Why Lavender Essential Oil

The scent of Lavender Essential Oil (EO) is one of the most recognized scents for many people with its fresh herbaceous, floral aroma. This little oil has over 100 constituents including linalyl acetate, linalol, labeandulol, etc. It’s amazing to me that how these different components are broken out in each cultivar affect the final scent that fragrance and what properties that EO will have. For example there is Lavender grown in France and there is also English Lavender- both the same species but depending on where it grows affects the chemical makeup of the plant and the final scent of the flowers and this affects the therapeutic properties of the oil.

Lavender the herb also has many beneficial qualities as well as the EO. Sewing Lavender into sachets to scent linens or in an eye pillow can help to ease headaches and help one relax to sleep. Some countries add Lavender to teas. When I visited www.sunshinelavenderfarm.com/   I had Chocolate Lavender ice cream which was really awesome. Their site also has information on planting and also recipes for using the herb Lavender.

Now Lavender Essential Oil is what I use most. I use it in several of the soaps I make – Lavender, Lavender Orange Oats, Lavender Rosemary, and Walk in the Woods Soaps. Lavender EO is a versatile oil that blends with many other scents from the citrus scents like Orange and Grapefruit, to the mints and to the really earthy oils of Patchouli  and Oakmoss.

I also use Lavender in my Soaking Salts as the EO has the noted properties of being sedative, antidepressant and analgesic which is great after a stressful day at work! If you are adding just the EO to your bath , only add about 5-6 drops to you bathwater as you will be inhaling the scent through you nose and into you skin. The best way to use it in a bath would be to mix those drops in a cup of Epsom salts or even a cup of milk to mix them better into your bath water.

Please note that EO’s are very concentrated and as the saying goes “less is more”.

Please note these are properties not prescribed by medical field but from aromatherapy sites and are anecdotal only. I also use Lavender in my lotion bars as much for the scent as for its known for being antiseptic and antibacterial which has skin healing properties. I also add a bit of Lavender EO in my herbal salve as well as Tea Tree and Blue Chamomile EO’s.

A wonderful book by Valerie Ann Worwood titled The Fragrant Heavens  talks about the spiritual dimension of fragrances and she writes about Lavender being ” caring, cherishing, and nurturing ” and an oil that uplifts the spirit. Lavender is a physically and emotionally healing oil and I hope you will welcome it into you daily life.

How have you used Lavender?