the hair, baldness and aging. Through daily nasal instillation, the face becomes cheerful, the voice stabilizes and the sense organs work well.
Herbal smoking also helps in preventing diseases prevents including a bad smell from the nose, alopecia and greying of the hair.
READ MORE: Ayurvedic Hair Oil Recipe For Hair Growth + Premature Greying (Bhringaraj Oil Recipe), 8 Foods For Hair Loss Ayurveda Swears By (Hair Loss Diet), Licorice: Anti Aging, Benefits + Uses, High Blood Pressure, Skincare, Hair Care
5. Massage (Abhyanga)
Proper massage gives several benefits. It prevents aging, cures Vata disorders, improves vision, complexion, skin tone, nourishment, quality of life and sleep. It increases the blood flow, helps in excretion of waste products via the sweat and adds vitality to a dull complexion.
Massage includes body massage (Shraira Abhyanga), foot massage (Pada Abhyanga) and head massage (Siro Abhyanga). Daily body massage makes the skin lustrous and firm. Foot massage induces sound sleep and prevents cracking of the feet. It provides strength and stability to the feet and improves vision.
Regular massage of the scalp prevents baldness, greying and hair loss. It helps to grow deep rooted, long hair. Along with this, the sense organs work properly, and the complexion brightens.
Ayurvedic powder massage (Udvarthana) uses smooth, rubbing strokes with an Ayurvedic herbal powder. It improves the blood circulation which gives fairness and tenderness to the skin. When it is performed over the face it makes the cheeks and face fleshy. It makes the skin look delicate by removing the dark spots and pimples. The complexion of the skin is enhanced. It imparts glow (Kaanthi), relieves itching and cures rashes.
It helps to calm down aggravated Kapha dosha, burns out the fat, brings stability to the body organs, improves strength and skin complexion.
READ MORE: Facial Marma Massage: Herbal Oils + Kansa Wand Sequences, How Ayurvedic Massage Works + Ayurvedic Massage Oils, The Benefits Of Ayurvedic Massage According To The Ancient Ayurvedic Texts
6. Exercise (Vyayama)
Similar to Abhyanga, exercise (Vyayama) also affects almost all systems of the body. It enhances the circulation of blood and perspiration, thereby the
wastes are excreted. It helps in the reduction of body fat and makes the body firm with proportionate body parts. Regular exercise also nourishes the body, gives good complexion, enhances digestive fire (Agni), wards off laziness and early aging. On a mental and emotional level, exercise helps to reduce tension and anxiety and promotes a sense of overall well being.
It also helps one to get deep, restful sleep. As a rule, exercise should be done only to half of your capacity.One should try to breathe evenly during exercise. This strengthens the lungs and digestive organs, and improves the color and texture of the skin enormously.
READ MORE: 5 Bedtime Routines For Adults: Inspiration For A Good Night’s Sleep, In An Exercise Rut? Find A Workout For Your Body Type
7. Skin Hygiene
For proper skin health, regular bathing is essential. It not only cleanses the skin but also removes fatigue, enhances vitality (Ojas) improves blood circulation, refreshes and strengthens the body. According to Ayurveda, warm water should be used for bathing below the waist and the upper part of the body should be washed with normal or room temperature water.8
Nails and hair should be cut at regular intervals and dress should be clean and fresh.
READ MORE: 16 Morning Routine Ideas From Ayurvedic Medicine
8. Foot Care
A large number of diseases such as fungal infection, filarial and leprosy can affect the feet, so health of the feet is also considered as a parameter of general health.
The feet should be protected with shoes and special care should be taken for the selection of shoes. Uses of shoes and umbrellas are also mentioned in Ayurveda.
READ MORE: Ayurvedic Foot Care: Pampering Treats For Tired Feet
9. Sleep
Sleep (Nidra) according to Ayurveda, plays a very important role in maintaining healthy, youthful skin. It is necessary to have sound sleep. Ayurveda lays special importance on timing and routine. It is better to take dinner (Ratribhojan) at least three hours before bedtime. It should be lighter than lunch consisting of only easily digestible food.
Walk a hundred steps after dinner then lie on your left side for 10-15 minutes. Sleep comes naturally with the day getting darker, however, it is important to take certain steps in the evening hours to promote sleep. One should have light dinner a good three hours before going to bed so that food is digested before sleeping. Try going to bed earlier, before 10pm. 7 to 8 hours of sleep is required daily for an adult to get proper relaxation and repair of the body and mind.
READ MORE: Will Ashwagandha Help You Sleep?, This Is What Happens When You Don’t Sleep, 21 Sleep Inducing Healthy Foods And Beverages For Insomnia
Ayurveda has depicted various rules and regimens (Charya), regarding diet and behavior. These rules help one acclimate to seasonal changes easily, which helps you maintain health and beauty.
According to Ayurveda, there are other important factors that contribute to healthy and beautiful skin. Proper moisture balance (Kapha in balance) is important. Efective functioning of the metabolic mechanisms that coordinate all the various chemical and hormonal reactions of the skin is also important. This is Pitta dosha in balance. Efficient circulation of blood and nutrients to the different layers of the skin is also important (Vata in balance).
Ayurveda has given several principles for anti-aging, skin care and anti-aging herbs. These no makeup look products assist with skin brightening (varnya), regenerating cells (sandhaniya), fighting inflammation (shothahara), healing (vranaropana), and slowing down the aging process (tvagrasayana).12
These are some effective Ayurvedic remedies and no makeup look products. They keep skin healthy-looking and feeling great, no makeup needed.
READ MORE: Vata Diet: Everything You Need To Know, Pitta Diet: Everything You Need To Know, Kapha Diet: Everything You Need To Know
1. Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica)
There are a group of herbs in Ayurveda known for slowing down aging. They are called Vayasthapana. They enhance the luster of the skin by improving the skin’s metabolism (Tvachagnivardhani). Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is considered the foremost age arresting herb as it enhances collagen synthesis.13 The herbs belonging to this group maintain youthfulness and give overall support to the skin by keeping all three doshas in balance.
2. Herbal Face Packs
Get youthful radiance (Varnya) with an herbal face pack. This complexion enhancing group (Varnya gana) of herbs includes sandalwood, vetiver, Indian madder and Indian sarsaparilla.
You can prepare a face pack using a fine powder of ten of these herbs from the
Varnya Gana group of herbs (complexion enhancing herbs). Sandalwood (Chandana, Santalum album L.), beach calophyllum ball tree (Tunga, Calophyllum inophyllum L.), wild Himalayan cherry (Padmaka, Prunus cerasoides), khus (khus grass or vetiver (Usheera, Vetiveria zizanioides.), licorice (Madhuka, Glycyrrhiza glabra ), Indian madder (Manjishtha, Rubia cordifolia L.), Indian sarsaparilla (Sariva, Hemidesmus indicus),
Indian kudzu (Payasya ,Pueraria tuberosa), and Bermuda grass (Sita Lata, Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) along with milk, rose water or lukewarm water. 14
A simpler face pack recipe is red lentil (Lens culinaris) powder with Madhu (honey). This paste, when prepared and rubbed on the face, produces a wonderful complexion.
READ MORE: Ayurvedic Body Scrubs (Salt + Sugar Scrubs), Ubtan Recipes + Udvartana Powder Recipes
2. Nurture The Skin (Tvachya)
For a no makeup look, take care of the body from outside, with ingredients like rose petal, gotu kola, costus, grapefruit extract and bombax. These herbs support moisture balance and provide overall nourishment to the skin (Twachya).
Use sesame oil or buttermilk for moisturizing the skin. Buttermilk soothes, softens and enriches the skin with vitamins A, E, B6, and B12. Sesame oil is a popular base oil due to its
biologically active compounds that act as antioxidants and moisturize as well.
3. Protect The Skin From Inflammation And Sunburn (Shothahara)
Inflammation is considered a prime cause of aging. Rose petal, silk cotton tree and aloe vera are herbs with appropriate anti-inflammatory properties. They protect the skin against allergens, inflammatory substances, chemicals and stress.
Pulp or juice of the leaves of aloe vera soothes sunburn as well as heals and smoothes the skin. For skin that is irritated, red sandalwood paste combined with a powdered paste of the root of khas (vetiver) is useful in treating allergic reactions on the skin or other skin irritations.15
READ MORE: Ecstatic Rose Petal Drink, Roses For Healing: Amazing Ways To Use Rose, Rose Petals And Rose Water
4. Daily Protection (Sandhaniya And Vranaropana)
Protecting the skin from normal wear and tear (Sandhaniya and Vranaropana) will go a long way in enhancing your no makeup look. Herbs such as ‘sensitive plant’ enhance healing and regeneration of the nerves by 30 to 40%. When healing is required to a deeper extent (Vranaropana), Gotu Kola along with sensitive plant is thought to have the ability to heal wounds.
Honey has shown that both of these properties can be used in topical applications as well as internally to heal wounds to the skin and enhance the activity when used in combination. 16
READ MORE: Jatyadi Ghee (Jatyadi Ghrita): Ayurvedic Topical Wound Healing Formula
5. Amla And Turmeric
A no makeup look can be manifested with Ayurvedic herbs. Amla and Turmeric can be used for maintaining skin health and retarding aging (Tvagrasayana). Indian goose berry (amalaki) is a potent antioxidant, rich in Vitamin C, tannins and gallic acid. It is foremost amongst the anti-aging medicinals (vayasthaprana) or best amongst the rejuvenating herbs. It has adaptogenic (rasayana) properties, useful in aging
(ajara), prolonging cell life (ayushprada), improving cell migration and cell binding (sandhaniya) and improving complexion (kantikara). 17 Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial herb that keeps bacteria away and makes the skin look fresh and glowing.18
Consuming Amla (Indian gooseberry) as well as spices like Turmeric, help in fighting free radical damage and photo damage. They nourish, replenish, heal the skin and help you avoid wrinkles, inflammation or breakouts.19 Amla, when taken with Neem, can help stave off pimples caused by blood impurities. 20
READ MORE: Amla: The Sour, Anti-Aging Ayurvedic Super Fruit + Amla Recipes, This Is What Happens When You Don’t Sleep, Will Ashwagandha Help You Sleep?
Ayurveda offers several processes that address the control and prevention of aging.
A five-fold detoxification treatment (Panchakarma) is one of the most popular rejuvenation and detoxification processes. It consists of three stages including two preparatory stages (Purva Karma) which include oleation (Snehana) and sudation (Swedana), five primary stages (Pradhana Karma) which includes emesis (Vamana), purgation (Virechana), nasal instillation (Nasya), enema (Basti) and bloodletting (Raktamokshana). Post panchakarma stages (Paschat Karma) mainly include diet (Ahar) regimens, exercise (Vihar) and use of health-promoting herbs.
These are the natural, no makeup look products Ayurveda offers you for a gorgeous and beautiful face and skin, the no makeup look you’ve been wanting.
READ MORE: Ayurvedic Foot Care: Pampering Treats For Tired Feet, Everything You Need To Know About Shirodhara
References
1. Ambikadutta Sashtri ,Sushruta Samhita ,Sutra sthana ,chapter 15 verse 48. Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2006.
2. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 26 verse 85, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
3. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, chikitsa sthana chapter 7 verse 4-7, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
4. Vd. Acharya, Chakrapanidutta, Charaka Samhita with “Ayurvedeepika” Charak Vimansthana chapter 1 verse 24, Chaukhambha Samskrit Sansthana, Varanasi, 2001.
5. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 8 verse 18, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
6. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 7 verse 28-29, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
7. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 5, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
8. Vagbhata. Astanga Hrdayam Sutrasthan 2/17, Dr. Brahmanand Tripathi, Editor. With ‘Nirmala’ hindi commentary. Repriented 2011, Delhi 110007. Chaukhambha Sanskrit pratishthan, page no-32.
9. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 6, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
10. Agnivesha, Charak Samhita. Vimansthana. chapter 8 verse 16-18. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Bharti Academy, Varanasi; 1998. Vidyotini Hindi Commentry by Pt. Kashinath Shastri and Dr. Gorakhanath Chaturvedi; p. 97.
11. Datta HS, Theories and management of aging: modern and ayurveda perspectives. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011; 2011():528527.
12. Hema Sharma Datta,Trends in aging and skin care: Ayurvedic concepts J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2010 Apr-Jun; 1(2): 110–113.doi: 10.4103/0975-9476.65081PMCID: PMC3151377PMID: 21836797
13. Wiesława Bylka,Centella asiatica in cosmetology, Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2013 Feb; 30(1): 46–49.PMCID: PMC3834700 PMID: 24278045
14. Kashinath, Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana chapter 4, verse 8-8, Chowkhambha Bharti Academy, 2005.
15. Kapoor, V. P. “Herbal cosmetics for skin and hair care.” Nat Prod Radiance 4, no. 4 (2005): 306-314.
16. Dudhamal, Tukaram, S. Gupta, and C. Bhuyan. “Role of honey (Madhu) in the management of wounds (Dushta Vrana).” International journal of Ayurveda research 1, no. 4 (2010): 271.
17. Wound healing activity of topical application forms based on ayurveda. Datta HS, Mitra SK, Patwardhan BEvid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011; 2011():134378.
18. Sahdeo Prasad and Bharat B. Aggarwal. Chapter 13Turmeric, the Golden Spice From Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine.
19. Nguyen, G., and A. Torres. “Systemic antioxidants and skin health.” Journal of drugs in dermatology: JDD 11, no. 9 (2012): e1-4.
20. Mirunalini, Sankaran, Velusamy Vaithiyanathan, and Mani Krishnaveni. “AMLA: A novel Ayurvedic herb as a functional food for health benefits”-A mini review.” International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 5, no. Suppl 1 (2013).
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