Hi friend, Happy Spring Equinox!
Can you feel the shift in energy? The bubbling of creativity?
As we transition from the introspective slow nature of Winter, the energy of Spring brings renewed vitality and growth. However, this shift can be met with resistance, leading to a feeling of “stuckness”. Our Spring skincare and practices focus on clearing energetic channels, stimulating lymphatic movement to ease the burden on the skin, and releasing what no longer serves us to make room for new growth.
The Wood Element & Spring
As Tolstoy tells us, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
And Traditional Chinese Medicine agrees. In TCM, Spring is associated with the Wood element. Growth that sprouts from deep roots. The Wood Element governs the Liver & Gallbladder which we’ll discuss in more depth throughout the Spring. We tend to think of wood as sturdy and strong, which it is, but its strength comes as much from its flexibility as it does from its deep roots and sturdy trunk.
Trees teach us about this ability to stay adaptable, open to change, flexible while also being rooted, resilient, and sure of who we are. Energetics that are reflected in the Wood element, especially this time of year. Where have you become rigid? How do you stay connected to your roots while staying soft enough to be open to evolving?
Rebirth & Renewal, Our Inner Waters
This beautiful season of Spring also calls us to emerge. While it may not literally look beautiful, there’s often dirty snow and lots of grey days, its beauty is reflected by what’s humming just beneath the surface, just below the soil. Spring is this time of rebirth & growth, of emerging from our own watery depths.
Elemental Water, is the emotional body, made up of our actual, present emotions as well as those stored as energy and memory within us. It's the element represented in Feminine wisdom, intuition, and it is symbolized by The Moon in the Tarot. Water invites us to surrender, flow, change shape. Water might rage like the stormy ocean or it might trickle like late-summer creek. But it is always ever-evolving. Just as we are.
Our inner waters are largely tied to our fluids, including blood, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluid as well as the primordial waters from which we were born. The lymphatic system is made of a fluid called lymph that consists largely of plasma and white blood cells. This fluid moves throughout our bodies in rivers, which is why I refer to it as your inner waters. Think of your lymphatic system like plumbing. When your drain gets clogged, toxins pool up in different areas of the body (like your lymph nodes) and cause issues throughout the body because the lymphatic system touches every other system including the immune, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems. This buildup is lymphatic congestion.
Click here to find an embodied ritual to move stagnant energy.
Spring Skincare
Have you noticed your skin tends to get a bit rough, irritated, or more reactive as we transition from Winter to Spring? Seasonal shifts often show up on our skin.
As we enter Spring, our bodies are naturally detoxifying, clearing, and getting all those fluids moving in order to refresh our organs, skin, and connective tissue. A little internal Spring Cleaning if you will. You can support your natural purification process and move stagnant energy by doing things like drinking lots of water, facial gua sha, massage, moving your body, and using seasonally appropriate skincare.
Spring brings with it shifts in weather, humidity, diet, our environment, and perhaps even our daily activity level. Some common things that can arise during this seasonal shift include breakouts (as the weather warms & our skin detoxifies), inflammation (allergies anyone?), dry & dull skin, and more sun exposure (as we get outside more often & humidity levels drop).
Our Spring Skincare Collection focuses on stimulating lymphatic movement to assist the skin’s natural detoxification process, calming inflammation caused by allergies and other environmental shifts, and feeding the skin with nutrient-dense plants.
The Wild Grace Spring Collection:
Vesper Cleansing Oil: Regenerative ingredients like Calendula, Grape Seed, and Geranium our Cleansing Oil boosts circulation for both blood and lymph, reducing stagnation and inflammation for a deeper detox for all skin types, especially acne-prone skin.
Sirenis Cleansing Balm: This Cleansing Balm deeply cleanses, assisting in your body’s natural detoxification process, and naturally moisturizes without disrupting your skin's delicate acid mantle. Shea butter and Rosehip seed oil restore lipid barrier function. Hemp seed oil works beautifully to soothe inflammation in the skin. Our Cleansing Balm also works beautifully for facial massage to gently move stagnant lymph and can even be used for facial gua sha.
Rosa Purifying Mask: Cooling and astringent plants like Burdock Root, White Willow Bark, Yarrow, Lemon Balm, & Fennel can help soothe redness and inflammation to support the skin through this seasonal shift. Gentle purifying clays can help reduce congestion, overactive oil production, and enlarged pores.
Calendula Hydrosol: Calendula hydrosol can help to soothe and calm irritated skin, reduce inflammation, and provide antioxidant protection against free radical damage. It’s also brilliant at supporting the lymphatic system, gently encouraging lymphatic movement to take some of the burden off the skin.
Rose Hydrosol: Rose hydrosol can help to hydrate and brighten the skin, leaving it looking and feeling refreshed. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that can help to soothe irritated or sensitive skin, making it suitable for all skin types.
Solis Antioxidant Serum: Contains a blend of oils rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals including Cranberry Seed, Rosehip, Raspberry Seed, Macadamia Nut, and Argan Oils to feed your skin. High in antioxidants, this serum protects the skin from environmental stressors like UV radiation.
Aura Face Balm: A high antioxidant and lightweight balm formulated to provide intense nourishment for all skin types while providing protection from the elements. Aura is especially for those experiencing dryness, as well as after-sun care.
Aurora Breast Oil: Made with lymph-loving botanicals like Calendula and Red Clover paired beautifully with demulcents like Violet leaf and Seaweed supports breast tissue and moves stagnant lymph.