Can adaptogens support your skin & beauty functions?
Uncover the Beauty Secrets of Bliss
bliss is a formula that aligns the mind and body together in harmony & supports a mental state where happiness and bliss permeate.
We believe, beauty comes from within, so when you feel comfortable in your own skin, blissfully confident, and self-loving, that state of mind manifests as glowing skin, radiating beauty outwardly. It doesn’t matter how much external work is done to the skin, how many products you use, or skin treatments applied, beauty comes from within and is governed by the king of the body - the mind.
When you acknowledge and appreciate the beauties of life, including yourself - by which we mean, you genuinely feel and see the beauty within yourself - all aspects of your beauty increases. “Where attention goes, energy flows,” so let’s flow some genuine attention towards prospering beauty within ourselves and everything around us.
Bliss comes under the highly esteemed Ayurvedic category of “Rasāyana,” a group of herbs that promote immunity, longevity, well-being, and higher consciousness. This is a special class of rejuvenative agents that are perhaps the most important herbal medicines, one we feel that everyone should know about and experience. When herbs like yashtimadhu, brahmi, and ashwagandha are combined intelligently with other ingredients the effect is an enduring youthful essence.
Ageing in Ayurveda correlates with dryness, roughness, excess mobility that moves out of harmony with our body’s normal cellular functions. Bliss counters the ageing process by promoting lubricated and smooth brain function and harmonious and steady biological movements and also combines cellular “building” herbs like ashwagandha, arjuna, and more to maintain health in the whole physiology - starting with the mind - to prevent a degenerative ageing experience.
Instead, we have the opportunity to gracefully age chronologically while our biological age transitions smoothly with minimal harsh complications.
Beauty comes from within, so when you feel comfortable in your own skin, blissfully confident, and self-loving, that state of mind manifests as glowing skin, radiating beauty outwardly.
skin health
Both Brāhmī (Bacopa monnieri) and Maṇdūkaparṇī, AKA Gotu Kola, (Centella asiatica) are cooling ground creepers that love to grow near water. They both enhance intelligence1 and harmony in the nervous system so the mind and skin maintains calm and “cool,” while also helping with inflammatory skin disorders.
Svetchandana (Santalum album) or Sandalwood, is considered one the best herbs for skin health. Its cooling and soothing oil rich wood is used internally and externally in Ayurveda to enhance the lustre, glow, and beauty of the skin, as well as heal all sorts of skin diseases from acne and redness to the most chronic inflamed skin diseases.2,3,4 Sandalwood is particularly effective for itchy skin 2,3,4 and helps in many skin diseases, including eczema, urticaria, and psoriasis.
The bitter, astringent and sweet Sandalwood resonates with our inner “Soma,” which is peaceful, calming, and cooling lunar energy, manifesting glowing skin and overall presence.
Mustāka (Cyperus rotundus) or “nut grass” is a bitter and pungent tuber that effectively cools the skin and blood2 and calms the mind, supporting radiant skin.
Mustāka offers hormone balancing actions5, helps regulate menstrual cycles, and stabilises emotional turbulence to further promote skin health.
Āmalakī (Phyllanthus emblica) a stone fruit and one of the most important herbs in Ayurveda, assists bowels, reduces inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract, and supports healthy intestinal skin. It can help with many digestive disorders and acts as a gentle but effective laxative and liver cleanser. The healthy intestinal "inner" skin that is supported by āmalakī thus improves the health and lustre of the outer skin.6
Āmalakī’s sweet taste and cooling energy helps reduce inflammation in the skin and treats skin diseases.6
Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna) is a large tree with a bitter and astringent bark and cooling nature, which helps pacify blood and skin inflammation conditions like acne, rosacea, pruritus, and urticaria.8
Arjuna is a heart tonic that also has an effect on the emotional heart. Its cooling energy keeps the emotional heart pacified, helping hot emotional imbalances like anger, frustration, hot-headedness, irritability, and overwhelming emotional states like anxiety.
When the heart is relieved of stress, blood circulation and lymphatic drainage is enhanced and “prana,” or life-force, flows in the body. and the skin emanates with radiance.
Uśīra (Chrysopogon zizanioides) is a vetiver root with sweet and heavy earthy qualities that provide a very grounding, calming, and stabilising effect on the whole physiology. This stabilising quality helps promote deep, restful sleep, particularly for those who are restless at night. When the nervous system is calmly grounded and sleep is optimised, it certainly shows on the skin.
Furthermore, the cooling nature of uśīra pacifies irritability in the mind and skin, reducing skin inflammation and diseases. It also has a purifying effect in general, which helps in removing toxins from the mind, blood, and skin.2
Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra), known as liquorice, enhances skin health and lustre of the body. Its softening and lubricating qualities help with dry skin and increase glow. The cooling energy of liquorice helps pacify inflamed skin conditions10 like acne, eczema, and psoriasis.8
Liquorice is known as a “sattvic” in Ayurveda, or pure herb, which effectively calms the mind11,12 and promotes a blissful nature. This helps pacify heat in the liver and blood which further calms down skin conditions and “fiery” emotions.
when the heart is relieved of stress, blood circulation and lymphatic drainage is enhanced and “prana,” or life-force, flows in the body. and the skin emanates with radiance..
hair health
Āmalakī (Phyllanthus emblica), a stone fruit that contains 10-30x more vitamin C than an orange.6 This immune boosting fruit increases hair strength with its nourishing and rejuvenating action. It’s sweet taste and cooling energy of āmalakī reduces premature baldness and greying of hair by pacifying excess “pitta,” or heat, that may be burning the roots of the hair follicles.6
Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) is a fantastic herb to promote hair growth, especially when combined with Āmalakī. Both are rich, fluorescent green plants that are full of juice that nourishes the mind and hair growing on the head.
Uśīra (Chrysopogon zizanioides) has sweet and heavy earthy qualities that provide a very grounding, calming, and stabilising effect. This vetiver root helps promote sleep, and these two benefits then show in the health of one‘s hair.
A highly aromatic root with a sweet, calming, and cooling effect. This particularly helps with hot-headed emotions like anger, jealousy, frustration, and irritability. It also helps reduce stress, and when the hot headed person relaxes, it prevents their hair follicles from burning up, potentially leading to hair fall, greying, and thinning of hair.
Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a great herb for hair growth and health. It has a sweet post-digestive action, which means even after liquorice root is digested, it continues to have a nourishing effect on the body. This is why it strengthens libido, the body overall, the mind, and hair health.10
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a rejuvenating root herb that builds the tissues and immunity.1 Strong hair growth is a bi-product of when the body's tissues are well nourished, particularly the bone tissue.
Svetachandana (Santalum album) very effectively calms down the mind and helps reduce stress. This helps prevent hair fall, greying, and thinning of hair caused by stress or excess “heat” in the head.
References:
Bhāvaprakāśa-Pūrvakhaṇḍa, Guḍūcyādi Varga
Bhavaprakāśa-Pūrvakhaṇḍa, Karpūradi Varga
Caraka Samhita, Sutrasthana, Chapter 25
Astanga Samgraha of Vaghbata, Sutra Sthana
Williamson 2002
Paranjpe, 2001.
Bhavaprakāśa-Pūrvakhaṇḍa, Puṣpa Varga
Bhavaprakāśa-Pūrvakhaṇḍa, Harītakyādi Varga.
Frawley & Lad, Yoga of Herbs, 1994
Mills & Bone, 2000