Out of Hindu Tradition Come Skin-Care Lines for Westerners

India is not only influencing clothes and makeup (smoky eyes and mehndi body decorations) but skin care too. A few companies are coming out with products based on 5,000-year-old Hindu health and beauty practices.

Ayurveda, which has evolved into a topic of scientific research in India, is based on the premise that there are three predominant body types or constitutions--vata, pitta and kapha. Vata types are of slight build, either very tall or very short, and very energetic. Pitta types are average height and evenly proportioned, sharply intelligent and ambitious. Kapha types are more heavily built and stable in temperament. Most people are some combination of the three.

Each person, no matter what type, has a unique “thumbprint,” which in India is usually defined by a practitioner. That thumbprint reflects the five influences of earth, wind, space, fire and water on an individual. And that individual’s balance requires a specific regimen, based on massage, diet and ointments.

The Western interest in Ayurveda has prompted a few skin-care lines based on the concept, including the 3-year-old Ayurvedic Concepts and the Beverly Hills-based Ayur-Medic. In September, Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products of Colorado Springs, Colo., will introduce an Indian-based beauty line, M Spa. The line is a natural extension of the company, which manufactures Ayurvedic vitamin supplements.

Americans are increasingly looking to alternative health care and skin care solutions, says Jill Scoggins, spokeswoman for the Houston-based Ayurvedic Concepts.

The firm’s products, she says, vary from typical department store lines, even ones that use Western herbs, such as rosemary and lavender. For one, Scoggins says, Indian herbs, with unfamiliar names are used in complex combinations with certain common plants such as orange blossom, jasmine and aloe vera.

Two Beverly Hills physicians, Raj Kanodia and Ezra Kest, introduced Ayur-Medic, a skin care line, two years ago.

The impetus, says Kanodia, a plastic surgeon, was patient demand and interest. In fact, the first of the line was introduced with Western terms--oily, dry or sensitive skin. The next line, which is being researched, will be named after the body types. “Vata skin tends to be very dry skin and sensitive,” he says. Kapha skin is usually beautiful but oily, and pitta skin is both dry and oily.

Still, skin care is only skin deep in Ayurveda, says Kanodia, who trained in India and the United States. He recommends his patients practice yoga and meditation to maintain overall general health.

“It is very important that the mind, body, spirit works together,” he says. “Just doing a beautiful nose or a face lift is not good enough for me. I want to lead them to wellness.”

Roma Kant Mishra, an Indian physician who comes from a line of royal doctors, is stretching Ayurveda traditions to accommodate Western needs.

Mishra, who developed the M Spa products, teaches ayurvedic dermatology in India. He developed a formula for a skin-care line to accommodate all skin types, a concept that runs counter to the three-body premise of Ayurveda. But the products all have a high herbal content with herbs from India.

Mishra says India, with the world’s second-largest population, has almost all skin tones, much like the United States. The fairest skin is the least tolerant and most sensitive, so that is what he based his line on. Mishra, who will do consultations at the Health and Wholeness Stores in the Topanga Plaza Mall in Woodland Hills this weekend, says if this product can help the palest among us, it will also do well with the darkest. All products are available at spas and health food stores.

*

Barbara Thomas can be reached through e-mail at barbara.thomas@latimes.co