10.3.3 Cleaniness and Beauty Care

Cleanliness is very important for beauty, yet Ayurveda recommends that little or no soap be applied to the skin. Soaps rob the skin of the natural oils that protect and nourish the skin. There are a number of natural products that clean the skin without removing the important protective oils that keep skin soft and young. Examples are the soap-nut shitaki “soaps” and shampoos. These products - especially in powdered from - contain no harmful chemicals that clog or harm the skin. At an Ayurvedic pharmacy that produces beauty products the owner told me that any liquid shampoo has chemicals in it - even if it says it doesn’t - as they are needed to bind the fluid together.