Why I Love Lavender
I absolutely love the smell of lavender– it inspires a heavenly state of calm and relaxation for me. As we near the end of the summer of 2021, I still find myself worried about COVID-19 and the variant, I find the lavender scent helps manage my stress.
If you’re want to grow your own lavender, in my opinion, the most enjoyable of all the herbs, you can find information on how to do so here. You’ll enjoy the dainty flowers and velvety gray-green leaves in addition to the soothing scent.
About Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender oil is made from the purple flowers of the lavender plant, primarily through steam distillation. The fragrant lavender flowers, used to make potpourri and cosmetics for centuries, have a particularly clean aroma. Did you know the Latin name of lavender is “Lavare”, which means to wash?
True lavender essential oil smells of fresh flowers and green herbs, provides balanced and valuable benefits, and is easy to use. I sprinkle a few drops into my diffuser each night to freshen my airspace and help me sleep. It’s heavenly. Sometimes I mix this the lavender essential oil with skin care oil to make a calming massage oil, body moisturizer or bath oil. It’s also great to make body scrubs; I add sugar, ground oats or almonds to a skin care oil, then add a small amount of the lavender essential oil. Take a look at our recipe for an easy DIY body scrub.
Lavender oil by is wonderful by itself, and traditionally used most often to make perfume. It also blends beautifully with other essential oils such as grapefruit, rosemary, clary sage, chamomile and orange, which is why it’s commonly used in many recipes in various forms. You can create many different products such as massage oils, gels, skin care, candles and soaps.
Lavender Essential Oil Benefits
The health benefits of lavender essential oil are many. For example:
Sleep Aid
Anxiety and Stress Reduction
The refreshing and calming scent makes lavender essential oil an excellent remedy for nerves, stress and anxiety issues. Some claim it also helps treat migraines, headaches, depression, nervous tension and emotional stress. The lovely aroma removes nervous exhaustion and restlessness while it also stimulates mental activity.
Bug Repellent
The potent smell of lavender oil helps prevent irritating bug bites. Apply some on your exposed skin when outside to repel irritating pests. If you do happen to get a bug bite, a drop of lavender essential oil has anti-inflammatory qualities that reduce irritation, redness and itching.
Pain Relief
Lavender essential oil helps relieve pain and inflammation. A regular massage with lavender oil can also provide relief from pain in the joints and muscles.
Respiratory Disorders
Some people use lavender oil for various respiratory problems including throat infections, flu, cough, cold and sinus congestion. The oil is either in the form of vapor or applied on the skin of the neck, chest and back. The stimulating nature of lavender essential oil can loosen up phlegm and relieve congestion associated with respiratory conditions, which speeds up the recovery process. The vapor of lavender essential oil has antibacterial qualities which can battle respiratory tract infections.
Hair Care
If you find lice, lice eggs or nits in your hair, try lavender essential oil to get rid of them.
Skin Problems
Use lavender essential oil to treat acne, both in young people and older adults. Add a small amount of this essential oil to other skin creams or ointments to greatly increase the potential for relief and healing of acne.
General Skin Care
The antiseptic and antifungal properties of lavender essential oil help treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions. It may also speed up the healing process of wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns because it improves the formation of scar tissues. In addition, you can add lavender oil to chamomile to treat eczema.
When to Stay Away from Lavender Essential Oil
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not use lavender essential oil. Patients with diabetes should avoid it also. Lavender oil can cause allergic reactions for people with sensitive skin. As is the case with many things, don’t overdo it; some people experience nausea, vomiting and headaches due to excessive use. Most importantly, do not ingest lavender oil; it should only topically applied or inhaled as internal ingestion may cause serious health issues.
My Favorite Lavender Honey Body Scrub Recipe
This easy DIY lavender honey body scrub is my favorite recipe using lavender essential oil. This scrub, which is especially helpful on feet, elbows and knees, gently exfoliates your skin, leaving it silky, silky and smooth. Looking to make a personal gift for the holidays? A jar of this great stuff in a jar wrapped with ribbon makes a lovely present that’s always well received. Print a personalized label to make it even more special!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup olive, almond or coconut oil
1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil (optional)
3 teaspoons honey
15 drops of lavender essential oil
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix well. Depending on how fine or course your sugar, you may need to add a little more oil until it’s a consistency you like. If the mixture feels too oily, don’t worry, just add more sugar. This recipe makes enough for about 3 4 ounce jelly jars. You can easily multiply the ingredients to make more. As this recipe contains no preservatives, it’s best to use within a month or two.
Optional: Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla for an extra scent. Also, Vitamin E is not essential to the recipe, just makes it a bit more luxurious – but still good without it)
HOW TO USE: Scoop some out and gently rub on dry areas of skin. Rinse well with warm water. Try to avoid getting water in the jar – you don’t want it to mix with the mixture (icky things might grow).
