Ayurveda: Beauty Secrets of Ancient India
Here at Christian Berlin, we’re committed to exploring the beauty secrets and beautifying rituals of this wide and ever-changing world. In our search for skincare perfection, we’ve pored through the history books, we’ve uncovered manuscripts detailing the beauty regimes of queens and muses, and we’ve walked the four corners of this Earth to identify the ingredients possessed of the properties which allow true, natural, and radiant beauty to shine.
However, in each of our searches, and throughout the entirety of our explorations, the thread we follow keeps leading us back to one country above all others: India.
When it comes to knowledge not only of beauty - for this country celebrates beauty and the ideals of beauty to the absolute zenith of perfection - but also knowledge of the potential and possibilities of natural ingredients, alchemy, and the fine balance to be struck between the physical and spiritual, India has mastered such wonders to a fine art. Across thousands of years, and thanks to the tireless expertise and endless meditations on the subject, Indian herbalists, physicists, and spiritual adepts managed to formulate and formalise an entire system of understanding based upon the finest details of the human body and spirit. At once a system of medicine, wellbeing, beauty, and enlightenment, this system - known to the world as ayurveda - has influenced the world of beauty and the industry which surrounds it in the 21st century more than perhaps any other. Indeed, the mantra of ‘beauty from within’ - which resonates perfectly with Christian Berlin’s message and philosophy - sits at the heart of ayurveda, which sees physical beauty and radiant skin as part and parcel of a greater, holistic whole.
Let’s draw back the veil on the mystical wonders of ayurvedic beauty, and take a closer look at its key principles. Despite being thousands of years old, and composed of beliefs, methodologies, and approaches which predate much of European civilisation, it is nothing short of remarkable just how closely this miraculous system of health and wellbeing resonates with what we value today.
Dosha: Know Yourself, Know Your Skin Type
Ancient ayurvedic practitioners were well ahead of their time in many respects, but not least in the sense that they were perhaps the first in the world to recognise and categorise variou skin types, each of which required a distinct set of treatments and skincare ingredients with which to bring out their inner radiance. These categories, known as as a key aspect of an individual’s dosha or body type, may have been identified up to four thousand years ago, and yet they very closely resemble those which formulate the skincare expert’s rulebook today.
Those in the vata dosha have skin which is delicate, dry, thin, and fine-pored, and as such, prone to lines and wrinkles. Vata patients would, therefore, require more luxuriant moisturisers, and a diet comprised of oil-rich foods. Individuals catergorised as being in the pitta dosha require careful balance; an imbalance in their wellbeing will quickly lead to breakouts, rashes, and inflammatory skin conditions. Those in the kapha dosha, however, have more robust skin, which tends to be oilier and more prone to blockages in the pores.
By identifying one’s dosha, an ayurvedic beautician would be able to not only diagnose beauty regimes to increase the radiance and beauty of the skin, but also recommend lifestyle and diet changes to help reach your skin’s potential for flawlessness.
Changing Seasons, Changing Skin
India is a country of seasonal extremes - and not just in ancient history, when ayurvedic principles were laid down, but also today. Ayurveda is, at its heart, a system designed to help the individual find their place amid the cyclical components of the natural world, and as such, the changing of the seasons and the climatic conditions are skin is subjected to is a clear and important aspect of ayurvedic skincare.
Our skin - no matter where or when we live - relies on consistency and balance. As such, the transitional seasons, when summer becomes winter and vice versa, can be problematic, as our skin can struggle with changes in temperature and humidity when it comes to the natural production of oils. In India, this may be somewhat more extreme than in other parts of the world, but the teachings of ayurvedic skincare in this regard ring true across the world and throughout the centuries regardless. For example, depending on your dosha, your skincare rituals must be balanced with those of an opposing dosha during the transitional seasons, in order to ease the nature of your skin into the oncoming season.
Ayurvedic practitioners were among the first to recognise and formalise how the skin changes from month to month, and how different consistencies of moisturiser and early serums must be used in different climatic conditions. Certain clay mud treatments, nutritious oils, flower extracts, cold water herbal extracts, and modish botanicals like turmeric were - and still are - all used to impressive and lasting effect to ensure absolute balance no matter the time of year.
A Pioneering Use of Natural Ingredients
It’s easy to think of ayurveda as something belonging to the ancient past, to an India of epic romances, religious history, and symbolism. While its roots as a medical and holistic wellbeing system are undeniably ancient, and date back to the days of the ancient Indian spiritual texts, it not only continues to exist in the 21st century, it’s arguably more vibrant and beloved than ever.
Ayurveda has long since moved outwards from the borders of India, and has inspired and sparked the imaginations of those seeking beauty and wellness solutions right across the globe. In many, many ways, it has struck the contemporary zeitgeist of the beauty industry; a natural-driven beauty ideology, powered by an innovative use of natural, organic, and sustainable materials and substances which make a genuine difference to your skin. Furthermore, ayurvedic practices and remedies are holistic in the truest sense of the word; predicated on the sense that physical and spiritual wellbeing results in a manifestation of beauty and happiness - indeed, a trip to an ayurvedic skincare specialist may result in not only a skin cream, but also a set of yoga instructions and dietary recommendations, too.
This current wave of relevance and value comes down, primarily, to ayurveda’s championing of natural ingredients, selected for their ability to work with the skin’s natural balance and propensity for beauty. Plant extracts, herbs, powdered spices, milks, mud, vegetables, fruit juices, honey, aloe, oils… all are essential components of ayurvedic beauty, and ayurvedic practitioners will know the properties of each and every one, carefully matching them to an individual’s unique needs and requirements. In this level of personalisation and tailoring, and in this understanding of the power of nature when it comes to allowing radiance to shine from beneath the skin, ayurveda is not something relegated to the history books. It is, in fact, both ancient, modern, and timeless.
