Spring is here and boy did she hit with us with all the good things we appreciate the most: more sun, longer days, nicer weather, fresh flowers and the list continues….Spring also brought with her some annoyances as well, like pesky bugs and lots and lots of thick, yellow pollen! I read the other day that this year has been the highest pollen and spore count in this country in years! I don’t know about you but I have never been as effected by spring allergies as I have been this year. BUT there are ways in which we can arm ourselves against mother natures “friends”. Keep reading :)
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Raw Local Honey For Allergies
One of the goals of this blog is to try and give you (and myself) some healthy alternatives to over the counter drugs and products. Those products aren’t natural and contain chemicals that we can’t read, let alone know or trust to protect our bodies. When allergies strike, I know it’s so easy to reach for drugs like: Zyrtec or Allegro to ease the symptoms but those only mask them for a short duration. Local, raw honey on the other hand can cure your allergies altogether if you plan ahead.
The honey bees make the honey using the pollen from local plants and flowers. You must eat local honey from the area that you live in because you are essentially digesting all of the pollen and microbes that make the seasonal allergies your body comes in contact with; thereby allowing your body to get used to these enzymes. It is recommended that you eat the honey during the winter months so that your body has enough time to adjust before allergy season fully hits.
DIY Natural Bug Spray
Remember that our skin is the biggest organ in our body and it's really important to be mindful of what you put on your skin. That's why I like to use natural, organic, essential oils to make my own bug spray when I know I will be outdoors! The mixture listed below is my own personal favorite. I know there are a lot of DIY natural bug spray recipes that you can draw upon but these are just my favorite because they smell so good and work well for my skin chemistry. You can play around with different oil mixtures to find the right fit for you. An added bonus is that they also smell so good that you can definitely rock the scent as your perfume!
Here’s my mixture:
I mix a few drops of each essential oil with some witch hazel as the base in a small glass darkly tinted spray bottle.
Essential Oils: Citronella, clove, lemongrass, rosemary, tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender, spearmint, peppermint, and cinnamon.
Essential Oil For Bug Bites
As spring arrives so do the bugs. All we want to do is be outside and enjoy the warm weather after being stuck inside during all those cold winter months! Bugs can certainly put a damper on our outdoor plans. These little creatures are so annoying in big part because a lot of people and animals get bitten! But luckily there are some essential oils that can help soothe your bitten up skin.
Lavendar
Eucalyptus
Tea Trea
Peppermint
Rosemary
Thyme
It is recommended that you use a base oil, which is an unscented oil (like almond or coconut oils) and mix it with a couple of drops of any of these essential oils. You can also mix these essential oils as they all have antimicrobial, anti-fungal and inflammatory properties.
Your turn! Drop me a line below letting readers know what you use essential oil for and which ones are your favorites.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Mari
