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Intro to ayurveda?
If you haven’t seen our Instagram series on Ayurveda, be sure to check that out after! We cover the ancient system, each individual dosha and its work can be seen within ByErim…
Let’s get into this article!
So…What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is an ancient system of healing that has more to do with preventive health than healing health (Hopkins Medicine). This ultimately means that the system works proactively to stop the deterioration of ones health over working on repairing what has been damaged. At the core of the Ayurvedic system is a principle of balance whereby it is essential for the three doshas to work together (WebMD).
Within this system there are three doshas. These doshas are based on the five Ayurvedic elements from space (Akasha), air (Vayu), fire (Tejas), water (Jala) and earth (Prithvi). The three doshas are:
A) Vata
Vata contains two elements, air and space (ether), and is typically considered to be described as cold, light, dry, rough, flowing and spacious! When relating to hair characteristics, Vata-dominant have thin, straight hair with higher porosity and can also be slightly rough and curly.
As a Vata-dominant person, according to Ayurveda, a regular routine should be followed to manage stress. Calming activities, like yoga for example, would help maintain and regulate a warm body temperature, as well as, avoid cold weather. There are many ways you can protect your hair from harsh temperatures! For instance, wearing a hat, oiling treatments for moisture as a barrier of protection and wearing loose styles to prevent unnecessary pulling.
An imbalance in Vata dosha can cause excessive dryness, flaky dandruff, frizzy and brittle hair. It may also cause hair thinning and split ends.
B) Pitta
Pitta dosha is based on the elements of fire and water and can be associated with a tenacious personality! Summer is known as the pitta season for its hot and sunny days. Pitta hair tends to be slightly wavy with medium thickness and hair density, alongside medium strength and length.
Being Pitta-dominant entails the possibilities of greasy hair, an excess produce of sebum that can lead to build-up and clogged hair follicles. An imbalance in pitta dosha often leads to excess heat in the hair follicles which may be damaging and cause hair thinning, as well as, early greying.
C) Kapha
The final dosha, Kapha, is fashioned on earth and water. Its characteristics can be labelled as steady, stable, heavy, slow, cold and soft, in relation to a season, it would be known as Spring, as many parts of the world slowly exit hibernation.
The hair characteristics of a Kapha-dominant person consists of thick, smooth, lustrous, well-hydrated, straight and strong. An imbalance in the Kapha dosha can result in excess oil secretion that blocks the follicles of your scalp, similarly to Pitta dosha, which can lead to wet and sticky flakes.
How have we implemented this within our formula and foundations?
The three doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - are the essential when understanding your hair type and how important the principle of balance becomes to proactively maintain your healthy hair.
With Vata dosha, an imbalance causes dry, flaky, brittle and frizzy hair. This is why our blend of sweet almond oil and castor oil is a must! Sweet almost oil easily penetrates the hair due to its smaller molecular size, which means it works hard to create a sealant on the cuticles and locking in all the nutrients from all oils in our formula and providing maximum moisturisation and hydration. Meanwhile, castor oil is rich in protein which is crucial for hair strength and growth, thus preventing breaking and damage.
Moving on, a disruption in Pitta dosha can lead to heat damage, thinning and early greying. To repair your hair with pitta dosha, our blend of coconut oil and amla oil is essential! Coconut oil contains countless antibacterial properties to help remove sebum build-up from your hair follicles, in addition, its full of vitamins and fatty acids to help nourish the scalp, penetrate the cuticle of the hair and improve the shine and lustre of your hair. Who wouldn’t want that?! When combined with amla oil, the high vitamin C content works to prevent premature greying and aids to your overall hair growth.
Finally, when experiencing Kapha dosha it of balance the excess oil secretion leads to build-up, blockage and wet, sticky flakes. For this, we have the perfect balance of argan oil and coconut oil infused with essential oils! With the benefits of coconut oil above, argan oil is essential as its high level of vitamin E, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories work collectively to improve follicle health. By boosting the cells in your scalp and cleansing the build-up of sebum this is the ultimate blend. When infused with essential oils, lavender provides a soothing feeling to the scalp, rosemary stimulates hair follicles and bergamot is a natural stimulant to help release the power of each oil… it truly works together to become the perfect oil for you.
Erim Kaur, our founder, states “Our perfectly blended and balanced formula has been created to benefit each and every hair type!”
