For those of you who don’t know yet or didn’t figure it out from the title, I am Indian! Ta-da! I have written posts on my wedding to why I don’t wear makeup to even the history of Indian Sandalwood. But all of this knowledge and approach stems from my Indian upbringing.
When you are Indian everything has to be Indian. We even make international cuisines Indian, like Indian Chinese , or Indian Italian, or Indian Japanese. We even have an Indian McDonalds, and as a vegetarian, it is awesome! And of course, let us not forget Bollywood! So, when it comes to beauty, as Indians we have our own way, what I call D-Beauty (Desi or Indian beauty; desi means Indian in Hindi).
Now, I know you are asking wait, isn’t there Ayurveda ? Isn’t that the same thing? Not exactly. Ayurveda is a holistic healing system, to keep your mind and body healthy. It isn’t specifically focused on skin care or beauty, but a system to take care of your whole body. It is a form of Indian medicine, although many people use the phrase freely and in many forms such as food, beauty, traditionally, it is for medicine.
Whilst, D-Beauty does take inspiration from the philosophies of Ayurveda, it is a lot more accessible and specifically focused on beauty. I came up with the phrase after I realized how being Indian affected my skin. In the Indian culture, mothers play an important role; (that is me with my mummy). There is a special bond between mothers and daughters. Indian mothers are loving but tough. Their approach to beauty is holistic. They teach you to eat well, show you home-made beauty remedies, teach you to be calm, all so you can be your glowing self. It was that thinking that developed my own relationship with beauty. After my skin reaction, I really started to pay attention to the skin as an organ. And I realized that, my whole upbringing, was catered towards keeping my skin healthy. I was subconsciously taking care of it through, food, sleep, good ingredients, without even realizing it. I realized that D-Beauty, was about wellness. That in just being Indian, I was going to keep my skin healthy. Kind of crazy right? Here is a break-down of how being Indian was helping my skin:
Food: Eating well through Indian foods such as lentils filled with spices such as turmeric.
Bollywood: Watching Bollywood movies made me laugh laughter and release my stress;hence giving me a moment of happiness. Listening and dancing to the music also further released my stress and energies and so giving me a good night’s rest.
Focus on natural beauty: I was taught never to reach for the next beauty product to feel or look beautiful.But instead use the same natural ingredients that I was eating in my food, like turmeric and apply it to my face.
Bollywood: Watching Bollywood movies made me laugh laughter and release my stress;hence giving me a moment of happiness. Listening and dancing to the music also further released my stress and energies and so giving me a good night’s rest.
Focus on natural beauty: I was taught never to reach for the next beauty product to feel or look beautiful.But instead use the same natural ingredients that I was eating in my food, like turmeric and apply it to my face.
As I got older, and exposed to different kinds of people, I noticed how important my Indian upbringing was in giving me healthy skin. I saw so many young girls, looking for quick, fast products that would give them the same skin result I had. The truth is, my skin has stayed young, clean and fresh because of my static Indian routine.
Now, if you are not Indian, you are probably thinking, how can I incorporate this into my life? It is super easy. The trick to D-Beauty is: KEEP IT CLEAN. KEEP IT SIMPLE. KEEP IT PURE. KEEP THE ROUTINE.
Let’s take it step by step:
Food: Indian food, is all about whole vegetables, lentils and spices such as turmeric. This is a fantastic buzzfeed video , also really funny, that shows how you can make basically anything Indian.
Stress relief: Ok, so maybe you all don’t love Bollywood music, but that’s ok. dance to anything you love. Even if it’s just in the mirror! I promise you will feel great!
Natural Beauty: What is amazing about Indian food is that the spices that you use you can also use on your skin! But in case you are feeling lazy, stick with the Face Gems, keeps it easy for ya! So there you have it! Easy right? No expensive products, no added drama. Just simple, easy and pure and your face is shiny and beautiful!