Unwind with: Priya, Health Tech — San Francisco
Priya has a spreadsheet where she tracks what she’s testing on her skin, when she introduced it, and what the result was. “I know that’s a lot,” she reflects to us. She’s been into green beauty since college and considers herself a reformed product junkie who now runs a tight, deliberate routine. She shops mostly at Ayla, in San Francisco, and direct from brands, with periodic Sephora runs for things she’s already researched and knows exactly she wants.
I work in health tech and I think I approach my skin the way I approach my work—with data, with a controlled testing mindset, with a genuine interest in understanding mechanisms behind the outcomes. I know that sounds like a lot for a moisturizer. But it helps me find for myself why things are or aren't working for me, and I've stopped wasting money on products that have no real evidence behind them, however beautiful the branding is. My skin is medium-toned—my family is South Indian. My specific concerns are mainly hyperpigmentation, uneven texture, and dark undereye circles, which I find are genuinely underserved by the mainstream beauty conversation, so I've had to do a lot of my own research. That's also what drew me toward Asian and Ayurvedic beauty—not as a trend, but because it has centuries of knowledge specifically developed for skin like mine. A lot of these concerns like pigmentation were addressed across the Pacific before the Western markets caught on, which is why I started there and have stayed loyal to a lot of global founders even as other things have come in. I'll try anything, but my spreadsheet is the ultimate truth teller.
My non-negotiables before anything else
I usually get home between 6PM-8PM depending on if we have happy hour at work. I immediately change out of my work clothes and put on something comfortable. This is usually pajamas. I know that sounds like it has nothing to do with skincare but I genuinely believe your evening routine starts when you decide to downshift. I make passionflower tea and just sit for the five-six minutes it takes to brew without my phone. Then everything flows from there.
IN THE SHOWER
I shower every night—my skin and hair both demand it. Hair is its own whole category. Mine is very thick, very long, and naturally wavy, which means if I ignore it it becomes something hard to manage. I wash it about three times a week with Rahua Classic Shampoo and their conditioner—the only combination I’ve found that keeps my wave pattern intact without getting brittle and straw-like by the end of the week. On hair-wash nights I do a slow scalp massage under the water before I shampoo, just two or three minutes with my fingertips. My scalp is dramatically happier for it.
For body I use Red Flower Icelandic Moonflower Body Wash. I found it through a facialist who mentioned it almost in passing when I used to work in New York and I’ve never gone back to anything else. It’s botanical in a way that actually feels real—the scent alone is worth it, but my skin feels genuinely cared for rather than just cleaned. For face, first cleanse is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil. I’ve tried a lot of oil cleansers. This one removes everything and remains the best value in my routine by a significant margin. For some reason Korean Beauty really gets the cleansing oil right! Because it rinses off with water, you need to actually put this on before you step into the shower, and then rinse it off in the shower. You can’t put it on wet skin otherwise it’s like moving a milk around.
Out of the shower
Body oil while still damp—I rotate between Uma Absolute Anti Aging Body Oil and Nécessaire The Body Serum depending on how my skin feels. The Uma is richer and more enveloping; I reach for it when I’m run down or when the SF climates unpredictability leaves my skin confused. Other times if I just want to slather on, the Nécessaire Body Serum is water-based so I don’t have to think about giving it time to absorb like I do with the body oil.
On hair-wash nights I’ll work a little Olaplex No.7 Bonding Hair Oil through the ends and let it air dry overnight. The results the next morning always make me happy that I took the time to do it.
About Priya
Location: Marina, San Francisco
Job: Senior PM, Health Tech
Skin: medium tone, combination skin oily T-zone but slightly dry everywhere else, focused on brightening and dark circles
Hair: thick and wavy
At the sink
Second cleanse is the Gentlerist Halcyon Cleanser—the formulation nerd in me has real respect for what they’ve done here. My skin used to be oily so I’m just don’t feel like I get a real cleanse unless it’s with a gel cleanser, but as I am now older, and my skin more dry, I realize most gel cleansers are drying. But the Halcyon Cleanser actually cleanses without drying, and you can really feel the fresh botanicals. Then I go over with rose water on a reusable cotton round as a toner step. I used to use Thayer’s Rose Petal toner but realized that there isn’t actually a lot of rose in that product, so I switched to the Gentler Essentials Rose Royale face mist, which… you can tell is pure rose. It’s quality.
Three nights a week: COSRX Snail Mucin 96 Essence, which I have used since the pandemic and remain completely devoted to. Then Gentlerist Liquid Courage—a newer addition that has earned its spot. It’s a Vitamin C serum and antioxidant serum in one with a face oil layer, so the analyst in me is absolutely a fan of the packed in value. I layer it over the essence and under everything else and the next morning my skin looks noticeably brighter and more even. On alternating nights I use Marie Veronique Gentle Retinol Night Serum. I love that this brand is SF-based and led by an actual chemist. It has done more for texture than anything else in the actives category and it is well tolerated even on nights when my skin feels like it wants to be difficult.
A newer addition I’m excited about is Ranavat Brightening Saffron Serum. I came to Ranavat through the Ayurvedic rabbit hole and this serum is the first thing I’ve introduced in a year that the spreadsheet is genuinely enthusiastic about—it’s addressing the dullness and uneven tone in a way that feels cumulative rather than immediate, which is how I know it’s actually doing something. My moisturizer is Youth to the People Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream. For under my eyes I use Augustinus Bader The Eye Cream—dark circles are the thing I am most focused on and most frustrated by, and while I can’t say for certain if this is working on that, it is one of the nicest feeling eye products I’ve used. It took me a long time to justify the price, but it’s a feeling that I keep going back to.
Once a week — the big night
Hair mask night. I mix Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Mask with a few drops of Olaplex No.7 Bonding Hair Oil as the booster, clip it up, and leave it on while I do everything else. For my face I use the Sahajan Adaptogenic Brightening Mask—which is another Ayurvedic find when I was looking for a mask that contained turmeric. It’s thankfully not as yellow as I had feared, more like an off-white cream. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d keep reaching for it at home: after a long week of screen time and bad sleep, my skin gets a specific kind of fatigued—dull, slightly tight, a little grey—that this mask addresses directly. It’s a shot of zest.
SLEEP AND WELLNESS
Sleep is the thing I track most obsessively and do least well. I aim for eight hours and average closer to 6.5, which my Oura ring flags as a problem every single week. I tried magnesium glycinate for a while but my stomach genuinely couldn’t handle it—even the gentler formulations left me uncomfortable, which defeated the purpose entirely. Our on-site nutritionist at work mentioned the MIJA Sereno Velo Magnesium Spray when I told her of post-workout muscle cramps. I’m always skeptical of transdermal magnesium claims, but I’ve been using it for two months now, spraying it on my legs before bed, and my sleep quality has measurably improved. And no muscle cramps. To be honest, I wasn’t sure on this, but the mechanism works and I’m going to keep using it.
A Question for the community
I came to Ayurvedic beauty through research and it has genuinely changed my routine—Ranavat and Uma have become favorites. But I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. If you’ve found Ayurvedic or South Asian-founded brands that have actually moved the needle for you, especially on the eye area and brightening, I want to know!
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