Sensible Summer Skin Care

The sun is a phenomenal source of energy that is essential for achieving and maintaining good health. It enables all life on our planet including plant life which converts carbon dioxide to pure oxygen so that we might live. As we cannot live without oxygen we cannot live without the sun which is, for us, the source for optimum cellular regeneration of the hormonal balance of our bodies. Although our bodies possess all the elements to tolerate and protect itself from gradual and moderate sun exposure, if abused, the sun can become our worst enemy. It emits UV rays that cause premature aging of the skin and in many cases, even skin cancer.

Protecting the skin’s immune system

The skin’s most important role is maintaining a physical barrier—regulating the loss of water and electrolytes as well as preventing undesirable substances from entering our bodies. But did you know the skin has its own immune system and that a suntan is actually the body’s immune response to danger? The melanin that forms a tan is the body’s attempt to protect our basal cells from harmful rays. However, according to recent dermatological studies, worldwide skin diseases, allergies and highly sensitive skin are on the increase. What is the cause? Age, ultraviolet rays (UV) and the environment have all contributed to the deterioration of the skin’s immune function and sunscreens may not be enough to protect us. The skin needs to be protected every day, especially when suddenly exposed to high UV radiation.  Recently, experiments have verified that chemical sunscreens play only a minor role in protection. Sequestered, as we generally are, in climate-controlled environments and months of minimal sun exposure, our immune system becomes sluggish and unprepared for the intense onslaught of the sun that vacation and summer usually thrusts upon it.

At Body Essentials Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Spa, our all-natural system for improved sun tolerance stimulates our own defense mechanism for auto-protection and better sun tolerance. With the help of Essensa Organics® our goal is to coax and build a strong immune system from the inside out. This is done in two parts —an intensive Avant-Soleil Skin Protect Facial and Apre-Soleil Rescue Facial which can be tailored to treat sunburns,  hyperpigmentation and to ameliorate sundamage. The Program utilizes the synergy of essential oil blends that are absorbed into the skin and interact with the melanocytes to stimulate the immune system so that it is ready to ‘kick-in’ when the damaging UVA/UVB rays reach the skin. It assists the body to work naturally from the inside out for ultimate skin care and protection, minimizing the risk of sunburn as you develop a rich, long-lasting golden color with no burning or flaking. Please note that this program however, does not replace the need for a sun block and sensible sunning.

Additional tips for good summer care

By limiting sun exposure and maximizing the use of the following skin-saving ideas, we can enjoy youthful-looking skin for years to come. Sensible care will not only prevent getting a sunburn and dry, peeling skin, but will also slow down the obvious signs of aging that normally accompany over-exposure to the sun.

• Avoid direct sun exposure during the peak UV radiation hours (between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm).
• Regularly perform self-examinations to familiarize yourself with existing growths and become aware of changes to the topography of your skin.
• Hydration is the most important part of daily skin care. Your skin needs more water than anything else and even more so in summer when we lose most of our body salts through sweat. Make it a habit to wash your face gently with water a number of times in a day (try to use mineral water). You can splash as many as 20 times as long as you don't use very hot or cold water on your skin (which can cause fine veins to appear on your face). Steam your face regularly to open the pores and clean your face of the dirt (five minutes for dry skin and 10 minutes if it is oily). Pat dry with tissue and nourish with a water-based moisturizer.
• Smooth on our Lavender Spa Body Lotion after your bath.
• Apply a sunscreen in proper concentration before you leave the house and reapply every two hours.
• Wear proper sunglasses and a hat with a broad brim (See Ayurvedic Lifestyle Tips)
• Don't let the bugs bite. If you look like a flower and smell like a flower, insects will treat you like a flower. Avoid wearing heavily scented hair spray, shampoo or body lotion. Use just enough insect repellent to cover exposed skin and/or clothing, and once back indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water.
• Combat summer acne and breakouts with proper care. More people break out during the hot summer months due to increased perspiration, which can disperse oils on the skin, thus allowing more pimple-causing bacteria to grow. Ask your skincare professional about adjusting your skincare and makeup regimen for outdoor activities and the summer climate.
• Learn how to apply natural-looking, barely there mineral makeup (powder blushes and eye shadows) that is less irritating and holds up better in hot and humid weather over cream products.
• Don't forget to dust with powder to keep down the shine. To achieve a sexy, natural summer evening glow, dust with gold or bronze highlighters. Also consider accenting your lip color with a gold or bronze gloss.
• Be meticulous with your skin care. Wash your face at least twice a day with a recommended cleanser being careful to not strip the skin of its natural oils.  Cleansing products should be all natural and chemical free. Never use deodorant soaps on your face. These contain harsh ingredients that may irritate your skin and clog your pores. In hotter weather, clogged pores always lead to blemishes.
• A gentle exfoliant will remove dead cells and smooth the skin's surface. When selecting a scrub, look for products with Jojoba beads as these provide immediate results and won’t ‘dig at’ or tear into the pores.
• Everyone spends more time outdoors during the summer, which means environmental debris and pollutants can have a negative impact on your skin's ability to remain elastic. Toning helps keep your face clear and firm.
• Always use a light anti-oxidant hydrating moisturizer on your face after cleansing and shaving. It is very important to hydrate the entire surface of your skin, especially the sensitive under-eye areas. This is one of the first places to show signs of aging, especially with the careless sunning, and should not be overlooked. An eye gel or serum that contains chamomile will refresh and nourish the delicate skin beneath your eyes.
• 90 percent of premature aging of the skin is caused by overexposure to the sun. Failure to protect and care for the skin not only leads to wrinkling and aging but increases the risk of developing skin cancer, the most prevalent of all cancers in the United States. More than one million Americans are newly diagnosed every year, and nearly every affected individual has a strong history of over exposure to sunlight or tanning. The likelihood of developing cancer is even higher when sun exposure results in burning and blistering. Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or greater at least 30 minutes before sun exposure and remember to reapply every two hours.
• Select prescription eyeglass lenses such as Transitions® Lenses, which provide automatic protection by blocking 100 percent of UV rays. Think of it as sunscreen for the eyes.  (See also Ayurvedic Lifestyle Tips)

As summer approaches, those prone to skin inflammations may experience the discomfort of more frequent flare-ups and breakouts. From an ayurvedic perspective, problems such as rashes, acne, hives, boils, psoriasis and eczema occur when too much heat accumulates in the body. This can happen at any time of the year, but the seasonal increase in temperature makes heat related imbalances of the skin more prevalent at this time. Fortunately, Ayurveda offers some wonderful solutions for cooling the system and restoring our natural state of balance. By following a daily regimen, along with herbs and a few simple dietary and lifestyle practices, beautiful, healthy skin should be yours all summer long.

Lifestyle Tips for staying cool in Body and Mind

• Observe a daily routine with regular times for rest, relaxation and play. (See Summer Routine)
• Relinquish control and practice surrendering to the moment
• Enjoy moderate exercise routine during the cooler times of the day.
• Running, jumping and jogging are vigorous and should be done early in the morning.
• Listen to soft, peaceful music
• Take pitta-pacifying herbs
• Follow a pitta-pacifying diet and eat cooling, easily digested meals and salads
• Drink cool herbal teas such as coriander, cumin and fennel.
• If you feel thirsty, have a glass of lime-aid, not lemon
• Be non-violent in thought as well as in action
• Minimize your intake of mass media; use the time to reconnect with nature.
• Wear light, well-ventilated silk or cotton clothing in cooling colors such as white, and pastels. These help the skin to breathe.
• Avoid dark, gaudy or bright colors as they absorb solar energy and produce more heat.
• Encourage patience, tolerance and try to be positive and thankful
• Avoid overly-critical or judgmental thoughts
• Sunburns are pitta-aggravating so use sunscreen when going outdoors
• If you are eligible, donate blood
• Release stress with a little song and dance
• Summer fatigue is often indicative of excess pitta in the liver as well as a lack of Kapha energy in the environment. Avoid sunbathing or hard work in the sun. Wear a hat outdoors protecting the neck and shoulders. The neck is close to the medulla oblongata near the brain stem and overheating creates sunstroke. Khus, jasmine or sandalwood oil applied to the crown under your hat will keep your head cool.
• Avoid hot tubs and steam rooms; take a cool dip instead
• Sunglasses should be smoky gray, brown or green in color. Red or yellow lenses are pitta aggravating while blue and violet attract ultraviolet rays that can damage the retina leading to cataracts. Sunglasses actually reduce visual acuity so should be worn only during the brightest part of the day.
• Statistical studies show that crime and riots are higher in the summer. This is because of summer’s fire which can lead to irritability and anger. So avoid hot topics in the summer, especially around noon when pitta is highest. Make important decisions in the morning or evening when it is cool.
• To cool down pitta, wear a red coral necklace with a pearl. Amethyst crystals, moonstones, malachite or silver jewelry are also cooling.
• Here is a simple technique to rest the eyes. Close the eyes and rub your hands together. This generates static electricity on the skin. Slowly carry your hands to your eyes and with a feather-like touch, gently touch the eyes with your palms. No pressure. Do this for two minutes.
• Have fun!

All summer days are different, so be flexible with these suggestions. It there is a cool day, a little cayenne pepper or something hot is ok. However, truly pitta-aggravating herbs and spices should not be taken regularly, only when there is a need. These include trikatu, ginger, black pepper, chitrak, and most forms of guggulu. The best herbs for pitta in summer are shatavari, guduchi, tikta, kama dudha and amalaki.

Ayurvedic Summer Routine

These are general suggestions for summer, providing there is no vata or kapha imbalance.
The influence of the seasons on every living organism is quite remarkable. The basic attributes of summer correspond to the qualities of pitta dosha. Hence summer aggravates pitta and the routine for summer is naturally pitta soothing.

Morning:

• Summer mornings are cool and pleasant so be up around 5AM and brush your teeth with a natural, cooling toothpaste (bitter, astringent herbs)
• Scrape the tongue with a silver or stainless steel tongue scraper (pitta pacifying)
• Take a mouthful of room-temperature coconut or sunflower oil and swish before spitting it out.
• Next, massage the gums with the index finger, rinse and drink a glass of room temperature water.
• Yoga—Fish, camel, boat, cobra, cow and palm tree poses. These help to remove pitta from pitta sites such as the small intestines and liver and as such are beneficial to everyone in the summer season.
  • Pitta people should not do inverted poses such as shoulder stand and head stand as these bring excess blood and pitta to the thyroid and thymus glands; eyes and brain and are very pitta provoking in the summer.
  • Practice Moon salutation to exercise the muscles, blood vessels, bones and nerves while pacifying pitta.
• Pranayama—Shitali breath
  • Stick out the tongue and roll it into a tube
  • Inhale through the rolled tongue, holding the breath in the belly (cools pitta in the digestive tract)
• Daily Abhyanga with Coconut or Sunflower oil (use 5-6 ounces). Coconut oil is particularly soothing to the skin. It will penetrate the skin into the pitta predominant sweat glands which are the source of sunburn, rashes and hives. If full-body Abhyanga is not possible, massage feet and scalp at bedtime
• Take a pleasant lukewarm shower with sandalwood or neem soap. This maintains the oil in the sweat and sebaceous glands to cool pitta. Avoid prolonged hot showers which are strongly pitta provoking.
• Dry off with a clean towel and apply one drop of sandalwood, jasmine or khus  oil to:
  • The crown, third eye, throat and heart chakras; both nipples, the belly button, pubic bone and the midpoint between the anus and genitals. These points are sensitive to heat and with each heartbeat prana is released into the aura, cooling the auric field.
• Do regular yoga, meditation and pranayama
• Pitta accumulates quickly from 10-11 am, so have a light breakfast. This helps to keep pitta in check. Remember, most fruits digest within one hour so you will be hungry again by mid-morning. Remember, do not mix fruit with grains.
• Try to have lunch around noon.
• Best foods are steamed asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, basmati rice, mung or red lentils soup, sweet potato with a teaspoon of ghee. Have more salads, preferably at lunch as they might create gas at Vata time in the evening.
• Favor foods and drinks with Sweet, bitter and astringent tastes
• Avoid dark meats in the summer—it is very heating
• Avoid:
  • sour fruits such as most citrus;
  • beets, carrots, garlic, onion, chili, tomato, sour cream, salted cheese
  • Hot and spicy foods.
  • Prolonged fasting is also pitta provoking. So for one day at most, and not at all for people with pitta aggravation.
• It is ok to take a short nap (1/2  hour)  after lunch in the summer
• Do not drink hot or iced water in the summer; room temperature is best. Iced water inhibits digestive enzymes, slowing down digestion that results in toxic build up. It also constricts the blood vessels in the gums which shocks the gums and contributes to receding gums.
• Dinner should be between 6 and 7pm, but definitely before sunset.
• Enjoy a refreshing Cucumber Drink: grate ½ cucumber and mix with ½ cup boiled, cooled milk plus 1 tsp of rock candy and a pinch of cardamom. Drink this in the morning and have a cool day.
• Bitter Ghee (tikta ghrita) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will lubricate the digestive tract and control pitta.

Pleasant evenings:

• After dinner, apply sandalwood oil to the body and go for a walk. Wear white clothing and throw a white flower in your hair.
• Another wonderful drink on a summer evening is cool, but not refrigerated milk (boiled and left to cool down). Add a piece of rock candy, rose water and a few blanched almonds. This, at bedtime, cools down pitta, increases ojas (vital energy) and induces sound sleep. Why not drink this under the moonlight, while listening to some beautiful flute music, near a beach or stream?
• At bedtime, take ½ tsp of amalaki to eliminate accumulated pitta. Triphala is slightly heating. Take the amalaki at least ½ hour after dinner and at least 2 hours before your bedtime milk drink (see above).
• Do not discuss serious topics in the evening—talk about the moon, the ocean or flowers and tell romantic bedtime stores.
• Sleep on the right side to activate the lunar (left) breath cycle which is cooling to the body.