Each season has its own share of skin, beauty and health woes. As we all know!  Whether you are going abroad or staying at home, these are the natural products and plant based holistic remedies for summer health & beauty. Things to take with you to get you through the summer.

Think of it as your go-to summer first aid kit (or something like that!). But after suffering with sunburn along my hairline, and a few bug bites of my own this month I thought some natural & holistic plant remedies for summer would be useful.

The very early days of Spring are the first time we see wild herbal plants after the Winter. Nettle, cleavers, chickweed and dandelions are some of the earliest wild plants you can find growing, These herbs also happen to be some of the most beneficial for Spring health and wellbeing.

As we step into Spring after the cold and dark days of Winter. Days which were hard on both our minds and bodies, it is a perfect time to refresh and renew.

I am a huge advocate of herbal and holistic treatments for health and wellbeing. But I can tell you if you are taking herbal medicines while also weekly drinking alcohol, eating highly processed foods, takeaways, food high in salt, sugar, and neglecting the whole fresh foods (like fruits and vegetables) that are full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, then you are wasting your time!!

Allergies and allergic reactions can make life really uncomfortable! If you’re dealing with any autoimmune illness one of the side effects can be an elevated immune system, meaning that your body’s response to irritants (like pollen) can trigger off the charts reactions from hives + rashes to swollen itchy eyes, excessive congestion and running nose, and even flu like symptoms.

Depending on what you are allergic to allergies can start as early as February with tree catkin pollen, but it’s usually the summer months that tends to be the time when allergy symptoms are worst.

(If you are unlucky enough to suffer from tree, grass, AND flower pollen, or find a whole host of irritants cause you an allergic reaction, you may spend the better part of 5 months to a year with allergy symptoms).

In this post I will cover the Natural remedies, not just for Hayfever, but that address the root causes of the body’s immune response, as well as covering some of the best natural remedies for relieving allergies and their symptoms.

Although it sounds pretty ironic considering plants are causing the symptoms, plants can be used as a cure too!

Nettle is still one of my favourite (and underrated) wild herbs. Not only is it full of nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need to be healthy (in fact, it probably contains more vitamins and minerals than the foods we buy from the supermarket!) but it is also hugely beneficial to the health of our skin and hair too.

Nettle Benefits for Hair

Nettle benefits for hair include promoting hair growth and even treating hair loss.

In fact, nettle is one of the oldest recorded remedies used for treating and preventing hair loss…

Our skin is the biggest organ of our body, vital for our health and wellbeing, and yet often gets neglected or is an afterthought when it comes to skincare + our beauty regime.

Our body uses the skin’s permeability as one of four ways to release + excrete toxins (the others being our breath, urine + stool). Without these channels of eliminating waste, toxins, excess hormones, foreign bodies + germs the body can become overwhelmed, inflamed + out of balance.

OR

Imbalances within our body; such as hormone imbalance, can often show up in our skin condition as the body works to fix the problem or get rid of toxins that are causing imbalance internally.

This can look like acne, breakouts, oily or dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, rashes and irritation…

Winter can be tough.

When you suffer from long term or ongoing illness winter can feel extra hard on your mind and body. Aches and pains become more pronounced, the cold can be an extra layer of exhaustion, and the lack of daylight has a tendency to affect our mood and immunity…

It’s so important at any time of year to have a routine that helps you not only feel and stay healthy, but also gets you excited to start the day & means that you approach every day with the best mindset, energy, and intention possible.

That doesn’t have to be the same routine all year round though. Your routine should shift and change to naturally align with the changing seasons and the changes these being about in your body, health, and wellbeing needs.

There are many elements contributing to a woman's monthly cycle and bleed that can make it uncomfortable. Most of these are caused by an imbalance of hormones. Treating period pain can be approached in a few different ways — dealing with the immediate discomfort from both an internal and external approach, AND dealing with the underlying root causes and imbalance.

Natural remedies for period pain

There are a number of supplements you can take, as well as massage techniques you can use with essential oils and in your baths that relieve period pain.

Cramps and painful periods, known medically as Dysmenorrhea, plague many women. Sometimes so severely that it can disrupt even the simplest of day-to-day tasks. Treating symptoms naturally and gently using the natural remedies for period pain here, is better for you and your body than using chemicals and over the counter pain killers.

Menstrual cramps should be treated like any other muscle cramps. Your aim is to relax the muscles as much and as quickly as possible…

Sometimes hormones are the underlying root cause of our ongoing health problems and we don’t even realise it.

Because hormones work with and affect every system of our body, and work in such delicate balance they can negatively impact so many aspects of your health, life + wellbeing…

Welcome to part two of this hormone series, covering the general aspects of your moon cycle + using herbal medicine as a natural cure to treat all your hormone imbalance as a whole to improve problem symptoms.

Rosehips are abundant at this time of year, their ruby red skins a welcome burst of red brightness as we head into autumn.

Once we’ve had the first frost they are perfect for picking. The birds and wild animals like eating these sweet berries too, so don't forget to be mindful of leaving plenty for them too...

Rosehips are full of vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids, vitamin E, and a few other compounds that are good for you. The rosehip benefits are many and varied.

Healing Rosehip Benefits

The contents of rosehips mean they have a lot of healing properties for you any your body, especially during the autumn and winters seasons.

For more on Autumn health + wellbeing read my last blog post.

As with everything in nature Mother Nature is very clever, and everything has its season for a reason. The things that grow naturally in each season of the year contain all of the vitamins and essential nutrients your body needs at that time to be health and strong! Including rosehips.

I’ve written a lot about stress recently not just because it’s a huge cause of cfs/me + burnout. But also because it’s one of THE biggest causes of illness and health struggles in our modern world. Previous posts including:

The different types of stress

6 Steps to reduce and manage stress

What happens to your body when you’re stressed

Stress is NOT meant to be a long term situation, and adrenaline and cortisol are dangerous hormones to have in your system for an elevated stretch of time.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to help reduce the effects of stress and support the body as it deals with the effects of stress.

As well as lots of holistic ways to support the body nature has also provided us with beautiful plants that work to support your body as it deals with stress, AND heal the negative effects of stress.