Dr Mukul Guleria Ramchandran

The skin on your body is an important organ which also has many important functions such as regulating the body temperature through perspiration, allowing you to touch and feel the world around us. The skin is a supple organ with folds and variations and different levels of thickness. To maintain its health, it is very important to keep it properly hydrated. Let’s look at a few ways that can be done naturally:

1. Moisturize: This is an important step that many don’t follow and it is a very important part of skin care. Moisturizing is necessary in both dry and wet climates. What you need to be aware of is to change the type of moisturizer from season to season. It is better to moisturize with a lighter lotion and less often during summers while the winters would require a heavier lotion with increased frequency.
2. Use humidifiers during the dry seasons: Many people may miss this trick, but it is a good idea to run a humidifier within the room during the dry seasons as it helps you to breathe better as well as keeps your skin hydrated. Also, when sleeping in air conditioned rooms, it is a good idea to run a humidifier to ensure that the cold air doesn’t dehydrate your skin.
3. Stop taking hot showers for too long: This is another common reason for dry skin. Taking hot showers for extended periods of time will rob your skin of its natural moisturizers and result in dry, scaly skin. Too long and hot showers will strip the skin of its essential oils and thus result in it becoming scaly and dry. Preferably, take shorter and colder showers.
4. Change lifestyle habits: One of the greatest disruptors of skin health are bad habits, such as smoking, drinking excessive alcohol and sun damage. Ensure that you have enough protection from the sun to stop sun damage. Smoking and alcohol both dry out our skin and thus result in you looking older as well as developing more wrinkles. Give up smoking and try to limit alcohol consumption to limited quantities.
5. Exercise: Many of the skin related woes occur due to the lack of physical movement, which results in underlying conditions. These underlying conditions may not only cause the skin quality to deteriorate, but will also result in it being dry. It is important to exercise to keep the internal regulatory systems in best condition and keep the skin hydrated.

If you wish to discuss about any specific skin related problem, you can consult a specilized dermatologist and ask a free question.

In Ayurveda, acne is known as YouvanaPidaka, where Youvana is youth and pidaka is skin eruption. Acne is related to both facial skin health and hormones and with Ayurvedic treatment; you can actually get rid of these. 

Before you get treated for acne, you must know the causes of getting acne. 

Causes of Acne:

According to Ayurveda, the following reasons may result in eruption of 'pidaka'.

1. Too much intake of fried food that vitiates Pitta and Kapha.
2. Using cosmetics that directly affect the facial skin.
3. Waking until late night resulting in imbalance of bodily functions. 
4. Anxiety and stress that lead to imbalance in metabolism and release toxins.
5. Changes that take place within the body during adolescence. 
6. Family history

All these may lead to over production of sebum that clogs the pores. Sometimes bacteria are also responsible for acne. 

Hormonal imbalance is another cause that leads to acne on the face. 

Treatment of Acne with Ayurveda:
There are certain things that can be followed at home so that you can keep your skin clean and clear. 

1. Wash your face thoroughly with Luke warm at least three to four times a day. 
2. Using herbs that are useful in detoxifying and blood purification. For instance, neem and turmeric have anti-bacterial effect that cleanses the area with acne and helps them heal quickly. 
3. Applying sandal wood or turmeric pastes that are complexion enhancer.
4. Mind smoothening medicines and coolants.
5. If there is hormonal imbalance, then get a therapy for balancing hormone. 

There are different herbs that are useful for treating acne. They are

1. Turmeric or haridra: it helps in reducing the oily nature of the skin and adds luster to the skin. 
2. Neem or Nimba that is well known for its blood purification properties. 
3. Berberis Aristata or daruharidra that helps in reducing the acne scars and helps to get a glow on the face. 
4. Hemidesmusindicus or sariva that is a good blood purifier.
5. Sandal wood or chandan for treating the acne with a soothing effect. 
6. Red sandal wood or raktachandana that purifies the blood and improves the blood circulation.
7. Nutmeg or jathiphala for reducing the scar marks of acne. 
8. Indian Gooseberry or amlaki that nourishes both skin and the blood. 
9. Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Ashoka that are well known for treating hormonal imbalance. 

By adding these in your diet and stopping fried foods, you can see changes in the acne marks. However, still if you find that they are there, rush to an expert for better advice.