Hydrate and Nourish Your Skin: Ayurvedic Herbs and DIY Recipes for Radiant Beauty

Dehydrated skin or rough skin is caused when the water content in the body is reduced. lack of enough water in the body can affect your skin and makes skin itchy, dry and also dull looking. Dry skin reveals fine lines, wrinkles and uneven skin tone making skin more vulnerable to various allergies and infections. The most common cause of your skin getting dehydrated is water loss due to excessive sweating or perspiration. This is mostly seen during summer season when the sun is pouring heat and causing dryness in the atmosphere. So it is very important to look after your skin and keep it moisturised during this change in the weather.

Ayurveda texts contain special chapters explaining importance of following various daily routine according to changing seasons. Accordingly eating and drinking various food stuffs and following different life style routine. here are some of the herbs that help would help to keep your skin hydrated and moisturised inside out.

Aloe Vera: aloe Vera is known by the name kumari by the name itself it suggests the herb is useful in to keep yourself young and glowing. Aloe gel has 95% water and it really help keep skin soft and moisturised. Using products with aloe gel is the easiest way to use this in your daily skin care regimen. Or you can peel the aloe extract the gel and use it as a moisturising and cooling agent before bath. Ensure you wash it off properly as it can become really sticky when it starts drying out. 

Orange: orange being a citrus fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C, as well as it hydrates our body during summer time and cools you down. Everyone knows the benefits of Orange but lesser known properties for beautiful skin exist in the peel of oranges. The peel actually contains more vitamin C than the pulp itself. You can dry and grind the peel to make an excellent scrub or make a face pack powder to apply a mask with milk or water. 

Watermelon: 90% of watermelon weight is water! It is a rich combination of Vitamins A, C, potassium, magnesium as well as B1, B5, B6. This will keep your electrolyte count up, control free radical damage to your skin, reduce oxidative stress and keep you hydrated helping your skin retain moisture. 

Chill the rind left after cutting watermelon in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then slice the rind in very think wafers to use a peeler to remove thin wafers and lay on face until the cooling sensation stops. Wash face with lukewarm water after and dry thoroughly for an amazing glowing skin. 

Now that the skin hydration, as well as nourishment, has been taken care of, here are some wonderful recipes where you can use different products to make delicious treats that can help cool you down. 

1. Spicy Orange and mint: take juice of 2 oranges, a few mint leaves and a cup of water. Add salt/sugar to taste. Blend it together to make a wonderful cooling drink that hydrates as well as cools you down from the inside. It is rich in nutrients, cooling agents and you can add a piece of green chilli to make it spicy.
2. Watermelon mint drink: take a bowl full of watermelon and a few mint leaves and blend them together with a glass of water. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar if needed.
3. Masala buttermilk, yoghurt drinks also work really well in cooling the body down and the natural probiotics in these products do wonders for your digestive tract. Mix yoghurt in water and blend fast to create froth. Add a pinch of shredded ginger, coriander leaf, mint leaf and cumin and stir. You can store this in the fridge during summer to avoid fermentation. 
4. Coconut water is another thirst quencher, and is also very healthy for your body, skin and overall hydration. A combination of watermelon coconut water, or pineapple juice and coconut water tastes amazing and is a wonderful way to stay hydrated in summer. 

You may notice none of the recipes suggest using ice. That is because, in Ayurveda, there is a concept of agni which is your metabolic fire. When you drink something too cold, your body has to work hard to bring the cold food back to its own internal temperature before it can start processing it and breaking it down. So it is not suggested to have anything too cold or with ice in Ayurvedic view. 

Use seasonal fruits and vegetables to make smoothies, juices and other thirst quencher drinks to make your summer dehydration free and your skin looking glowing and wonderful. Also don’t forget to drink small swigs of water throughout the day to maintain proper hydration levels.