Friends, How are you taking care of your skin this summer?? I am trying to drink lots of water throughout the day. This replenishes the moisture that is lost due to heat and sweat. More importantly, this flushes the toxins out of the body and keeps skin healthy and clean. My sister takes herb/spice teas made with skin-improving ingredients. This offers therapeutic benefit. She chooses cooling herbs and spices such as mint, cardamom and fennel. These are known to balance the “pitta”. We also try to stay away from iced beverages as these hamper digestion and increase toxin levels which results in skin breakouts.
Hey Madhuja, Thanks for sharing these helpful tips. My Mom always asks me to have Pitta-balancing fruits, vegetables and herbs that supply the skin with the necessary nutrients. These come with free-radical fighting anti-oxidant properties and help keep the skin cool. Good vegetable choices for summer are lettuce, asparagus, celery, summer squash like Zuchhini, carrots and leafy greens. Juicy fruits like mangoes, watermelon, pears and grapes help in nourishing and cleansing the system. According to my Mom, fresh ginger, cilantro, mint and basil add flavor to dishes without aggravating the “Pittadasha”. During summer we should go easy on spicy food.
Hey this is a nice thread!! I like the discussion that is going on!! Jaya, your mother is correct!! We should indeed stay away from spicy food during summer, especially if we need to go out in the sun for the whole day. Spicy foods and summer heat lead to the skin getting inflamed and breaking out into pimples and acnes. The sweet, astringent and bitter tastes are believed to balance “pitta”, while the sour, salty and pungent tastes are known to aggravate it. If you are not allergic to dairy products, you can drink a cup of milk everyday. Milk is a soothing beverage that supplies nutrients to the skin and prevents it from drying.
Hi all, Nice thread indeed!! Milk can also be used as a skin cleanser if we add almond paste and rose water to it. But this should not be used if you have an oily skin. Those, who have oily skin, can make cucumber juice and refrigerate it. When the juice is chilled, you can apply it to your entire face. This acts as an excellent astringent. Those who suffer from acnes and pimples must rub ice-cubes on the face, at least twice a day. You can make a pack with Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth) and plain ice-cold water and apply it as a mask. Multani Mitti can also be substituted with Gopichandan.
