For hunger-taming snacks that are good for your skin (and your whole body), keep these five foods on hand.
Wondering how to make your hair shine? Follow these 5 tips for naturally shinier, healthier hair.
Nourish dry skin with 3 Ayurveda tips for skin that glows with good health!
If you'd like to boost your body's defenses, discover Amla, the Queen of Vitamin C!
Though a wide array of nutrients work to keep us and our skin healthy, Vitamin C is a skin defender loved by all. Here’s how it helps, and how to put it to work for you.
Mother Nature has given us so many natural ways to support our health, and keep our skin looking and feeling good. One of the amazing nutrients we’ve been gifted is Vitamin C, a.k.a. ascorbic acid.
This handy natural nutrient is what our bodies use to:
It also can help to lighten and brighten the complexion, reducing the appearance of age spots and evening out skin tone.
Nutrition is a building block of good self-care. And obviously Vitamin C is a critical piece! Fortunately, it’s also in many of our most-popular fruits and veggies.
Start by making sure you’re getting the recommended levels of Vitamin C. (It can be challenging, and time consuming, to keep track of nutrition, so sometimes tracking our meals and snacks with one of the many apps available can help.)
Best sources of Vitamin C: Citrus fruits (like oranges), red or green peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes and potatoes.
Vitamin C can also help you from the outside, in. One reason that vitamin C in skincare products is helpful to your complexion is that it brings the benefits right to the skin’s surface. And since the skin’s outermost layer doesn’t have any blood vessels to carry nutrients to it, serums or other products can help close that gap.
Skincare products that incorporate Vitamin C can help skin look more plump, and have a nice glow, quite quickly after applying. Over time you may even find dark spots begin to be less noticeable, too.
As with most self-care practices, balance is key. Too little vitamin C can leave your body less able to do the work it needs to keep you healthy, and make you tired, slower to heal, have puffy gums and more. Too much is no good either, often leading to stomach problems or, in topical skincare products, skin irritation. When in doubt, follow your physician’s recommendations.
It’s easy to see how Vitamin C is a skin defender for us all! Yet exploring the ways that this and other ingredients affect your skin is a smart practice. We each have a unique make up, and getting to know how the variations in your environment, stress, nutrition, and type, impact you is the best path to your best skin, and overall health.
Good looking hair starts from within, so start here to learn more about nurturing a healthier scalp for healthier hair.
The hair products and tools we use to manage our tresses can create quite a bit of stress for our scalps—the skin that, along with our hair, protects our heads. As we clean and condition our hair, change its color, secure the latest styles with heat, sprays or lotions, our scalps are largely hidden, so any effects are often “out of sight, out of mind” – at least until we feel discomfort there!
It’s so easy to forget the impact our hair care can have on our scalp, and the follicles within. But the scalp is an important part of maintaining a healthy mane. Here’s what you need to know about scalp care:
A healthy scalp is an important contributor to healthy hair. You see, just below the scalp surface is where your hair growth begins, one hair per follicle (or shaft). Along the walls of each follicle are glands that produce oily “sebum” that help condition the hair, and lift up dead skin from inside the shaft.
It’s important that hair follicles remain clean and open so there’s good blood flow and the hair, follicles and scalp thrive: nurture a healthier scalp for healthier hair!
If your scalp is coated with too much oil, dead skin, or unhealthy bacteria, that can make it harder for your hair to stay healthy, and can even cause it to thin or fall out. Like most elements of good health, the goal is to maintain good balance: clean, hydrated, moisturized.
The short answer is that It should feel good — no dryness, flakes, redness, pain or irritation. When it’s healthy, the skin on your scalp shouldn’t really feel like anything.
But if any of these sound familiar, your scalp may need some care:
Good nutrition, staying hydrated, and stress management will all give your body, scalp, and hair roots the best chance of good health. On top of these, there are some hair-specific tips to help your scalp stay healthy:
TIP: Unless your scalp is feeling itching, or your hair is visibly oily, there’s no need to wash your hair daily. Every 2-3 days is often enough.
Our hair is our natural beauty accessory, showing off our personal style and framing our faces to draw attention to our eyes, lips and expressions. Follow these tips and begin the journey to a healthier scalp for healthier hair! Tap here to read more about hair care.
Are serums good for your skin? For every skin? Here we take a look at facial serums…
We’re excited that we are all paying closer attention to how our skin feels, as well as how it looks—no more layering up in thick, sticky or stinging lotions and potions! And more and more, we also want skincare solutions that help our natural good looks to shine bright.
This is one of the reasons that serums have grown in popularity. But what are facial serums, and are they really that good for your skin? Here’s a closer look!
A serum is a liquid that contains a high concentration of beneficial ingredients, designed so that your skin can absorb them quickly.
When you start looking, you’ll find a variety of serum types available, each designed to provide certain benefits through their primary ingredients. Vitamins (and their derivatives, like retinol), fatty acids, collagen, and a variety of antioxidants are the most common agents.
Because they’re so concentrated, just a few drops of serum go a long way—the tiny molecules in them make each drop very rich in benefits.
Usually they’re best applied right after you cleanse your face, before you smooth on your moisturizer’s protective barrier. The combination often makes your skin look plumper, and help makeup go on more smoothly.
Yes! Many reputable studies have shown value in serums’ ability to deliver a helpful punch of ingredients that can minimize common skin concerns, from wrinkles, to dryness, to blotchiness and more.
While they come in many types (and price ranges), the quality of the serum is heavily dependent on the quality of the ingredients. According to Dr. Abigail Waldman, a dermatology instructor at Harvard Medical School, “How well they work depends on the…ingredients, the formulation, and. the stability of the compound.”
Much like anything you put on your skin (or ingest!), not every product is for everyone. Finding the right serum for you is more about matching the benefits you want, vs the skin type you have. Here are a few tips for finding the right serum for you:
Remember that your skin changes, too. Stress, diet, exercise, environmental conditions, hormones are just some of the many factors that can affect your skin cells—and that can change the type of serum you need.
The nourishing ingredients in serums can be a wonderful addition to your skincare routine, bringing out the best in your natural glow. Monitoring how your skin feels, as well as how it looks, can help you choose the right serum for your skin’s needs. Our Daily Glow Serum is one to look at for dry or stressed skin.
Tattoos are more popular than ever right now, with up to 40% of people under 35 having at least one (and 36% of those 36-54)—and a similar number then wondering how to keep tattooed skin healthy.
One important tip we’ve heard from many reputable artists is that you’ll get the best results when your skin is healthy to begin with!
So, moisturize regularly for a few weeks before your tattoo. In the days before your appointment, be sure to drink plenty of water (and avoid drinking dehydrating alcoholic and caffeinated beverages). Arrive at your appointment with a clean skin surface. And of course, choose a reputable artist with a good reputation, and clean studio and equipment.
Here are more things to know about keeping your tattooed skin healthy:
To help maintain skin health at the tattoo site, you’ll want to give it similar care to any open wound… plus a few extra steps over a longer period:
Hopefully you will have started a healthy skin ritual like our Joy to the Skin Collection even before your tattooing, but if not, now is the ideal time to begin one! Caring for your skin will not only help your body’s protective organ withstand infections, it will help your fine art show at its best for years to come.
If you’ve started to explore natural approaches to caring for your skin, you’ll probably have come across this term and may be wondering “what is ayurvedic skincare?”—and how might it apply to you… This intro will get you started!
Mark Twain once said that the finest clothing ever made is a person’s own skin. We couldn’t agree more!
Your skin, the largest organ in your body, plays a surprising number of roles in your body. Its primary function is to act as a barrier. But besides protecting your body from harmful things in the outside world, the skin also helps the body maintain the right internal temperature and allows us to sense the world through nerve endings.
It goes without saying that taking care of your skin is essential to your overall well-being. If you take good care of your skin, it can help take care of you. A good skincare routine leads to great, healthy skin. If you’ve ever looked into natural skincare approaches, or the science of eastern medicine, you may have come across a practice known as Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic skincare is one of the oldest and most practiced skincare routines. But what exactly is Ayurvedic skincare? And how can it help you maintain healthy, naturally glowing skin inside and out?
Based on ancient Indian medicine, Ayurvedic skincare emphasizes the use of herbs and other natural ingredients to treat and nourish the skin. The Ayurvedic system underscores the philosophy that true beauty comes from within.
It’s the internal foundation of wellness that helps you look better on the outside.
Ayurveda entails nourishing your mind, body, and soul. Eventually, practicing Ayurveda will help you become in tune with your body’s needs and take better care of yourself. You can use Ayurvedic principles to shape and tone your skin and body. When you apply Ayurvedic principles to your skincare routine, it’s known as the Ayurvedic skincare routine.
Ayurveda sets a pretty high standard for the concept of natural skincare. The typical Ayurvedic skincare routine uses food-grade ingredients only. In other words, if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.
The Ayurvedic skincare routine can include herbal formulations designed to nourish the skin based on your unique combination of the three doshas, or Prakruti. What are these?
Doshas are one of three life forces that make up the constitution of the body and mind. Ayurveda believes that every person has a dominant dosha. Identifying yours can help guide you to an optimal path for health, lifestyle—and your skincare routine. Together it forms a personalized approach to health.
The three doshas are:
• Vata (wind). Vata dominant individuals have sensitive skin that’s dry or rougher in texture.
• Pitta (fire). If you are a Pitta, your skin tends to be freckly and prone to acne and sunburn.
• Kapha (water and earth). People who fall under the Kapha skin type tend to have thick, naturally oily skin.
According to Ayurveda, every individual has a unique proportion of each dosha, usually with one being more dominant. Your unique combination of the three doshas (Prakruti) affects the health and appearance of your skin.
So, Ayurvedic skincare is an approach to living that starts with caring for your unique needs. It’s also a skincare routine built around the herbs, extracts, flowers, minerals, and essential oils that best nourish your skin’s harmony with nature and Prakruti. A good skincare routine from Srida Herbals can give you a healthy, happy start to a naturally healthier glow.
Often dry skin is caused, or made worse, by factors we’re unaware of, but that are actually under our control—so to help your skin feel more soothed, here are 5 things to avoid if YOU have dry skin.
Dry skin isn’t always the easiest to maintain, but it’s also not something to fear! With just a little extra care you can help your dry skin feel good and be healthy and at ease all year.
Skin is called “dry” when it doesn’t hold moisture—it might feel tight quickly after washing (and even after moisturizing). If your skin is severely dry it can crack, peel, and/or become red and itchy.
Staying well hydrated by drinking plenty of water is the first step in caring for your dry skin. While fruits and vegetables contain water too (along with plenty of skin nurturing vitamins and minerals), you need more. Most nutrition experts recommend adults take in eight 8oz glasses of water throughout the day.
Once you have that habit in place, here are some of the top things to avoid if you have dry skin.
Caffeine has a diuretic effect—meaning when you drink it you lose hydration. And the more of it you have, the less effective your body is likely to be in flushing out toxins. It also has an aging effect: caffeine reduces collagen in your skin cells.
Note that you’ll want to check on more than your coffee and tea, since many OTC headache medicines contain caffeine too!
A cup of coffee could run anywhere from 70-200+ mg… tea 32-42mg… colas 32-70mg and energy waters 50-125mg. But you’ll find 65mg in Excedrin — so check the label!
What do we mean by harsh treatment? Anything that scruffs the surface of your skin.
Fragrances and deodorants are all around us. You’ll find them in what we put on our bodies, in laundry and household cleaners, air fresheners, and many more. They may smell nice, but they can also dry the skin, and cause irritation, especially if yours is prone to allergies or sensitivity.
And while you’re scanning the labels of your favorite lotions and creams, you’ll also want to look out for products labeled “unscented.” These often indicate that they contain additives that neutralize or hide odors. Instead, choose those marked fragrance-free.
As the weather cools, most of us love to get cozy; we may crank up our heaters and cuddle close to the fire. All of which pulls moisture from the air in our homes, and, in turn, makes it more difficult for our skin to hold moisture, too. You can combat both with a humidifier in your bedroom. Another option, if you have a flat top wood-burning stove or radiator, is leaving a saucepan of water on top, open to evaporate into your room air. Just be careful to keep an eye on the water level though, so you don’t burn the pot or cause a fire hazard!.
Parabens are preservatives that are very common in a wide range of products you’ll find in stores. They’re designed to help products last longer on the shelf. But they can cause irritation, and some have been shown to be hormone disruptors and even increase cancer risks. Look for ingredients with “paraben” in the name, and make a different choice. As with fragrances and other additives, our preference and recommendation at Srida Herbals is to go natural!
As you gradually adjust your environment for these 5 things to avoid if you have dry skin, you may find it easier to manage common discomforts like itchiness. Moisturize regularly with a natural product designed for dry skin, especially while your skin is still a little damp, and use a gentle cleanser—like our Daily Melt Cleanser. These steps will go far to help you love your beautiful skin!
