4 Ayurvedic Beauty & Wellness Practices for Winter

by Madeline Kim on Dec 20, 2021

woman playing in snow

As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, the winter months come with challenges for maintaining our health and wellness that we don’t necessarily face throughout the rest of the year. Our skin may experience greater dryness and dullness, and our bodies may become out of balance more easily.

Ritucharya in Ayurveda refers to the practice of living seasonally and maintaining balance between the doshas as our environments change. Since winter is a kapha season, it’s important to keep your body warm, nourished and hydrated, and to regularly detox and gently exfoliate.

Wondering how to fight that winter imbalance and maintain strong beauty and wellness habits? Here are some tips from Ayurveda for keeping your skin and body healthy and robust this winter!

Winter Beauty & Wellness Practices

Oil pulling

During kapha season, the body often experiences some stagnation and a greater buildup of toxins, making detoxifying practices something absolutely essential. Oil pulling is a simple Ayurvedic practice that has major benefits for our overall health, as it flushes out the toxins in our mouths that can reflect larger imbalances within our body. In addition to its detoxifying benefits, oil pulling can also freshen breath and even whiten the teeth. To oil pull, all you have to do is swish one tablespoon of oil (such as coconut oil, sesame oil or our UMA Pure Detox Oil Pulling Treatment) in your mouth for 15-20 minutes before spitting it out and rinsing out your mouth with water. You can oil pull as you take a shower or go about the rest of your morning routine, making it a convenient and potent practice for detoxification.

Exfoliate!

One downside of the colder weather is that the skin is more prone to accumulating toxins, developing dryness and becoming dull. By exfoliating and sloughing off dead skin cells, you can help rejuvenate the skin, promote skin cell renewal and improve brightness and glow. We have some recommendations for DIY exfoliating masks here. We also recommend trying out our deeply cleansing and exfoliating UMA Ultimate Brightening Rose Powder Cleanser. If you have oiler or acne-prone skin, we highly recommend our UMA Deeply Clarifying Neem Charcoal Cleanser!

Dress Warmly

Now more than ever, dressing warmly is crucial to fighting off illness and infection as we venture into the chill outdoors. We recommend layering up, wearing hats, mittens and scarves, and dressing in warm, heat-attracting colors like red, orange and black.

Keep the Skin & Hair Extra Hydrated

Given that our skin is more prone to dryness in the winter months, it’s important to keep the skin and hair hydrated and nourished without over-stimulating oil production and excess sebum. Our UMA Total Rejuvenation Night Face Oil is a fantastic nighttime option formulated with rejuvenating, anti-aging and gentle geranium, frankincense and rose, designed to potently hydrate the skin overnight. To keep the body hydrated, nourished and youthful, we recommend our UMA Absolute Anti Aging Body Oil, which soothes and heals cracked and dry skin, provides deep hydration and leaves you with a healthy glow. To maintain luscious, radiant hair and to combat dryness, hair loss and hair damage, we recommend our UMA Intensely Nourishing Hair Oil, formulated with rejuvenating and growth-stimulating amla and hibiscus. And for those with sensitive, acne-prone or oily skin, we recommend our UMA Deeply Clarifying Face Oil and UMA Deeply

Clarifying Blemish Spot Treatment, which both provide lasting hydration and glow while also detoxifying the skin, combating blemishes and preventing the buildup of excess oil.