Or, maybe, gooseberries will help clear up your goosebumps - plus lots of other skin problems.

That's Indian gooseberries, also known as amla. Botanical name: Phyllanthus emblica. (No relation to the European gooseberry.)

Amla is well-known as a plant food and spice with amazing health properties, though - so far - most Americans haven't heard of it. Yet, the same nutritional power that makes it an extremely healthy food also makes it an extremely healthy skincare nutrient.

What is the Indian Gooseberry or Amla

Amla is a small, light yellow-greenish berry. It grows on small trees throughout India and the entire region. It's been used both as a food and a medicine for longer than anyone can date.

When I first investigated it, the owner of my local Indian-Pakistani grocery tried to sell me a package of frozen gooseberries, which looked stringy - a lot like wild onions. 

Frankly, unless you grew up eating it as a child, you probably won't like the bitter taste. However, your local South Asian grocery probably carries dried amla - the berries, ground up. It's a strong-tasting, dark brown powder. The best way I've found to consume it? Add a teaspoon to a smoothie. You can find it for sale in bulk on Amazon.

Indians mix it with salt and chili powder. They also make sweet snacks out of it, plus add it to pickles and chutneys - which your local Indian grocer may carry if you'd like to try it.

Food companies also sell liquified amla extract. That extract is being added to skincare ingredients to take advantage of amla's extremely high ORAC value of 261,500.

(That's short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - which measures how strong a substance is as an antioxidant.)

At 261,500, amla is one of the most powerful antioxidant fruits on Planet Earth, second in skincare ORAC power only to astaxanthin. Its ORAC of 261,500 is fifty times stronger than blueberries.

Clearly, it contains unusually large amounts of plant antioxidants and polyphenols.

In India, amla has been used both as a food and a component of Ayurvedic medicines for thousands of years. That includes skin and hair care.

Why is Amla So Healthy for Skin and Hair?

Its extremely high ORAC value is your clue. 

With every day that goes by, we all get one day older - and our skin reflects that.

However, it's not just about time itself. Although that's an important factor causing skin aging, the biggest problem is what our skin is exposed to on a near-constant basis: air pollution, dry air, dust, smoke, particles, excess humidity, chemicals in the water we bathe in, chemicals in our clothes and in the personal care products we use plus - of course - the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.

All of the above degrades our skin, creating free radicals that damage the cells of our skin and wear away at the strong protein that makes up our skin - collagen.

Those free radicals that damage our health and appearance are oxidants.

Our protection against oxidants/free radicals is antioxidants.

Amla is extremely high in antioxidants.

Therefore, amla is extremely powerful at protecting your skin.

One antioxidant component of amla is Vitamin C (twenty times more than an orange). Studies have shown Vitamin C guards your skin against the photoaging effects of both the UVA and UVB rays in sunlight. It's also useful in treating hyperpigmentation - dark spots.

Another Useful Property of Amla

It boosts production of collagen.

Collagen is the basic structural component of your skin, making up most of your skin's bulk and weight.

Unfortunately, unless you're still in your 20's, your skin probably doesn't have as much collagen as you'd like. The environmental wear and tear our skin experiences every day gradually grinds collagen down. As the years flow by, we lose the ability to produce as much as we did in our 20's.

As we lose collagen, our skin sags, and displays wrinkles, crow's feet and fine lines, so we look just plain older.

If you want to look younger than you now do, you need to boost your supply of collagen. "Feeding" your skin an amla extract is a great way to do that.

Increasing the production of collagen also enhances wound repair. 

What's Good for Your Skin is Usually Good for Your Hair Too

And amla is no exception.

According to a study done in 2012, amla may inhibit the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase, which contributes to hair loss.

In animal studies, amla helped grow hair.

How to Put Amla to Work Youngifying and De-Aging Your Skin and Hair

Don't neglect eating a little every day. Your skin needs nourishment from the inside out, and amla is a powerful nutrient that will improve your health in many ways. Unless you know how to use it in Indian cooking, though, I suggest adding a teaspoon to a smoothie. Or - 

You can also consume it as a juice. That's also available on Amazon, and possibly your local Indian/Pakistani grocery. One Amazon reviewer said she didn't much like the taste, but it makes her hair grow "like crazy." Try adding a small amount to grape juice or other beverage you enjoy.

Some skincare products contain amla extract. Make sure the product is all-organic. Additional antioxidants, especially Vitamin E, work in conjunction with amla, for even more effective results. Also, you still want to use a high-quality, organic moisturizer. Follow the directions to include Amla in your daily and nightly skincare routines.

To improve your hair's health and beauty, try using amla oil on it. Follow product directions.

https://www.amazon.com/Ayurveda-Gooseberry-Natural-Vitamin-Organic/dp/B004XTCN7C

https://pharmeasy.in/blog/amla-juice-benefits-for-skin-a-comprehensive-research-based-overview/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22178180/

https://superfoodly.com/orac-values/

https://puritywoods.com/2023/08/30/amla-extract-benefits-for-glowing-skin/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/