Assessment of Skin Type Based on Ayurvedic Prakriti (Body Constitution)

The word Prakriti is derived from ‘Pra’& ‘Kriti’, where Pra means origin or beginning and Kriti means to create or to act, while Prakriti means constitution, disposition or fundamental form.

Prakriti is a unique concept of Ayurveda according to which every individual is different from the other. Prakriti remains the same throughout life. Acharya has mentioned different characteristics of different Deha Prakriti. Predominance of Dosa prakriti shows different characteristics. There are primarily seven types of Prakriti, viz. Vataja, Pittaja, Kaphaja, Vata- Pittaja, Vata- Kaphaja, Pitta- Kaphaja, Sannipataja on the basis of anatomical, physiological & psychological characteristics.

Different Types of Skin According to Prakriti

Acharya has mentioned different characteristics for different Prakriti. They have mentioned special characters of skin. has oily skin.

Skin	Vata Prakriti	Pitta Prakriti	Kapha Prakriti
Texture	Cracked body parts, rough and dry skin	Plenty of moles, freckles, black moles and pimples	Soft and oily skin
Colour	Dust colour or grey colour	Fair complexion, coppery colour	Fair complexion, white or pale colour
Temperature	Cold	Warm face relative to rest of the body temperature	Cold

Natural cleansers, oils, and masks that feed cells from within

Tend to your Skin’s Needs

The simple steps for face care, which can be practised at home according to one’s skin type and their benefits are mentioned in the table below. Each of these steps takes only 2 – 3 minutes of your time. Some procedures like cleansing, toning and moisturising are necessary to do every day, whereas massage, herbal scrub, steam and face mask can be done once a week.

Procedures	Vata	Pitta	Kapha	Benefits
Mukha Abhyanga or Oil Massage	Warm sesame oil	Coconut oil or ghee	Warm sesame or mustard oil	Nourishes skin, makes skin soft, helps in skin tightening, facial muscle toning and skin uplifting
Ubtan or Herbal Scrub	Walnut paste or Chickpea flour and milk	Powder of orange lentils	Almond paste or rice flour with milk	Makes skin clean, smooth and reduces hyper-pigmentation
Cleanser	Moderate – Lemon juice or Milk cream with 2 drops of lemon	Mild – Sweet & Sour Orange juice or Coconut milk with 4 drops of lemon	Heavy – Sour Orange juice or Milk with 6 drops of lemon	Removes dirt, sweat, sebum and oils from skin
Toner	Rose water or Cucumber juice	Rose water or Cucumber juice	Rose water or Cucumber juice	Removes residue after cleanser, restores pH of skin, improves circulation and tightens pores
Facial Steam	Hot milk	Hot water added with rose petals or lavender	Hot water added with few pinches of turmeric	Deep pore cleansing, hydrating, improving circulation, reducing blackheads, enhancing absorption of skin care products
Face Mask	Chickpea flour with yoghurt	Liquorice powder with rose water	Triphala powder with water	Effective anti-bacterial and balances sebum secretion. Use once a week for dry to normal skin and for people with oily skin, can be used twice a week.
Moisturizer	Almond oil or Fresh butter	Ghee or Sandalwood oil or Coconut milk	Honey or Sesame oil	Hydrates the skin