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making them potent allies to keep stocked. The best way to extract these properties is to grind them up with a mortar and pestle or between your hands before steeping them in hot water. Another option is to boil the tea on the stove and reduce the water by half. Start with 2 cups of water and reduce it to 1 cup for a more potent decoction. Clients may start to see some benefit and impact in as little as 3–4 days with consistent use of these herbs. A great starting point is 2–3 cups of the infused waters or tea combinations. UNDERSTANDING TASTE When learning and exploring the world of herbs, one of the first lessons is understanding the impact of taste on physical action. Many different lineages and practices will have a slightly different lens to this, but from an Ayurvedic perspective, we have six categories of taste: • Astringent • Bitter • Pungent • Salty • Sour • Sweet Often, when we're looking at supporting skin health, there are two routes to focus on: cleansing and nourishing. Route 1: Cleansing Cleansing is usually the first place to begin because of the various things our body goes through. Think about everything that gets put into and onto the body, whether through the mouth or the skin. Sometimes, our bodies can't keep up with it all. This is why we should focus on cleansing to keep things moving out. When we think of cleansing, we want to think of bitter, pungent, and astringent flavors. Most of the herbs that many healers and practitioners work with have bitter and astringent properties. Why? Because the actions of bitter and astringent plants and foods are to cleanse. Unfortunately, these two tastes tend to be the least wanted in a typical diet. How can bitter and astringent food beat the categories of sweet, sour, and salty? It should make sense now why so many people experience skin conditions. So, we supplement with herbs and other things that have those qualities. Some examples would be foods like leafy greens, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, avocados, and quinoa. Route 2: Nourishing On the other side, we have to look at how to nourish the skin. This can be equated to plumping or rehydrating the skin. Tastes like sweet, sour, and salty (to a certain extent) help bring moisture back into our system to strengthen the skin and replenish it. Think of the texture of collagen or bone marrow— that's the same plumpness we need to ensure our skin stays bouncy yet firm and hydrated but not dull. These three tastes help retain and redistribute water and moisture underneath the skin's surface to ensure it's supporting rather than letting all the water flush out of the system. When the skin begins to thin or dry out, it's a good reminder that water isn't being retained as it should. It's time to add those electrolytes back into the body. A pinch of salt, a squeeze of lime or orange juice, or a dash of licorice root or marshmallow root are excellent ways to hydrate and replenish. 80 ASCP Skin Deep Spring 2026 Dried hibiscus flowers GET T Y IMAGES