Why are we attracted to people with clear complexions, smooth skin, full, glossy hair? Angles in men and curves in women? Why do we strive for these ends in our own appearance? Is it societal conditioning? Or is there a deeper root to our ideals and attraction?

As I begin to understand the subtle manifestations of hormonal imbalance, I’m realizing that aspiring for beauty and being attracted to that which is beautiful is not as superficial a concept as I once thought. Of course, the definition of beauty varies culture to culture and individual to individual, but there are a few generalizable ideals.

Beauty on the outside often signals a genetic predisposition to health on the inside. However, the exciting science of epigenetics informs us that we are definitely not tied to our genes. Environmental influences affect how and whether or not a gene is expressed now and for generations to come. Beauty is not static; it goes beyond what we are born with and can be achieved by anyone who achieves true health. Moreover, a healthy body-mind-spirit complex is radiant, and there’s no denying the attraction to such a person.

What Exceptionally Good Looks Like

Remember that in Ayurveda there are 7 major tissues starting with rasa and ending with shukra/artava and that each tissue sequentially nourishes the next.

What follows is a description of what sara (exceptional) dhatus (tissues) signal: (adapted from Ayurvedic Institute Lecture Series and Dr. Lad’s textbooks)

1) Rasa (plasma) Sara: smooth, soft, clear, lustrous skin. Happiness, clarity, faith, love, trust, longevity.

2) Rakta (blood) Sara: rosy cheeks and lips, lustrous eyes, pink nails, hands, and feet. Happiness, energy, warmth, intelligence, brilliance.

3) Mamsa (muscle) Sara: good muscle development and tone. Power, patience, stamina, courage, determination, confidence, honesty, love, compassion, forgiveness, longevity. Strong sexual energy.

4) Meda (fat) Sara: Unctuous quality to the body’s form, soft, smooth complexion and lips. Beautiful eyes and shiny hair. In females, a curvaceous figure. Well-lubricated joints. Melodious voice. Compassion, remembering healthy/blissful memories, endurance, vitality, longevity.

5) Asthi (bone) Sara: Strong bones, nails, teeth, tall skeleton. Plentiful hair. Great endurance, strength, vitality longevity. Hard working, forgiving, honest.

6) Majja (nervous tissue/articular tissue) Sara: Soft skin, smooth complexion, melodious voice, large, bright, attractive eyes, round/healthy joints, strength, intelligence, clear perception, right comprehension, good memory, longevity.

7) Sukra/Artava (reproductive tissue) Sara: Gentle, loving, attractive appearance. Beautiful, loving eyes. Even/pearl-like teeth. Smooth complexion. Cheerful, happy, compassionate. Curvaceous figure in women. Strong sexual energy.

8) Satva (mind) Sara: good memory, devotion, gratitude, wisdom, honesty, sincerity, purity, skill, vigor, endurance, enthusiasm, courage, mental endurance, deep intelligence, clarity, sensitivity, compassion, love, and longevity.

What Imbalance Looks Like

I want to share a few examples of what physically observable imbalances can signal on the tissue, hormonal, and emotional levels. Once we register the underlying cause, we can begin to treat it and restore health and beauty.

Acne –

Ama (toxicity) in rasa/rakta dhatu/srotas (circulatory system) often with an elevated pitta component (inflammation)
Excess testosterone, which is converted to dihydrotestosterone
Anger, irritability, hatred

Dry, wrinkling skin –

Dehydrated rasa dhatu
Estrogen deficiency
Lack of inspiration/faith

Palor, ashen appearance –

Low rakta dhatu manifesting as anemia
Estrogen deficiency (Interestingly, estrogen is considered to be a pitta hormone and there is close relationship between rakta and pitta)
Loss of enthusiasm/energy for life

Dark under-eye circles/hyperpigmentation/age spots –

Low adrenal/kidney function with secondarily increased ACTH
(It’s impossible to have good rasa dhatu in times of stress, hence rasa sara is a smooth, uniform complexion)

Corrective lenses –

excess pitta in the eyes

There are a few overarching themes with regards to sex hormone imbalance. Sex hormone levels are rarely measured in isolation, as they are converted/shunted to form one another, and it is the interplay of balance between them that is the most important factor to consider. For example, it is the ratio of estrogen to progesterone that is more important than the individual level each.

Also remember that during states of stress, the body shunts adrenal raw material (cholesterol) in favor of cortisol production versus the sex hormones –progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen. Also, cortisol indirectly increases insulin, which in turn, increases fatty tissue.

Loss of hair on the head –

Hypothyroidism (including eyebrows and eyelashes)
Iron, zinc, B5, and B7 deficiencies, low body-fat
Male-pattern baldness –over-conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone and low progesterone)
Female-pattern baldness (loss of hair from the vertex of the head/maintaining the frontal hairline) – menopause related estrogen deficiency
Lack of support

Graying hair –

Excess pitta in the head,
Copper and amino acid deficiency
Lack of MSH (melanocyte stimulating factor—a posterior pituitary hormone)

Hirsuitism (excess body hair) –

Excess dihydrotestosterone and low progesterone
Hypothyroidism (can cause both excess and decreased body hair)

Central fat accumulation –

Impaired digestion/assimilation of nutrients (samana vayu disorder)
Blocked sweat/fat channels
Cortisol and insulin excess
Males: excess estrogen to progesterone
Females: excess estrogen to progesterone (or an altogether lack of estrogen in menopause)

Lax body/lacking firmness —

Excess estrogen (non-menopausal), testosterone deficiency, progesterone deficiency
Excess insulin, hypothyroidism

Too thin/excessively low body fat (waife/typical vata body frame) –

Cortisol and insulin deficiency

Hip/thigh body fat accumulation/pear-shaped distribution –

impaired elimination of waste (apana vayu disorder)

Lack of breast development in women –

Depleted rasa dhatu
Estrogen deficiency (There is an intrinsic connection between rasa dhatu and reproductive tissue. One of the meanings of rasa is juice. A youthful body is a juicy body, and adequate sex hormones keep the entire body hydrated)

Excess breast tissue/gynecomastia/swollen, engorged breasts –

Excess estrogen to progesterone ratio in women and men

Lack of muscle development –

Low testosterone
Protein deficiency (which also lowers thyroid function)

What True Health Looks Like

It’s no wonder that certain ideals of beauty exist. A clear complexion, smooth, soft skin, nice teeth, full head of hair, adequate body fat, and proportional shape signal underlying health. As we are evolutionarily wired to procreate and reproductive tissue is the last tissue to be nourished, it makes sense that whom we find physically attractive is a representation of health in the 6 precursor tissues.

As we have seen from the description of sara dhatus, physical health is also a reflection of mental health. The Ayurvedic definition of health takes it a step further. Health is not only balanced doshas, agni, tissues, elimination, bodily processes, bliss of the mind and senses, but also the establishment of one in the Self.

To me, to be established in the Self means living in awareness of the soul and its purpose, thereby allowing the light of the soul to permeate consciousness and the entire being. A person established in the Self is calm, confident, joyous, unmistakably divine, and inevitably attractive.

One cannot be established in the Self without self-esteem. In his book “The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem,” Nathaniel Branden describes the face of self-esteem. “Self-esteem expresses itself in a face, manner, and way of talking and moving that projects the pleasure one takes in being alive.”

We are all here with a purpose. Discover your purpose, live your dharma, and rejoice in the divine leela of your life.

Branden goes on to further describe self-esteem as having a chin held in alignment to the cervical spine (not held too high or too low), a purposeful but unaggressive walk, a voice with an intensity appropriate to the situation (not too loud or too soft), and clear pronunciation. Self esteem also exhibits an attitude of curiosity, openness to new possibilities, flexibility, harmony and dignity under stress, rationality, creativity, and development/use of intuition.

It is from a place of true self-esteem then that the soul and its purpose is acknowledged and celebrated to radiate its beauty.

We all know, even if we can’t quite describe why, whom we like to be around. We are drawn to beauty and depending on where we are in life we seek beauty on a physical, mental, or spiritual plane. Fortunately, we are hard-wired to be attracted to health, even if we neglect our own at times. If you want to be attractive, get healthy — body, mind, and spirit, because beauty most definitely isn’t skin deep.

— Nisha Khanna, M.D.

Beauty Isn’t Skin Deep