The weather’s heating up, representing yet another golden opportunity for beauty professionals to showcase their esthetician skills with seasonal treatments. After all, the clients who came calling in winter have completely different skin care needs now that it’s summer. The more training you’ve pursued in the variety of specialty treatments available, the more customers you’ll have knocking at your door.

One of today’s hottest beauty and wellness specialties is ayurveda, the ancient Hindu art of medicine and prolonging life based on the premise that mind, body, and spirit are intimately connected. According to ayurveda, each one of us is made up of a unique combination of the three doshas, or psychophysiological forces: Vata (motion — air and space), Pitta (metabolism — fire and water), and Kapha (cohesiveness — water and earth). The doshas govern the seasons of the year; Pitta rules in the heat of summer.

What does all of this have to do with skin care? Estheticians who have been trained in ayurvedic treatments know that during the summer, they must work with their clients to develop a routine to keep Pitta (the fire element) in balance. Here are some suggestions you can offer clients for maintaining healthy skin all summer long:

>> Drink plenty of fluids. To balance Pitta, drink tea with cooling herbs and spices such as cardamom, fennel, and mint. Steer clear of iced beverages, which can create toxins that lead to skin breakouts. Water, on the other hand, helps flush toxins out of the body and keeps your skin clear. Milk keeps your skin from drying out.

>> Eat Pitta-balancing foods. Good vegetable choices include asparagus, carrots, celery, leafy greens, lettuce, and zucchini; cleansing fruits include grapes, mangoes, pears, and watermelon; herbs such as fresh basil, cilantro, ginger, and mint add a pleasing aroma and flavor. All of these supply the skin with essential nutrients and antioxidants. Limit spicy and sour foods, which aggravate Pitta.

>> Make your own skin cleanser. Watch out for soap-based skin cleansers that dry out your skin. Those with dry or normal skin can make a cleansing mix from almond meal, oatmeal, milk, and rosewater. Those with oily skin can use chickpea flour or oatmeal with yogurt and some lemon and neem powder. To help your skin become more resilient and fight premature aging due to sun exposure, apply a thin mixture of red sandalwood powder and rosewater two to three times a week.

>> Moisturize daily. Look for an ayurvedic moisturizer with skin-nourishing herbs such as aloe vera, amla, brahmi, sandalwood, and turmeric. Give yourself a weekly facial with apricots, avocados, cucumbers, or papayas. Just blend the pureed fruit or vegetable with yogurt, honey, oatmeal, and lemon juice for oily skin or rosewater for dry skin.

>> Manage your stress. When you feel tension and anger, your skin plays the price through breakouts, furrows, and small lines. Diffusing Pitta-balancing essential oils such as lavender, rose, and sandalwood can help keep your mind and heart balanced and your skin clear.

Estheticians who specialize in ayurvedic skin care can meet client needs and grow their business exponentially — no matter what the season.

-Robyn Tellefsen

Tags: ayurveda, esthetician, skin care

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Beauty . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.