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Article:

• 7 Layers of the Skin

Some Basic Facts - Skin Creams, Massage Oils & Body Lotions

 

Skin Creams

 

All skin care creams are emulsions. That is a mixture of oil and water. Normally mixtures of oil and water separate over time but when an emulsifying agent is added it makes the emulsion more or less stable.

 

Moisturise with Water!

 

If you want to moisturise your skin the simplest way of doing so is, of course, to put water on it. If you put an emulsion on the skin the water in the emulsion is absorbed quickly and the oil to a lesser extent (depending on which oil - sesame being the most easily absorbed).

 

Most skin care creams have a large proportion of water and are therefore quickly absorbed and do moisturise the skin nicely. However paying £10-30 for about 50 ml of water does not seem to be very good value for money.

 

Protect with Oils

 

The oils of course also have their value to the skin but most oils are not absorbed beyond the top layer of the skin. The oils have their effect by covering the surface and filling the pores and thus reducing the moisture loss. As a result the tissue swells and wrinkles are reduced temporarily. The oils also protect the skin to some extent from irritants and radiation and the longer they stay on the skin the greater this protection.

 

Expert dermatologists say that it is just as well that so little of normal skin creams are absorbed because the contents are mostly harmful.

 

Herbal Content

 

The main advantage of Maharishi Ayurveda skin creams is from the herbal content. All the Ayurvedic herbs used have therapeutic value. Other herbal skin creams seem to have a low herbal content.

 

The MAPI Youthful Skin Cream has 9.5% of a herbal extract and the MTC creams have 3-5% herbs.

 

When you put 5% of herbal content in a cream is it bound to show and this explains the brownish colour of the MTC creams. The low herbal content of other creams can often be gauged by their white colour.

 

The skin care creams developed by MTC have a rather low moisture, so you are not paying for water, and use only natural oils. The effect of the oils is only as explained above but at least the oils are natural and not harmful to the skin.

 

Personal Care & Beauty Products from Maharishi Ayurveda

Personal Care Products

 

Natural emulsifier

 

Human skin produces an emulsifying agent and the moisture in the skin is in the form of an emulsion. For this reason it seems to make sense to apply an emulsion. Also the moisture in the emulsion helps to carry the herbal content to the deeper layers of the skin.

 

Alternately one can apply water and then rub in the oil to create an emulsion. This is what is recommended for our Facial Revitalising oil, which contains therapeutic essential oils in a fixed oil base.

 

The common skin cream market is designed to fulfil the demand for something that is absorbed quickly and produces a quick moisturising effect. In contrast Maharishi Ayurveda products are designed to produce benefits to the deep layers of the skin and well as short-term moisturising and medium term protective effects.

 

Massage, Massage oils and Body Lotions

 

Massage oils: are applied before taking a shower. The skin contains a natural emulsifier and the oil is partly converted into an emulsion, which has some protective value to the skin.

 

Body lotions: are emulsions that are best applied after a shower onto dry skin. The oils help maintain moisture levels in the skin and give some protection to the skin. Body lotions are in effect a quick way to get some of the benefits of body massage.

 

Sesame Oil: Most oils are not absorbed beyond the surface layer of the skin. However sesame oil is the most readily absorbed. Dr Edward Smith found that those who do abhyanga - daily body massage - have significantly less bacterial infection on their skin. This may be due to linoleic acid, the major component of sesame oil, which makes up 40% of the oil. Linoleic acid is known to inhibit the growth of certain bacteria. Linoleic acid is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent when taken internally. While no one has researched this implication, it may account for the experience of many who find abhyanga helps with joint problems. Further, sesame oil contains antioxidants, and heating the oil- which is traditional in Ayurveda and referred to as "ripening or curing"- has been shown to increase the antioxidant potency.

 

Benefits of Oil massage

 

As a pitcher, a dry skin, and an axis (of a cart) become strong and resistant by the application of oil, so by the massage of oil the human body becomes strong and smooth-skinned; it is not susceptible to the diseases due to Vata, it is resistant to exhaustion and exertions.

Vayu dominates in the tactile sensory organ, and this sensory organ is lodged in the skin. The massage is exceedingly beneficial to the skin; so one should practise it regularly.

Of the one who practises oil massage regularly, the body, even if subjected to injuries or strenuous work, is not much injured; his physique is smooth, strong and charming. By applying the oil massage regularly the onslaught of ageing is slackened.

By massaging oil in the feet, roughness, immobility, dryness, fatigue and numbness are instantaneously cured; tenderness, strength, and steadiness of the feet are effected, the eye sight becomes clear and Vata is thereby relieved.

-  From Charak Samhita, a classical text of Ayurveda

 

Herbal oils

 

Classical Ayurvedic texts describe a comprehensive and systematic technique of preparing herbalised massage oils which contain a blend of carefully chosen herbs known for their ability to create balance in body and mind as well as strengthen the physiology. Therefore, the massage with an herbalised massage oil has many times more beneficial power then regular sesame or olive oils — or even oils mixed with essential oils.