Ayurveda

Shankara Skin Care Products: Fusing the Best of Ayurvedic Wisdom and Natural Actives for Radiant Beauty

By Elizabeth Herman ┃Posted: August 03, 2018

Ever wondered what was REALLY good for your skin?

Our skin is the largest organ of the body. Some skin care products that we use can be major sources of toxins for many people. Human skin quickly absorbs any artificial or natural ingredients, which either get stored up in the body or heal it.

Most available skin care products on the market are packed with chemicals and artificial ingredients that promise amazingly quick benefits. But most of them give you a temporary positive effect on the skin with harmful long term effects.

Today, more and more people are turning towards natural, simple and inexpensive options that actually work better than most commercial products, and without all the harmful ingredients. There is a trend toward products and brands that consider both human and environmental health.

But it can sometimes get confusing when brands use terms like natural, clean, and nontoxic on their products. Using different skin care products to their best advantages is also an art that requires expertise and guidance. It’s important to invest some time and learn the basics. Watch this very informative and educative video where Ashish Pandya, a beauty expert from Shankara Ayurveda, gives some insightful tips.

Here are some excerpts:

“You have 3 worlds put together in a bottle to give you a healthy body, happy mind and flawless skin,” says Ashish Pandya, who has worked with the Shankara line of natural body care, skin care and aromatherapy products since 2002.

“Our skin has seven layers to it,” he continues. “There was a team of nutritionists and cosmetic chemists from the United States that went to India to study Ayurveda, and they teamed up with Ayurveda experts and vaidyas (doctors). Over three and a half years of research went into bringing the best of the West and the East together in a bottle.”

There are ancient Ayurvedic herbs and essential oils in these products, which also balance your state of mind and emotions via their aromatherapeutic qualities. Active ingredients like vitamins and peptides are also included, which rejuvenate the skin; these were discovered through modern advancements of Western science in the United States.

4 steps to good skin care:

Pandya elaborates on the many natural products and how they can be used in a step by step process for miraculous skin care. Each skin care regime should include:

  • Step 1- Cleansing

“The cleansers from Shankara are PH balanced and completely clean, where you could actually eat the product because it’s so healthy, so pure,” says Pandya.

  • Step 2- Exfoliation

“Our best selling product, Microcrystal Exfoliator, is made with aloe vera, and contains essential oil of turmeric, which is anti-inflammatory and very high in antioxidants.. It also has sandalwood and lemongrass, to really soothe and nourish your skin while removing the dead skin cells,” he continues.

  • Step 3- Repair and Rejuvenation

“Our skin gets damaged every day, so we repair it with a serum that contains 4 different types of vitamins, protein and peptides, and that really helps build collagen. Collagen gives our skin its elasticity, the suppleness, the softness, and it improves the energy levels in your skin.”

  • Step 4- Protection and Moisturizing

“Our moisturizer has only 0.7 percent wax, a built-in sunscreen, and essential oils to keep your mind and emotions balanced day-in, day-out.”

Lotus, jasmine and rose essential oils

“With essential oils of lotus, jasmine and rose, you can uplift your vibrational frequency,” says Pandya about the happy, exciting effects of the Shankara contents.

“Smell the 3 oils, and the one that you like is the one you need in the moment,” explains Pandya. “When you’re moisturizing your body with these body oils, they work inside out. It’s important to take care of the mind through the body, and Shankara helps you do that. You are nourishing your skin while you are exfoliating.”

“Our body naturally produces oil, known as sebum, so it’s oil that our skin naturally and readily accepts,” Pandya elaborates. “If a product is tridosha, everybody can use and benefit from it. An effect of the Muscle Release Oil is that when people have frozen shoulders (and other joint issues), they’ve been able to heal them. Arthritis, lower back pain, all can be healed. Within 20 seconds of application, the essential oils are found in the bloodstream. If you have any pains, if the kids slip and fall, this product rejuvenates and heals your tissues, muscles and nerves.”

In addition to the healing ingredients in Shankara products, the fragrance of the company comes from its humanitarian goals. “Shankara gives 100% of the net profits to humanitarian projects. We have programs that support it. A portion of the money that you invest in yourself is actually going to help someone else or educate someone else.”

Shankara for people with sensitive skin

Vata skin type is dry, mature skin. Pitta skin needs more care. Oily skin is called Kapha skin,” Pandya describes. “Cleansers and soaps make your skin acidic. That’s when cancer cells grow, in an acidic environment. We need to repair the damaged skin cells.”

When you consult Shankara, you can receive a recommendation that is customized to your skin type. On the website, there’s a simple, three question quiz you can take to find out which type of skin you have, and thus which products to use.

“I think the entire world can benefit from what we’re doing,” Pandya clarifies. “I wish all the viewers (of this interview) could also benefit from Shankara and our offering. Shankara has brought the wisdom of Ayurveda from the East together with the science of the West.“

Ashish Pandya’s enthusiasm for these products is contagious, and the products are even more amazing than he says. If you want to sample some products after viewing this interview, you can go directly to the Shankara website, contact a representative from there, and gain more information.


By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, and lives in Boone, NC. With a longtime keen interest in Yoga and Ayurveda, she recently completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training with Sri Sri School of Yoga.

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