If we asked you what your skin type is, what would you say?
Dry?
Wrinkly?
Sensitive?
Tanned?
DID YOU KNOW that most of us don’t know what our actual skin type is and go with labels given to us by cosmetic brands and medical skincare?
In fact, a skin type can be correctly determined only after examining and checking for a few aspects and conditions and off-setting them with issues that are more temporary.
Let’s look at an example of this:
Say you have had normal skin for most of your adult life. (We need to mention ‘adult’ here, because puberty and especially menstruation, can change your skin.) During your 20s, your skin remained much the same, with no noticeable differences appearing, minus the occasional breakout.
However, in your mid 30s, you began to notice that you got acne breakouts near your jawline. You started noticing some dehydration and dry skin around your knees, ankles and elbows because of an increased intake of high-calorie foods (again, a routine marker for those days of the month). After a week or so, your skin went back to normal - but is that a fine line I spot in the mirror there?
Once you crossed 40, you notice your wrinkles have become more defined and gravity is more at play. Your cheeks aren't as tight as they once were, your texture is rougher and bumpier than it was, and even your skin tone is uneven with sporadic age spots - thanks to many hours in the sun.
The hormonal changes menopause brings with it are a new ballgame altogether, and suddenly you get pimples, redness and whiteheads.
And then - the dry spell sets in, and not a moisturizer in the world seems to be able to make your skin as juicy as it once was.
So, our question to you is: what is your skin type???
The answer is, there is no one simple answer here. If it were that simple, we wouldn’t be looking at a multi-billion-dollar industry aiming to confuse and confound you at the best of times! (BUT more on this another time.)
The answer we can give you is that if you experience the following concerns and conditions on your skin on a fairly regular basis, you might fall under one of the broad (but inclusive) categories defined under the Baumann Skin Typing System, namely, the DSPW.
So, let’s first ascertain that you have:
If the above sound familiar enough, good, because there are a few things we think you might like to know.
For instance, many people are aware that aging and mature skin often exhibits signs of dryness. But few realize that this dryness often leads to skin inflammation and unevenness in skin tone. And this is such an important piece of information to have, because otherwise, your skincare shopping might go something like this:
And you walk away, your shopping bag as heavy as your heart, because you haven’t been given answers. Just products.
Now, if you are aware of your skin type, and the conditions that typically accompany it, this conversation would go entirely differently. Because you would know that dry skin leads to inflammation, and inflammation is one of the culprits behind uneven skin tone (all of which makes skin thinner and heightens its propensity to wrinkle), you wouldn’t go browsing for something that might work.
Instead, you would take time to find a skincare brand that you can trust – perhaps something natural or one that aligns with your eco-friendly, vegetarian/vegan lifestyle, or one you have seen to work – and you would look for a product that addresses dryness, uneven skin tone, pigmentation and wrinkles all at once. You would be confident in your choice and your decision, because it’s coming from a place of self-knowledge and not guesswork passed down from generation to generation of cosmetic skincare brands.
Everyone and their postman are aware of collagen; it’s a household term today. But what is it and what does it do, really?
Collagen is a protein. There are 28 types of collagens known today. And Type I collagen is found in almost 90% of the human body (tissue and cells). Put simply, collagen is the reason your skin bounces back after injury, a sore turns into normal skin, and a minor cut becomes a light scar over time. And it’s also why the skin on your face, neck and the rest of your body looks tight and pristine when you’re younger (more collagen produced by the body) and loses its elasticity and luster as you age (less collagen and less absorption of what is produced).
Also, collagen alone is not responsible for keeping your skin looking taut. That is a job co-managed by another structural protein called elastin. With age, elastin also decreases in the body, resulting in looser skin and wrinkly surfaces on the face and body.
Now that you understand collagen and elastin a little better, you can put two and two together and figure out where your skin stands in terms of age, sun damage, exposure to the elements and its overall condition.
Is your skin thriving or merely surviving?
A reflection on the past several years might help you find some clarity. Perhaps you could ask yourself:
Once you answer these key questions for your skin, you will be several steps closer to not only better understanding your skin, but also giving it conscious care and nutrition for its optimal health.
Let’s assume that you have learned that your skin is now dry and wrinkle prone. Additionally, you do not venture out into the sun too often but do wear sunblock whenever you do. Here are some proven ways you can care for your facial and body skin better going forward:
If you hated reading the little conversation between you and a potential cosmetic store above, you’re going to love what we are about to tell you.
Turns out, we don’t really need a host of products to give our skin the best care. In fact, ancient skincare did not really contain this, that and the other at all. It was more akin to looking inwards to identify causes, looking outwards to match something in nature with oneself, and creating recipes and mixtures from what was available to treat, cure and improve.
Luckily, today, we have grounded research and treasures of information on the ancient science of wellness that is Ayurveda. This gives us precious stores of factual and testable herbal resources which are more useful than ever, today.
A very useful system that Ayurvedic wellness refers to is the dosha body type. Similar to but much more advanced and nuanced than the Baumann Skin Typing System (which ultimately only caters to the topical skin type), the dosha body type looks at the internal and external balance of the entire body, relates it to the various parts of the body and mind and suggests ways to address the entirety of the issue instead of just the skin-deep problem one can see.
To summarize a vast and complex system of body type in Ayurveda, the three body types according to the doshas are:
These key body types also hold the secret to why certain things affect certain people differently. Put simply, if you fall cleanly under one of the body types, you may have heightened response to say, hot foods. On the other hand, if you are a combination of two doshas, you may have varying responses to attacks on your immune system of seasonal viruses, fevers, etc.
Let’s understand what this means for you –
Vata – this dosha renders the skin colder than usual and creates deep layers of dryness that often travel up to the surface to turn into scaly and wrinkle-prone skin. One may also notice signs of roughness, dry patches and skin darkening, especially where the skin is thinner or contains folds (neck, knees, etc.).
Pitta – here, just looking at what it means for the skin, one is more likely to experience excessive sweating, acne, oily skin, etc. Consequently, this may also lead to adult acne problems, sun sensitivity and more bruise-prone skin in older years.
Now that you are armed with this information, isn't it so much more easier for you to narrow down on what you want to use on your skin? If we were to create a checklist for your skin must-haves, it would read something like this:
You would notice that none of the items on this checklist indicate any need for cosmetic procedures, artificial enhancements or even multi-step, many-layered beauty regimens, because Ayurveda does not work like that.
In Ayurveda, it is more common to find many ingredients that work on related but varying issues on a body part (or the body as a whole), combined in safe but potent formulations.
Your checklist is ready and so is the one go-to solution to all of the above. If you want to see what timely hydration, moisturization and toning can do for mature, aging, sensitive skin, read on below about a potent skin juice, fittingly called Yauvari Amplified Youth Spring, an all-in-one moisturizer that replaces your anti-aging moisturizer.
Yauvari Youth Spring is 100% Natural Skincare with Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Vitamin B, all naturally occurring in its herbal ingredients.
Yauvari contains within itself the wholesome magic with which nature works, in secret. It allows herbs, fruits, oils to brew together in utmost harmony to bring out results that only the force of nature can yield.
This oil is completely clear and does not have any tint. It is very light in weight, feel and texture and absorbs in the skin within moments! It contains no artificial binders, additives, heavy metals or any such thing that you wouldn’t want on your skin!
FULL AND COMPLETE LIST OF INGREDIENTS
Sesame Seed Oil [Sesamum Indicum], Rice Bran Oil [Oryza Sativa], Black Gram [Vigna Mungo], Touch-Me-Not Plant [Mimosa Pudica], Nut Grass [Cyperus Rotundus], Black Creeper [Ichnocarpus Frutescens], Vetiver [Vetiveria Zizanioides], Turmeric [Curcuma Longa], Stone Apple [Aegle Marmelos], Black Plum [Eugenia Jambolana], Mango [Mangiifera Indica], Ginger [Zingiber Officinale], Black Pepper [Piper Nigrum], Long Pepper [Piper Longum], Essential Oils of Frankincense [Boswellia Sacra], Neroli [Citrus Aurantium] and Lime [Citrus Aurantifolia].
