7-step Holistic Skin Care Routine To Reduce Summer Puffiness

Hot summer days can cause the skin under your eyes, in your cheeks and even around your ankles to look puffy and swollen.

Summer puffiness is due to heat that causes your capillary beds to dilate, bringing the hot blood close to the surface of the skin. This dilation releases more fluid into surrounding tissues (your skin).

The good news?

Ayurveda, a holistic, natural wellness system, can help keep your lymph moving, your body cool and your skin fresh.

Here's how.

What's Your Imbalance?

According to Ayurveda most disease conditions start with an imbalance expressed in the form of biocharacteristics,

Biocharacteristics describe the qualities of an imbalance, as well as that of a person, food, herb, lifestyle practice or habit. Terms like hot, cold, wet, dry, sweet, sour, or stagnant are examples.

Ayurveda recognizes three body types or constitutions described by their dominant biocharacteristics.

• Vata, which is dry and cold.
• Pitta, which is hot with some moisture.
• Kapha, which tends to moisture and stagnancy. Kapha's naturally thick and gooey lymph doesn't drain well.

Puffy summer skin is often due to a Kapha imbalance, which leads to stagnation, and toxic buildup, that ultimately causes inflammation (Pitta).

The combination causes what we might call "hot water retention" or "damp heat." It could also be described by Pitta's biocharacteristics of hot, sour, spreading and liquid.

Chinese medicine has a similar concept called damp-heat, characterized by heat, swelling, and a heavy, boggy feeling in the body and tissues.

Your 7-Step Ayurvedic Skin Care Routine

Try these seven steps and enjoy how they calm your puffy summer skin.

1. A spritz of this infusion can quickly calm and cool your skin.

   Make a strong infusion of rose petals, chamomile, or coriander seeds. Cool it and store in the fridge.

   Apply it as a facial mist or toner throughout the day, and especially when you come in from outside. These herbs calm inflamed skin, reduce redness, and balance the hot, sharp quality of Pitta that promotes puffiness.

2. Enjoy an aloe & cucumber mask.

   Blend fresh cucumber with a teaspoon of aloe vera gel and apply it to your face for 10-15 minutes. Cucumber is a natural diuretic and cooling agent, while aloe soothes heat and supports skin regeneration.

   Pay special attention to the area under your eyes and across your cheeks where heat and puffiness may be most noticeable.

   Or just place slices of cucumber on your eyes. This will help them relax while reducing redness, puffiness, and the appearance of bags.

3. Give dry brushing a try.

   Use raw silk gloves or a natural-bristle brush to dry brush your skin. Regular dry brushing refreshes your circulation, lymphatic system and skin while it gently exfoliates as you brush. You may find it also helps reduce fluid retention.

   Use upward, circular strokes starting from your feet and working towards your heart.

4. Make self-massage (Abhyanga) with dispersing oils part of your day.

   Perform a self-massage with coconut or sunflower oil. Use them alone or infused with dispersing, lymphatic movers such as cypress, geranium, and peppermint.

   Example:

   • 4 tbsp Sweet Almond or Grapeseed oil
   • 4 drops Geranium essential oil
   • 3 drops Lavender essential oil
   • 2 drop Peppermint essential oil
   Self massage stimulates the movement of lymph and calms the nervous system.

5. Favor light, cool & hydrating foods.

   It is especially important during hot weather to avoid heavy carbs and fatty foods. These foods promote thick lymph and leave you feeling sluggish and puffy.

   Instead, favor hydrating, Pitta-pacifying diuretics like watermelon, cucumber, leafy greens, and mint. Watermelon, in particular, is a naturally cold diuretic and helps reduce summer swelling, leaving you feeling lighter and more refreshed.

6. Ask your Ayurvedic practitioner about cooling, blood thinning herbal formulas.

   Herbs like gokshura, cilantro and punarnava can help reduce heat and encourage fluid movement.

   Consult your Ayurvedic practitioner about selecting the best herbs for your unique constitution.

7. Rest in a cool, calm environment.

   Overstimulation and heat aggravate Pitta and increase puffiness. To balance the excess heat:
   • Spend time in cool environments.
   • Stretch to help stimulate your circulation and cleanse your lymphatic system.

It's A Sign

Summer swelling is your body's way to signal heat overload and lymphatic congestion. Our 7-step Ayurvedic summer skin care routine helps reduce the resulting puffiness.

It can also help you restore balance, promote healthy circulation, and keep your skin glowing all season long.

Read more about puffy skin.

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