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Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda
We all know absolute beauty when we see it--skin that glows with health and an outer bearing that projects inner tranquillity. Yet, despite our every effort and expense, few of us know how to achieve it. In Absolute Beauty, Pratima Raichur, a chemist and internationally recognized expert on Ayurvedic skin care, explains how the external skin tissue is the physical reflection of everything that happens within the body: the way we eat and breathe, as well as the thoughts and emotions that fill our mind and color our spirit. Here, in the first beauty and skin care guide to reveal the secret to lasting radiance through the principles of Ayurveda, Pratima Raichur offers readers:
a detailed self-test to determine their exact skin type
customized skin care plans for each skin type
proven-effective advice for addressing the most troubling skin problems
essential nutritional information
instructions for detoxifying the body
a detailed self-test to determine their exact skin type
customized skin care plans for each skin type
proven-effective advice for addressing the most troubling skin problems
essential nutritional information
instructions for detoxifying the body
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
160 people are currently reading
1089 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 2, 2016
This is my second read of this book. Recommend to anyone interested in Ayurveda. Quite inspiring--a real motivation for the new year
July 25, 2014
I think this book takes a lot of time to say what it wants to say. If you've never read anything (even a Cosmo article) about skincare, then the super basic stuff may be useful, but I felt it was too rudimentary. It also seems to repeat itself quite a bit, which was disappointing. I skimmed most of the book because I kept coming across a lot of the same advice over and over again. The information on Ayurvedic self massage (Abhyanga) was pretty robust and useful, and I can see myself referring to it in the future. One thing this book did make me realize is that, currently at least, I don't have any real skin problems. Yay for that.
June 20, 2008
I think this should be on every women's bookshelf. I refer back to it time and time again.
December 13, 2022
I was disappointed in this book as there was a lot of theory and words without much handy hints and recipes.
The information was very basic
It could be a nice gift for the very beginner who wanted to learn a bit more about Ayurveda but for me it wasn’t a practical book that I would really-refer to
The information was very basic
It could be a nice gift for the very beginner who wanted to learn a bit more about Ayurveda but for me it wasn’t a practical book that I would really-refer to
March 1, 2026
“
The inescapable implication of this quantum view is that the world looks as it does because we are looking at it. The world is the way it is because we think it is. As physical participants in this world, we ourselves are what we think.”
Beauty is the translucence, through the material phenomenon, of the eternal spender of the One. Werner Heisenberg
As a small child I have back to the world the reflection of the love I had received, and in doing do I was beautiful.”
Our desire for beauty is an innate impulse and the natural expression of the self empowered by love.
When every level of existence, from the way we eat and sleep to the way we think and play, is concordat with our innate energy patterns, then we are living as nature designed us to be.
Happiness makes people beautiful.
Our face and complexion are the physical manifestations of all that we think and do- an exacting mirror of the soul- and as long as any corner of our mind or heart is unfulfilled, beauty will be elusive.”
“…Inshallah prone to allergic reactions has obvious symptoms of low ojas—since a weak immune system means weak ojas, the complexion naturally looks dull when we are sick.”
Mental symptoms of impaired ojas include fear. Worry, helplessness, lack of patience, and disturbance of the senses.”
Any factor that disrupts the forces of prana and tejas— of life energy and metabolism— or otherwise causes imbalance to our innate constitution will hinder tissue development and thus impair ojas.”
It takes time and considerable abuse of the body to completely destroy our innate reserve of ojas.
To see beauty as the face of love rather than the arbitrary gift of fortune is to enlarge our sense of life’s possibilities.” Ellen Z Lambert
According to Ayurveda, the source of all creation— all that we know and all that we do not yet know— is the unseen, ever present infinite field of pure consciousness. Ultimate Reallty. Pure abstraction
If you cannot eat it, do not put it on your skin.
In Ayurvedic tradition, I also say specific mantras or sounds as I mix the preparations in order to enhance the ojas of the plant or oil and to enhance our ojas when we ingest its essence through our skin.”
I began adding essential oils to my remedies which had never been done in India.
Eye care: blinking, palming, eye massage with ghee, olive, almond and rose or sandalwood oil.
Hands: almond oil and buttermilk, cotton gloves and sleep.
Foot: roll foot over ball or rolling pin. Walk barefoot on grass,
Body massage with turmeric and sesame oil
Neem oil and sesame oil are excellent sunscreens
Olive oil and coconut oil are natural tanning agents since they absorb UV light. Increase BVitamins
Sunburn skin- apply cold buttermilk
External treatment does not change the reason for disorder and disease which always lies deep within.”
We can’t reach old age by another man’s road. My habits protect my life, but they would assassinate you.” Mark Twain
Do not eat when you are upset.
Often only because they smell and taste like those things that are good for us, we are duped into eating, drinking, and smelling things that are not good for us.” We get the pleasure we want but none of the therapeutic or nutritional benefits we need.”
Store water and preparations in colored glass. Put in sunlight for a few hours and drink. Green enhances prana, red stimulates tejas, yellow for ojas.
Dry skin: gold, brass; sensitive skin- silver; oily- gold, copper; all types: stainless steel.
While mantras have an audible aspect, they are vehicles to experience the silence of pure consciousness in meditation.”
The ragas lack of a rigid pattern has a deconditioning effect on the mind and helps align individual awareness with the universal consciousness.”
Alternate nostril breathing; shitali breathing; Kapapbhati Breath
Healthy Mouth: scrape tongue (copper for Kapha, steel for all types, gold for vata, silver for pitta); massage gums with 1st op camphor, clove, cardamom essential oil + 1tsp sesame oil. Bleeding gums- fennel tea + turmeric power; brush teeth with salt+ cinnamon+ clove + triphala; gargle with saltwater.
Bij mantras are one-syllable sounds that we use to balance the 5 elements and 5 chakras.”
.one of the greatest discoveries of my generation was that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” William James.”
The inescapable implication of this quantum view is that the world looks as it does because we are looking at it. The world is the way it is because we think it is. As physical participants in this world, we ourselves are what we think.”
Beauty is the translucence, through the material phenomenon, of the eternal spender of the One. Werner Heisenberg
As a small child I have back to the world the reflection of the love I had received, and in doing do I was beautiful.”
Our desire for beauty is an innate impulse and the natural expression of the self empowered by love.
When every level of existence, from the way we eat and sleep to the way we think and play, is concordat with our innate energy patterns, then we are living as nature designed us to be.
Happiness makes people beautiful.
Our face and complexion are the physical manifestations of all that we think and do- an exacting mirror of the soul- and as long as any corner of our mind or heart is unfulfilled, beauty will be elusive.”
“…Inshallah prone to allergic reactions has obvious symptoms of low ojas—since a weak immune system means weak ojas, the complexion naturally looks dull when we are sick.”
Mental symptoms of impaired ojas include fear. Worry, helplessness, lack of patience, and disturbance of the senses.”
Any factor that disrupts the forces of prana and tejas— of life energy and metabolism— or otherwise causes imbalance to our innate constitution will hinder tissue development and thus impair ojas.”
It takes time and considerable abuse of the body to completely destroy our innate reserve of ojas.
To see beauty as the face of love rather than the arbitrary gift of fortune is to enlarge our sense of life’s possibilities.” Ellen Z Lambert
According to Ayurveda, the source of all creation— all that we know and all that we do not yet know— is the unseen, ever present infinite field of pure consciousness. Ultimate Reallty. Pure abstraction
If you cannot eat it, do not put it on your skin.
In Ayurvedic tradition, I also say specific mantras or sounds as I mix the preparations in order to enhance the ojas of the plant or oil and to enhance our ojas when we ingest its essence through our skin.”
I began adding essential oils to my remedies which had never been done in India.
Eye care: blinking, palming, eye massage with ghee, olive, almond and rose or sandalwood oil.
Hands: almond oil and buttermilk, cotton gloves and sleep.
Foot: roll foot over ball or rolling pin. Walk barefoot on grass,
Body massage with turmeric and sesame oil
Neem oil and sesame oil are excellent sunscreens
Olive oil and coconut oil are natural tanning agents since they absorb UV light. Increase BVitamins
Sunburn skin- apply cold buttermilk
External treatment does not change the reason for disorder and disease which always lies deep within.”
We can’t reach old age by another man’s road. My habits protect my life, but they would assassinate you.” Mark Twain
Do not eat when you are upset.
Often only because they smell and taste like those things that are good for us, we are duped into eating, drinking, and smelling things that are not good for us.” We get the pleasure we want but none of the therapeutic or nutritional benefits we need.”
Store water and preparations in colored glass. Put in sunlight for a few hours and drink. Green enhances prana, red stimulates tejas, yellow for ojas.
Dry skin: gold, brass; sensitive skin- silver; oily- gold, copper; all types: stainless steel.
While mantras have an audible aspect, they are vehicles to experience the silence of pure consciousness in meditation.”
The ragas lack of a rigid pattern has a deconditioning effect on the mind and helps align individual awareness with the universal consciousness.”
Alternate nostril breathing; shitali breathing; Kapapbhati Breath
Healthy Mouth: scrape tongue (copper for Kapha, steel for all types, gold for vata, silver for pitta); massage gums with 1st op camphor, clove, cardamom essential oil + 1tsp sesame oil. Bleeding gums- fennel tea + turmeric power; brush teeth with salt+ cinnamon+ clove + triphala; gargle with saltwater.
Bij mantras are one-syllable sounds that we use to balance the 5 elements and 5 chakras.”
.one of the greatest discoveries of my generation was that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” William James.”
February 2, 2020
This is an excellent book about self-care and the ancient tradition of Ayurveda. The approach to beauty is an inside-out approach, which is always going to have the best results. It has pretty dense sections on the theory of Ayurveda and how it can be used to inform beauty, as well as detail care routines based on the doshas. I think this is a great introduction to those who want to take a more wholistic approach to beauty and self-care.
April 1, 2022
Советую эту книгу как базовую, первую для знакомства с аюрведой.
August 9, 2023
This book was a great surprise. The explanations about the Ayurveda philosophy and how life is seen went beyond what I expected from this book. Very well done. A favourite.
August 13, 2018
A wonderful book with a comprehensive atlas to all your beauty needs. I first picked this up from my library a few years ago and began slowly implementing the skin care recipes and routines, as making the jump to being completely all-natural (no more commercially-bought cleansers/soaps, moisturizers, etc.) seemed daunting. I started with the simple 3-step face routine and found it brightening and clearing my complexion remarkably within a few months. I've since added the full-body routine, and in addition to the ingredients being cheaper, my skin has never been healthier. I've seen problems which have plagued me since middle school - extremely dry hands and feet; ruddy, sensitive facial skin; and small bumps on my upper arms and thighs from keratosis pilaris - finally clear up and improve. I reference this text again and again, playing with the ingredients to fit my seasonal beauty needs. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to adopt a more conscientious self-care routine.
July 18, 2008
This book is a great introduction to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian "science of life". They break down body and constitution types (doshas) and explain the physical and mental/emotional characteristics of each. I find it fascinatingly accurate for myself. Then they explain how to bring balance to each type by the kinds of foods you eat and the way you care for your body. This author does an excellent job of explaining the philisophical basis of Ayurveda, and the book offers easy (for the most part), natural recipes for skin-care products that you can make at home, as well as covering stuff like self-massage and yoga. It discusses in detail the kind of foods you should eat or avoid for each type. You really need to buy a copy if you want to use it though, because there is just so much information contained in the book. I borrowed mine from the library so now I need to buy a copy.
May 12, 2015
It can be difficult to find some of the products recommended (there's lots of "recipes" for skin care), but this book has forever altered how I see beauty products.
Your skin eats what you put on it. It goes directly into your blood stream. So if you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your face! We strip our skins and hair of it's natural oils and then use lotion and conditioner to synthetically replace it!
Take the test to find out your skin dosha and then get to the skin care tips and recipes in Chapter 5 (page 115). This alone is worth the price of the book.
Your skin eats what you put on it. It goes directly into your blood stream. So if you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your face! We strip our skins and hair of it's natural oils and then use lotion and conditioner to synthetically replace it!
Take the test to find out your skin dosha and then get to the skin care tips and recipes in Chapter 5 (page 115). This alone is worth the price of the book.
March 27, 2015
I agree with the reviews that this book re-states and over-states information. There is plenty of wonderful information in this book, but it may be a bit too in-depth for some. The science and Ayurvedic background information are incredibly intense and dense.
I cannot lie... I rushed through a fair amount of the book, and I skimmed some chapters: glossing over the "heavy" and repetitive information and focusing on the relevant information. I think I would have focused more if the book was more condensed and more straightforward in its presentation of the skin care information.
I cannot lie... I rushed through a fair amount of the book, and I skimmed some chapters: glossing over the "heavy" and repetitive information and focusing on the relevant information. I think I would have focused more if the book was more condensed and more straightforward in its presentation of the skin care information.
July 20, 2010
I've had this book for years. It's one of the few books I keep each time I relocate.
It's a great intro to Ayurvedic principles with a practical application of good skin care and beauty. Some people may be put off by the lack of a "quick fix". Rather, it teaches fundamental life habits which will bring about an inner healthy glow. For do-it-yourselfers, there are great skin care recipes which will intoxicate you with their luscious scents and textures.
It's a great intro to Ayurvedic principles with a practical application of good skin care and beauty. Some people may be put off by the lack of a "quick fix". Rather, it teaches fundamental life habits which will bring about an inner healthy glow. For do-it-yourselfers, there are great skin care recipes which will intoxicate you with their luscious scents and textures.
March 26, 2016
This is one of those books that you should just buy and keep for a reference. It's pretty dense to read from start to finish especially if you're not familiar with ayurveda at all. But it makes sense to have this book and take the skin type quizzes and then refer your skin type's needs over time instead of doing what I did and reading it straight through. There's a lot of valuable information in here that can benefit anyone.
June 8, 2008
Not your typical beauty book. The author, a practitioner of Ayurveda, shows how to care for your body naturally. I must admit that I've followed many of the suggestions and my skin no longer feels irritated. She teaches that the skin eats; if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, then you shouldn't slather it on your face. Now I just need to start eating better...
February 3, 2013
un ouvrage incroyablement complet sur la science ayurvédique, comparée à juste titre à la physique quantique, par une experte dans les soins de la peau. Le livre fourmille d'informations sur les huiles essentielles, les herbes et les produits typiquement ayurvédiques, et se lit d'une seule traite. Passionnant de bout en bout !
July 2, 2013
Very good overview of Ayurveda and discussion of how - if you want to improve your skin - you really need to improve your eating, your stress level, and other vital factors. I'm a fan of Pratima skincare and picked this book up as a sidekick. Definitely not a 'buy our products' book. Much more about the science and study of ayurveda.
October 20, 2015
The earlier parts were good, the second half was more boring and very text booked. Some sections of the books had this "India is better, west has got it all wrong" ton.
I have read plenty of Ayurveda books and feel that there are plenty of other books that cover the same information in a more easy to absorb, more fun to read fashion.
I have read plenty of Ayurveda books and feel that there are plenty of other books that cover the same information in a more easy to absorb, more fun to read fashion.
September 28, 2007
I've got to re-read this book. Especially as I'm starting to get back into my whole natural beauty thing.
But it's fantastic. I learned so much from it, and keep it on hand as a reference.
But it's fantastic. I learned so much from it, and keep it on hand as a reference.
June 16, 2008
Very interesting. A good intro to Ayurveda. It was worth a read if you are into this sort of thing. Not a light and quick read.
February 4, 2013
I`m really into Ayuveda and Holistic care. This book was very informative and practical.
January 6, 2015
Beautiful book about an amazing science.
March 31, 2015
Loved!
February 6, 2011
Indispensable for Ayurvedic practitioners. I refer to this text often.
March 31, 2015
Excellent intro to Ayurveda
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews