Get the glow!

There’s a reason why you keep rushing off for facials, and why the cosmetics industry is worth billions of dollars. It’s because you want beautiful, healthy, radiant skin. But you don’t really need to spend all that money on cosmetics and procedures. Good health is what makes for good skin, so just follow these five easy mantras for a brilliant complexion.

Rule 1: Keep your stomach clear
Most disorders begin from the stomach, and the skin shows it all. If your stomach has been taken over by toxins, it shows up on your skin in the forms of pigmentation, blemishes or dullness. To keep your stomach clear, take one teaspoon of triphala every night after dinner. And begin your day with a teaspoon of pure honey (that is, honey that doesn’t contain added sugar) mixed with a glass of warm water into which half a lemon has been squeezed. A colonic irrigation also helps detoxify your body – but make sure the practitioner is a qualified professional, and keep in mind that colonic irrigations must be followed by a proper nutritional regime. Finally, avoid strong laxatives, whether herbal or allopathic, as they dehydrate the body.
Rule 2: Hydrate your body
The elasticity and softness of your skin is dependent on water, so maximum damage to your complexion occurs when your skin is dry. To prevent that, you must drink water. Tea, coffee and colas throw the thirst mechanism out of gear, so it’s important to avoid them when you try and estimate the correct water level for yourself. However, anything upwards of 1.5 litres of water a day is good.
And if you have very dry skin, or an outdoor job, make sure to apply moisture-locking agents on your skin.

Rule 3: Nourish your body
Yes, this sounds very basic, but it’s a maxim that’s often forgotten, and therefore a key cause of bad skin. Papaya is excellent for the skin: its enzyme, papain, cleans the stomach, and apart from that, the fruit is rich in vitamin B complex and beta carotene. You can both eat papaya and apply it to your skin. Other foods that nourish your body include pineapple, carrots, beetroot, tomato, spinach and other leafy vegetables, watermelon and pomegranate. Cereals excellent for the skin include barley for its mineral content, channa and brown rice for their iron content, oats, which offer minerals and soluble fibre, whole lentils and wheat porridge. Avoid all refined and packaged foods.
Rule 4: Superfoods
Foods like wheatgrass juice, alfalfa juice, fenugreek seed sprouts (methi seeds) and lentil sprouts are great for the skin. Similarly flaxseed nuts (which contain omega 3 fatty acids), primrose oil and almonds make for smooth skin.
Rule 5: Air supply Two things are important. First, the skin must breathe. Therefore, using lots of skin-clogging makeup is not in your best interests. Second, you must revv up oxygen and blood supply to your skin to get that glow, and you can do that with pranayam and aerobic exercises. Pranayam also helps to relax your mind, which is very important for skin that looks fresh. And you must also get enough rest and sleep. If that’s not possible, try meditation – when done properly, meditation offers the benefits of a long period of sleep in a much shorter time frame.