Parvati Magazine December 2013 - Remembrance | Page 26

BEAUTY

REMEMBER FLAX OIL
For Juicy Skin

BEAUTY
and upper lip. So, to give
you the full pretty picture,
I went from looking as if I
was punched in the face
to looking like a leper with
a mustache of inflammation.
It was red, flaky, and
itchy: a combo of Pitta
(heat) and Kapha (wet)
eczema. So, after a week
and a half, I resigned myself to the fact it wasn’t
going away on its own
and did what I always
do: I bought a bottle of
organic flax seed oil capsules. Flax seed oil is excellent as it is packed with
anti-oxidants and is also
a source of essential fatty
acids. It is also good for
reducing Kapha and has
been said to help reduce
cholesterol levels in the
body. Because eczema is
triggered by severe dehydration and expressed as
heat and dampness, it is a
personally tried and true
remedy. Taking oils helps
lubricate our digestive
tract and also nourishes
our skin from the inside
out. While I like coconut
oil for soothing skin irritations, flax seed oil is the

R

eaders of my blog of late have been hearing ever-so-subtle moans about my recent
eczema outbreak. Eczema, for me, rears its ugly head every few years when I’m most
stressed out, dehydrated, and heated. Usually, I can curb it with a good soothing serum if
I catch it early. But sometimes, these outbreaks are so stubborn that they persist to slowly
take over my entire face despite my all-natural, gentle skincare regime.
This is what happened a couple of weeks ago: after an especially long stint of not sleeping properly and neglecting to monitor my water intake, I woke up one morning to what
looked like an insect bite under my eye. Gradually, it began to spread to my forehead

way to go when there is
itchiness accompanying
the symptom. I’d go as far
as to say that it can alleviate most types of rashes
with itch in them.
But you can’t be shy when
dosing. I’m on the heavyhanded side when it
comes to herbs, but when
I do take them I make
sure they are whole foods
(not vitamins, concentrates, or extracts) and
organic. Barlean’s Organic Oils makes capsules
which are cold-pressed,
organically grown, and
made with North American flax seeds. I started
taking five capsules per
day (these are big capsules at 1000mg per) religiously. Now, you can
probably take a couple
of tablespoons of straight
flaxseed oil instead, but I
find I am not as consistent
if I don’t just have them on
me and have to wait until
I get home to my refrigerated oil (flaxseed oil must
be kept cold if not in caps
form). I also have had
terrible bouts of eczema
when I have taken long
plane fights, and find the

capsules the most travelfriendly.
I was so relieved when I
started to see my angry
skin calm down on day
three. The irritation began to recede and my
scaly patches peeled. But
what I was happier about
was that my skin in general was looking more hydrated and plump. And
just as I was beginning to
notice this improvement
in my skin… “Hey, moist
cheeks,” my husband
said to me.
“You think my complexion looks more moist and
dewy?”
“Yeah – the most hydrated I’ve seen in a while…
you’ve been dry lately.
But your cheeks look …
juicy,” he concluded,
pinching my face.
Now, I’m not going to
take this high dosage of
flax seed oil forever. After this bottle I will probably scale down to two or
three capsules a day, but
I will think about taking
it more regularly. I must
say, it feels kind of nice to
have juicy cheeks!

Kristen Ma is the co-owner of Pure + Simple Inc., a group of Holistic Spas with
its own line of Natural Skincare and Mineral Make-up.  She is an Ayurvedic
Practitioner who has studied in Canada, the United States and India.  She
is also a Certified \?]X?X[??]ZY?YX\????X?X?[^\?Y[??K?]?[?????Y[??[?YH\??[\?]\??[XK??[???X?[?K?\?[?\?]]?Y8?'?X]]N?\?H
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