Ayurveda is an ancient old practice, that gives us a personalized, holistic approach to wellness – and along with herbalism and aromatherapy – it’s one of my secrets to knowing which ingredients to choose for different skincare remedies. Like this solid scrub bar for cold, dry skin!
You can turn to Ayurveda to help with everything from your skincare, weight, digestion, energy, to mental health and feeling your best.
What I love about Ayurveda is that it gives you a guide to understanding any imbalances that you might be feeling and more importantly, the specific herbs, treatments and lifestyle choices that can remedy it.

Know your Doshas.

In Ayurveda, we are all made up of the three doshas, our mind-body types. They are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Each Dosha has its own unique qualities – a personality that you can get to know.
And any imbalances that we see: dry skin, oily skin, inflammation, anxiety, lethargy… can all be connected to a specific Dosha. Knowing your Dosha, helps you to better choose which remedies will keep your mind, body and skin balanced and beautiful. 
For example, you may find that you’ve been easily overwhelmed lately – giving up on projects that you wanted to do. The end of the year is only increasing a sense of urgency to do more – but your mind feels scattered – and you can’t get a hold on things. Even physically you’re noticing that you feel cold in your body, you’re gassier, fine lines are showing up around your cheeks and eyes… your skin looks thin and pale. In Ayurveda – all of these different symptoms stem from an imbalance of the Vata Dosha.  And a Vata imbalance is really common especially during the colder seasons! 
Rather than running out to buy an expensive anti-wrinkle cream, a new 2019 planner and a bottle of Pepto Bismol – Ayurveda says to identify the Dosha that is off balance and focus on nourishing it. This helps holistically with all the different symptoms: physical, mental and emotional! 
I believe that, like yoga and meditation, Ayurveda will soon become more and more popular as a holistic tool for wellness…
To stay in balance throughout this season, I created a self-care treatment, with elements that focus on balancing that cold, airy Vata energy.  It will bring warmth to your body, soften and moisten your skin, stimulate your mind, and make you feel smooth and grounded.

Ingredients:

Soft Brown Sugar: the best treatment for cold dry skin, is exfoliating. This will be your best friend all season long, throughout the Winter. Exfoliate your body at least 2 times per week to stay moist, soft and supple. 
Oats: this sweet herb gives your body the moisture and nourishment that our body needs especially when it’s feeling cold, dry and dehydrated. Oats rebuild – tired skin, think skin, broken skin. And in a scrub, they add a creaminess that feels so satisfyingly good.
Rose: dried rose petals adds graceful strength – it helps build cells that can better retain hydration, to hold on to moisture and stay supple
Cinnamon: an exotic-smelling spice that adds warmth and depth to your body, it encourages circulation and gives you a body a full glow.
Cacao butter: like a plush sweater on your skin, this chocolate richness, full of antioxidants, protects your skin from the dry, cold air. 
I like Moutain Rose Herbs cacao butter wafers, they’re easy to measure – 4 wafers equal 1 tbsp!
Coconut Oil also helps to retain hydration and moisture – we blend it in to soften the consistency of the scrub.
Aromatherapy blend:
Myrhh is a deeply grounding experience. It helps to relieve nervous energy and give you feelings of strength. You can also diffuse Myrhh for these benefits. Myrrh is a resin, and resins have very protective qualities for the skin -it helps your body to manage stress. The scent is resinous, woody and a little sweet. Find it here.
Vanilla is the ultimate aphrodisiac, you get that feeling of  delightful indulgence and feel-good energy! It adds a rich sweetness to the scrub, and relaxes your  mind and body for better sleep. Find it here.  

Solid Scrub Bars for Cold, Dry Skin 

For fun, and for convenience – I made solid individual scrubs so that you can bring one in the shower any time you need. Or, you can keep it crumbly, scooping out from a jar as needed.

Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup soft brown sugar 
  • 1 tbsp rolled oats 
  • 1 tbsp dried rose petals 
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon powder 
  • 1 tbsp cacao butter 
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil 

Method:

  • Grind the rolled oats and dried rose petals into a flour. 
    To make your scrub extra soft and smooth, take half of the soft brown sugar and blend it down with the oats and rose petals. 
  • Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Blend in the cinnamon in until its well incorporated. 
  • In a double-boiler, melt down the cacao butter until liquid I like to add the coconut oil in its solid form – I don’t melt it. I think it makes it… creamier. Add the essential oils to the cacao butter when melted before pouring it into the dry ingredients. 
  • Blend the whole mixture together. I do this in a food processor. 
  • You can leave your scrub crumbly and into a jar – or pack it into a muffin mold and in the freezer for just five minutes.  
  • To use a solid scrub: bring it into the shower, crumble it in your hands and with the warm water of the shower, it will become a creamy scrub to massage onto your whole body. Go slow, breath in and enjoy.

Happy making! And as always, I’m happy to share more or answer any questions you might have. Reach out any time! 
Militza xx

PS: Here’s a quiz you can take from Sahara Rose, to find out which Dosha might be off balance for you right now…

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