Ask An Expert: What is Ayurvedic Beauty?
We’re interviewing leading ladies in the beauty, wellness, and dermatology fields about their personal skincare routines. Read on for more pro tips: no appointment necessary. Today, we’re speaking with Katie Grossman, an Ayurvedic Healer at Veda Holistic Health.
Katie Grossman grew up in Westchester NY, and received her B.A. in Social Work at the University of Vermont. During her yoga teacher training in Burlington, VT, she discovered Ayurveda: an ancient Indian healing science that administers various treatments to restore the body’s inherent balance — and which gets thrown off by diet, stress, environmental factors, and the daily grind of modern life. Katie turned to this alternative method to heal her own health struggles — and fell so in love with the practice that she decided to dedicate her life to studying with masters in India, then sharing these methodologies with a Western audience. Here, the gorgeous, glowing Katie shares her insights on all things skin, wellness, and incorporating Ayurvedic principles into her daily routine.
What’s your profession?
I study and share a tribal practice of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a system of maintaining your core temperature as a preventative health technique to experience longevity and avoid disease. I travel a ton, but I’m mostly based in New York, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.
What does your skincare routine consist of right now?
I am blessed with nice skin and never considered quality skincare until I became more aware of health and how much the skin absorbs. After years of using anything to wash my skin, I began the practice of only washing my skin with products I would feel safe eating. I try not to do any specific thing every day, so as not to get bored or overload my system with one thing.
In the morning and evening, I use slices of lemon and lime to exfoliate and cleanse my skin. I leave the juice to dry and let it do its magic. After a few minutes, I rinse my face with water.
When I feel the need to moisturize in the evening, I use cold-pressed raw coconut oil, cold-pressed olive oil, or organic ghee.
I have just begun to experiment with baking soda recipes and raw honey/sea salt scrubs to add to my routine. I’m always learning more and testing different things.
How often do you switch up your skincare routine? Are there any special products or treatments you use on an as-needed basis?
I switch up my routines all the time, because the body wants variety: if I give my body the same thing every day, it can eventually rebel, since it’s overloaded with the same bacteria and information. That dependency can cause other imbalances in the body, and I apply that idea to my skincare.
What kind of diet do you follow? How does your diet affect your skin?
I am always adapting my diet to suit my external, internal, and emotional environment. I am in constant contact with my belly to guide me on what I need. I favor raw fats, lightly cooked veggies, sour and savory fruits, eggs, occasional seeds, and raw, unpasteurized dairy. Generally, I avoid red chili, onion, garlic, eggplant, cooked oils, pasteurized dairy, most grains, and cooked tomato, because these foods tend to affect my skin.
I also avoid becoming too hungry or too full, because the inflammation that produces also makes my skin break out. These particular foods and practices produce an excess of heat in the digestive system. To return to homeostasis, the body needs to get rid of that excess heat. Some of that heat is initially stored as inflammation, which in turn triggers hormones, causing blemishes and rashes. The body might also try to excrete that heat quickly by overworking the liver — that, too, causes serious breakouts.
When do you feel the most beautiful?
Right after I get out of the shower or bath. I feel cleansed by the water and feel like the most pure, unconditioned version of myself.
What do you love the most about your job?
I’ve always loved self-study and experimentation, and having the opportunity to share my discoveries has been the cherry on the cake — getting to share my knowledge with others fulfills me in a bigger way. I’m an investigative and curious person, so I feel blessed to have a job that allows me to flex those muscles as often as I like.
What do you want every woman to know about caring for their skin?
You are unique; no one else knows what you need. Finding a routine is like shopping for clothing: you try things on until you find what fits. But you can never stop shopping, because you’ll keep changing your tastes, growing out of those clothes, and you’ll always need to find what fits you again. Keep exploring and learning to avoid stagnation or imbalance. Stay open. Listen to your body — and your skin! It’ll tell you everything you need to know.
What has practicing Ayurveda taught you about beauty?
In nature, beauty is used as a means to attract. Ayurveda has allowed me the knowledge, system, time, and space to discover what I want to attract by realizing what I am attracted to.
Personally, I’m attracted to health, so my definition of beauty is health — and everything I learn about my health ultimately makes me more beautiful.
Healthy people glow from the inside out. That’s what I consider beauty, and ultimately strive towards. If you take small, daily action steps toward preserving your health, you can maintain that beauty for many years.
