How we used Ayurveda and Krya's products to treat a steroid induced chemical burn on skin – an account from Krya

This post was last updated on August 12, 2021 by Preethi Sukumaran

What we just received in our inbox today:
“Dear Team Krya
I’ve enclosed pictures of what my skin looks like now in natural light.
I am currently using the moisture plus face wash everyday and after sun face mask once a week for my face. And the damage repair oil for my hair every 2-3 days. And few other body ubtans from you .They are all working well for my skin /hair.
 Had spoken to you earlier about my skin condition earlier. I am trying to follow the diet recommended by you.
 My skin is much much better than before after using your face wash. Skin texture is smoother even toned and pigmentation has almost vanished. My only concern now is it appears deflated, not the usual plump skin I had before using steroid whitening cream. I am only 27yrs old. Do let me know if you can make any special healing mask for me that could improve the condition. Would be really grateful.
Your products are the only ones that have actually made a difference to my skin and are affordable rather than the expensive vit c serums /skin repair lotions suggested by dermatologists that only made my skin worse . 
Thank you for your help . “ RM, Mumbai
 
A short background:
April 13 2016:
“ Hello Team Krya,
I had been using a skin whitening cream from a skin centre in Mumbai which seemed to contain steroids since 2 yrs. My skin did get fair but quality just seemed to worsen day by day and I immediately stopped using it as it made my skin extremely thin, rough, sensitive to sun and eczema prone. 
 
It’s been 3 1/2 months I have stopped using it. My skin is slowly healing but still highly sensitive, patchy and dark around eyes and mouth. I have visited a skin dermatologist who put me on creams (pacroma)/vitamin tablets further .she has asked me to stay away from scrubs/ abrasive cleansers  . I am not using them anymore as I want to heal my skin naturally and not abuse my skin further. 
 
Do let me know if your products will help me in healing naturally .I am only looking to get my original.skin back . Also, are your face washes gentle enough for my skin type? Any skincare regime you can recommend.” RM, Mumbai
 
 Initial recommendation from Krya:
Based on RM’s reaction, we looked at her reaction like a chemical burn and treated it like localised, vitiated pitta. The texts tells us that when Pitta is high, skin displays reddish reactions, is sensitive to the Sun (which is high in Agni) and develops swift, agni induced reactions like reddish rashes, acne, itching, redness, etc.
 
We put her on a diet with a reduction in pitta aggravating foods like red and green chillies, and tamarind. We added cow ghee to her diet. We also suggested native cooling and nourishing foods like ash gourd, coconut and coconut water, pumpkins to her diet.

Additionally, we put her on our after sun face products and suggested she use plain cold pressed coconut oil / kokum butter as a pre wash application and wash it off with the Krya after sun products.

If she had time, we also suggested a twice a week abhyanga – RM was exercising atleast 4 times a week intensively, and this would help bring down excess pitta from the body and balance the vata generated by the exercising.
 
Krya’s recommendation in Feb 2017:
We now come to RM’s latest email to us. While she is happy with the healing of her skin, she still feels that her skin has not yet regained its collagen structure and texture.
 
Ayurveda teaches us that the dhatus are built by sweet (madhura) and nourishing foods. These foods build the dhatus and help the formation of the collagen matrix, muscle and strength in general. If someone tells us their hair growth is poor or skin is not repairing or healing itself properly, we look for the presence or absence of dhatu restoring foods and habits. Based on evidence we have to decide what the exact problem is.
 
It could be one of the following:

1. There is not enough dhatu building foods being consumed

Certain kinds of dairy, when consumed appropriate for your prakriti are dhatu enhancing. Examples of this would be Milk boiled in the correct Ayurvedic way, and properly prepared cow ghee which is consumed melted.
Cereals like old rice and lentils like Mung dal are also considered dhatu building. This is because they are easy to digest, release their nutrients quickly and do not block the minor channels in any way.

 
Fruits and vegetables appropriate to the season are also dhatu building. So a Mango in summer is usually more appropriate than one eaten in December. Locally grown vegetables which are indigenous to your city and are part of your DNA (you have a history of eating them from childhood) are usually much more enhancing to your Dhatus.
 
So while quinoa may be appropriate for the Aztecs and a super food for them, if you have not grown up eating it, it will not enhance your dhatus as much as old traditional rice can.
 

2. There is a lot of ama (toxin ) build-up in the body which is interfering with nutrient absorption

Ama can build-up in your body when you eat at improper times, eat improper foods or eat proper foods in improper combinations. Ama can also arise when you eat foods that are improper for your prakriti (constitution).
 
For example, curd causes ama build-up in most people. Ayurveda teaches us that Curd is high in Pitta and Kapha and is appropriately consumed only in winter when the weather is cold and the Pitta in the curd is good for your body. Curd is also considered difficult to digest and has the property of leaving a sticky residue inside your body.

 
Ayurveda adds that people who do hard physical labour, with very strong digestive ability and teenagers (who naturally have higher digestive ability) can get away with curd consumption. For anyone else, it can cause or trigger many health issues. We see a lot of adult acne at Krya. An investigation of what is being consumed almost always throws up a high consumption of curd.
 
Similarly milk with sour fruits is considered an improper combination. Milk is considered sweet in its taste, and when this combines with sourness from the fruit, it creates a food that is tough to digest and stays for much longer, undigested in your body.
 
Eating before your previous meal is digested also leads to ama build-up and puts strain on your digestive system. All this undigested food sits throughout your GI tract reducing nutrient absorption, increasing wind in the system and making the entire body sluggish.
 

3. A lot of dhatu depleting foods are being consumed or Dhatus are being depleted by certain activities

Highly processed food is considered dhatu depleting in Ayurveda. Depending upon the food being consumed it can also increase ama (toxins) in the body.
 
Chemically processed Maida is top on our list of Dhatu depleting foods. It is full of chemical additives and is very “abhishyanadi” in nature. By this we mean that this food coats the insides of the body and dullens the digestive power and workings of the minute srotas.
 
We receive a lot of hair complaints from young people in their twenties whose main dinner is often a pizza made from Maida or a pack of Instant Maggi noodles. They complain that after 2 – 3 months of this diet, their bowel movements are infrequent, constipation is high and the skin becomes dull and flaky with severe hair loss.

 
This is an obvious reaction to a food that increases toxin build up and actively prevents nutrient assimilation in the body.
 
Over –eating a food that is unsuitable for your prakriti can also deplete your dhatus. If your pitta dosha is already high, a diet that is high in spice and sour will imbalance your pitta dosha until it is no longer able to assimilate any nutrients from your food.
 
Ayurveda always advocates balance: your nature is kept in balance by eating foods that calm down your nature and not aggravate it.
 
 
Are we Shamans? OR are we simply practising what Ayurveda preaches?
Our consumers, and sometimes we, are shocked by how eerily well our products work for consumers, especially when combined with First principle based diet and regimen suggestions from Ayurveda.
It is at times like this that we remind ourselves and our consumers that we are relying on the principles set by a highly advanced Science based on First Principles. In the case of RM, using the steroid based whitening cream increased pitta dosha in her skin leading to heat based skin cracking, sensitivity and darkness.
When this aggravated pitta dosha was treated with pitta balancing foods like ghee and milk, pitta balancing practices like the Abhyanga, pitta reducing foods and Pitta balancing skin care products, the skin healed itself back to health.
 
To improve the collagen matrix, and to improve skin texture and health further, we have sent RM a battery of suggestions to improve her dhatus. These include adding dhatu enhancing foods like milk, removing improper food combinations, and helping nutrient assimilation by changing sleep timings and eating timings.
We have also suggested adding the Krya Moisture Plus Skin Oil every night as a leave on application and the addition of the Krya Moisture Plus face mask once a week  to support the skin’s healing. We are quite confident that she will see a further visible improvement in her skin as she continues on this path.
 
Shraddha: a path to Ayurveda and good health
I was listening to a wonderful Vedic chant called the Shraddha Suktam and I was curious about how the word Shraddha was defined. Shraddha, translated in English means faith or conviction, but many definitive Sanskrit texts and commentaries go much further than that.
 
Adi Sankara calls Shraddha, a positive attitude born from reason. Swami Vivekananda differentiates Shraddha from blind faith and Says Shraddha is a faith born from conviction and reasoning along with faith in your Guru and his teachings.
 
I like to say that Krya has Shraddha towards Ayurveda and not blind faith. By this I mean that I believe with deep faith what my Acharyas and the texts of Ayurveda say. Through my work, I will spend my Lifetime understanding this Truth and applying it to my Life until my belief comes not just from faith and a positive attitude but is also borne out through my intellect and reasoning.
 
And every time I hear back with positive feedback from consumers like RM on how beautifully Ayurveda works to solve difficult problems, my Shraddha in this system is deepened.
 
Krya products used by RM

1. Face
   1. Krya After Sun face wash and Krya After Sun Face mask – initially to treat the steroid burn
   2. Krya Moisture Plus face wash – now that skin has healed
   3. Krya Moisture Plus Skin Oil and Krya Moisture Plus Face mask (suggested by Krya now)
2. Body
   1. Krya Abhyanga Skin Oil
   2. Krya Women’s Ubtan
3. Hair
   1. Krya damage repair hair system