AYURVEDA

What Is Ayurveda and Why It Matters for Our Lives & Our Skin

Ayurveda is an ancient healing system from India that translates to “the science of life.” It’s a holistic approach to wellness that sees the body, mind, spirit, environment, and ancestry as one connected ecosystem.

Rather than treating symptoms, Ayurveda asks deeper questions:
How are you sleeping? How are you eating? How are you breathing? How are you living?

Because all of that shows up especially on your face.

As a Black woman studying Ayurveda, I don’t see this wisdom as foreign. I see it as familiar. Our ancestors understood plant medicine, ritual, rhythm, and the sacredness of the body. Ayurveda simply gives structure to what our people have always known: healing is rooted, intentional, and holistic.

How Ayurveda Improves Your Quality of Life

Ayurveda teaches that when your inner world is balanced, your outer world reflects it. This balance creates:

• Clearer skin

• Deeper sleep

• Better digestion

• More stable energy

• Reduced stress and burnout

• Emotional regulation

• Stronger immunity

In a culture that teaches Black women to be endlessly strong, Ayurveda invites us to be intentionally gentle to listen, rest, and restore. This isn’t about perfection. It’s about returning to your natural rhythm.

When your nervous system feels safe:
Your face softens.
Your eyes brighten.
Your skin responds.
Your life feels lighter.

Ayurveda & Facial Health: Beauty That Starts Within

In Ayurveda, the face is considered a reflection of internal health. Breakouts, dullness, dryness, hyperpigmentation, or puffiness aren’t random they’re messages from the body.

Ayurveda supports facial health through:

• Digestive balance → Clearer skin
  Poor digestion leads to toxin buildup (ama), which often shows up as inflammation.

• Nervous system regulation → Softer facial tension
  Chronic stress tightens the jaw, brow, and neck. Ayurvedic practices calm the nervous system, allowing the face to rest and regenerate.

• Lymphatic flow → Reduced puffiness
  Facial massage, oiling, and steaming improve circulation and detox pathways.

• Personalization → No one-size-fits-all skincare
  Ayurveda honors your unique constitution, lifestyle, climate, and emotional state just like a truly intentional skincare philosophy should.

This is beauty that’s not rushed.
Not forced.
Not stripped of meaning.
This is beauty rooted in balance.

DINACHARYA FOR SKIN HEALTH

By. Jaelen T. Edmonds

A Simple Ayurvedic Skincare Ritual (Just the Essentials)

This routine is designed to feel grounded, gentle, and doable not overwhelming and can be adapted to any skin type.

Morning Ritual

1. Warm Water Rinse
   Begin with a splash of warm water to awaken circulation and remove overnight toxins.

2. Oil Cleanse (2–3x per week)
   Use a lightweight oil (jojoba, sesame, or sunflower) to gently dissolve buildup and nourish the skin barrier.

3. Hydrosol or Rose Water Mist
   Refresh and hydrate the skin while calming inflammation.

4. Moisturize with Intention
   Choose a moisturizer or facial oil made with plant-based ingredients that support barrier repair, glow, and balance.

5. Facial Massage (1–3 minutes)
   Use upward strokes along the jaw, cheeks, temples, and forehead to stimulate lymphatic drainage and release tension.

Evening Ritual

1. Gentle Cleanse
   Remove the day with warm water and a soft cleanser or oil.

2. Herbal Steam (1–2x per week)
   Use herbs like rose, chamomile, neem, or lavender to open pores and support detoxification.

3. Serum or Facial Oil
   Press into the skin with care, focusing on areas of dryness, tension, or hyperpigmentation.

4. Night Massage + Breath
   Massage the face and take 3–5 slow breaths, signaling safety to your nervous system.

Weekly Care

• Clay Mask (1x per week) — to detox and clarify

• Gentle Exfoliation (1x per week) — to remove dead skin without disrupting your barrier

• Scalp Oil Massage — because hair health, stress, and skin are connected

This isn’t about excess it’s about essentials.
About using what’s needed.
About choosing what nourishes.
About being rooted not reactive.

By. Jaelen T. Edmonds

Bringing Ayurveda Into Western & Black Lifestyles

Ayurveda doesn’t require abandoning your culture, it complements it.

• We already honor herbs, oils, teas, and plant medicine.

• We already understand food as healing.

• We already value community care, rhythm, and ritual.

Ayurveda simply gives language and structure to what our ancestors practiced intuitively. It doesn’t replace our traditions it deepens them.

Why Bringing Ayurveda to Black Communities Matters

By. Jaelen T. Edmonds

Black communities have been historically excluded from wellness spaces or invited in only as consumers, not as healers, leaders, or knowledge holders.

My mission is to change that.

To say:

• We deserve rest.

• We deserve radiant skin.

• We deserve regulated nervous systems.

• We deserve ancestral and global healing traditions.

• We deserve wellness that feels rooted not performative.

Introducing Ayurveda into Black communities is not about assimilation. It’s about reclamation.

It’s about returning to ourselves.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Ayurveda reminds us that beauty is not something you chase it’s something you balance.
That healing is not a destination it’s a daily relationship.
That your skin, your face, your nervous system, and your life deserve gentleness not just endurance.

This is skincare rooted in intention.
This is wellness rooted in wisdom.
This is living rooted in lotus.