Spring Attunement: Natural Tips to Prepare for Spring

Spring is widely referred to as a time of re-awakening. As the flowers start to bloom and the temperatures rise, we shed those heavy winter layers (both literally and figuratively) and feel naturally lighter and more energised. So it is the perfect time of the year to spring clean from the inside out and create new beginnings as we transition into the warmer months. To make it easier, we’ve rounded up some of our on-call wellbeing experts to share their tips on aligning body, mind and spirit with the season.

Natural Beauty Essentials For Spring

Brightening Treatments

Want glowing skin for spring? Try some of our favourite ‘brightening’ treatments with our guide here.

Shop Seasonal Skincare

Just like food, we like to shop seasonal ‘small-batch beauty’ where the key formulation ‘food-state’ ingredients come from our most loved vegetables and fruits.

Pomegranate is rich in Omega-5 and contains the antioxidant Punicic acid, the ultimate skin cell protector. It’s a key ingredient in the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask, where the pomegranate enzymes improve the appearance of the face by eliminating dull and blemished skin cells. You can also reap the benefits of pomegranate with the Pai Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seed Organic Stretch Mark System, which helps prevent and improve the visible effects of stretching on the skin, or on hair with the naturally moisturising Boucleme Curl Cleanser.

Kale can be found in the Dr Alkaitis Universal Mask, which is a gentle but deep cleansing mask made with high quality grasses that are carefully selected for their cleansing and balancing effect on the skin. This rejuvenating therapeutic treatment fits into all skin care routines and can be used weekly.

Natural Wellbeing Products For Spring

With spring comes hay fever and a bit of summer holiday prep, so we thought we’d share our top tips for gentle spring cleaning. Eastern medicine has shown us that each season is connected to two or three organs that will benefit from a bit of additional support; spring truly is the season for mind and body renewal. Unfortunately, hay fever is a common condition at this time of year and hence the best time to enhance detoxification pathways, primarily the liver and gallbladder. This will ensure toxins are cleared effectively, reducing allergy symptoms and promoting radiant skin.

Simple but Effective Remedies for Hay Fever

Vitamin C is imperative for its anti-histamine properties. The Synergy Co Pure Radiance C capsules utilise a mix of camu camu, acerola, blueberries and rosehip to provide an entirely natural source of vitamin C for maximum bioavailability, compared to synthetically derived vitamin C.

Include cleansing fluids by increasing consumption of chlorophyll-rich substances such as Synergy Organic Spirulina or Synergy Organic Chlorella. Spirulina has demonstrated the ability to significantly improve symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Try including it in a refreshing smoothie with coconut water, frozen mango and vanilla Coyo.

Try switching to a natural perfume this spring. Not only will it boost your mood but it will also help you eliminate synthetic chemicals in your current perfume that could be exacerbating your allergy symptoms.

Natural Remedies for Treating Hay Fever

Does springtime equal sneezing, swollen eyes, sore threat and drowsiness? You’re not alone! The NHS estimates that hay fever is one of the most common allergic conditions, with more than 10 million people suffering from it in England alone.

To help you relieve your symptoms naturally, we asked Nutritional Therapist and Medical Herbalist Jennifer Derham to reveal her top tips. She says: “Hay fever is a type of allergy that occurs when your immune system reacts to substances that are ordinarily harmless, and can be either seasonal or year-round. Hay fever is triggered by pollen from trees, grasses or weeds, fungal or mould spores, dust mites, pet dander or cockroaches. The main symptoms include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes.

There are a number of plant medicines which have long been used to help control allergic symptoms: Elderflower has been used traditionally as a mucolytic to help reduce the production of mucous and clear nasal congestion. Nettle acts as an anti-histamine due to the high amounts of histamine found in the nettle hairs, and helps reduce the amount of histamine the body produces in response to an allergen. Nettle has also been shown to inhibit several key inflammatory agents that cause the symptoms of hay fever as well as helping to reduce itching eyes and sneezing. Eyebright contains a chemical called aucubin, proven to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. It has long been used to help relieve various hay fever symptoms including chronic sneezing, profuse watery nasal flow and streaming eyes.”

Other Considerations

Strengthen your immune system. Simply limiting or eliminating sugars and grains from your diet can help greatly. Regular exercise is also very important and can help prevent allergies from forming in the first place. Research has been shown that the rate of hay fever among inactive kids is more than double that of healthier, more active youngsters.

Make sure you have plenty of omega-3 fats in your diet from fish and krill if possible, as omega 3 helps reduce both the allergic and inflammatory responses.

Take a good probiotic, like the Biokult 14 Strain Probiotic, with high levels of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics help to support the immune system generally and have been found to help raise levels of IgG, an antibody shown to play a protective role against allergic reactions.

Use a natural spray throughout the day to relieve allergy symptoms including stuffy nose and watery eyes. Try the homeopathic product Weleda Hayfever Relief Spray for oral use.

For Mind & Soul

Just as we spring clean and detox our body, we believe it’s equally important and beneficial to spring clean our minds from negative thinking and bad habits with an introspective practice. To advise us, we asked yoga and wellbeing expert Jane Kersel to share her favourite springtime ritual.

Spring is also an ideal time to tackle new projects. What better way than to unleash your creativity? We asked yoga teacher Michaela Olexova to help us via yoga – get her practice information here.