Dry Skin

See also “Skin—Ayurvedic Care”
Dry skin can have several causes. It may be due to a lack of sebaceous (oily) secretions; insufficient sweating; an excess of hot, sharp pitta; or too much vata. External causes of dry skin include sun, wind, hot dry air, excess washing, and excess use of soap or dishwashing soap.

MOISTURIZING CREAM MAY NOT BE THE ANSWER. Many people use moisturizing creams to counteract dry skin. But dryness of the skin usually comes from within rather than from external causes. For this reason, mere application of a moisturizer doesn’t truly solve the problem.

In general, moisturizing creams work only temporarily. They stimulate secretions of the sebaceous glands, and for a while the skin looks soft and oily. But then the glands become tired and exhausted, resulting in more dryness. You will have much greater success if you treat the dryness both externally, with natural oils, and internally, by lubrication of the colon with oil enemas.

Here are several effective Ayurvedic home remedies to keep your skin smooth and lustrous.

APPLY SOME OIL. In some cases, applying some oil to your skin may be all you need to eliminate dry skin. If your constitution is predominantly vata, apply sesame oil; if you are pitta, apply sunflower or coconut oil. If you are kapha, apply corn oil.

However, application of oil to the skin will probably not be sufficient. To treat the internal cause of the dryness, you’ll have to lubricate the colon with a gentle oil enema.

OIL ENEMA. Here is the procedure:

• Step 1: Begin with a cleansing enema. Either in the morning or evening, give yourself a regular water enema. After a good bowel movement, wait one hour before proceeding to step 2.
• Step 2: For the oil enema, use 1 cup of sesame, sunflower, or corn oil, according to the above vata–pitta–kapha recommendations. Inject the oil into the rectum (using a hot water bottle or a syringe), and try to retain it for 5 to 10 minutes. If it goes out, don’t worry, let it out. (More complete guidelines on how to do an enema are in appendix 3.)

This simple oil enema will make your skin soft, delicate, and gorgeous. The colon is an important part of the absorption process for food nutrients. Similarly, the oil in the colon from the enema easily gets absorbed into the system and helps to lubricate the skin from within.

For best results, perform the oil enema according to this schedule:

Week 1 Every day
Week 2 Every 2 days
Week 3 Every 3 days
Week 4 Once

CHERRY MASK. You may also find relief from dry skin by applying a pulp of fresh cherries to your face at night, before going to bed. Leave it on for 15 minutes, and then rinse off. This will give you a beautiful complexion.