What Is Lavender?
It’s the most used and versatile essential oil in your holistic arsenal. It’s distilled from the plant Lavandula angustifolia. In case you were wondering. Lol, There are different varieties of Lavender up to 30 different species. But let’s not get to botanical; that’s not my forte.
What Can You Use Lavender For?
Well, the uses are plentiful and possibilities endless. This is one of the reasons you will love it. If you’re new to essential oils, taking the time to look up the uses every time you need one is a hassle. But your go-to is Lavender; more than likely, this little bottle of joy will do the job.
Lavender Oil has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and antiviral properties. It’s a powerhouse and is the reason it’s the must-have for your Essential Oil collection. It has a wide variety of uses.
Lavender Essential Oil Benefits
Improve Mood
Calm your nervous system by inhaling Lavender and promoting calmness and stress relief all work to improve your mood.
Relieve Stress and Anxiety
Lavender contains a sedative property that helps ease your stress and anxiety. You can apply this to your temples (for headache) or behind your ears and lower neck area, which I like to do. It brings immediate relief. Try using a rollerball dispenser to apply to these areas or even wrists. Inhaling the oil will also help; take deep breaths. Lavender is also a hypolipidemic effect. Meaning it can help lower lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides.
Promote and Improve Sleep
The aroma promotes relaxation and allows you to fall asleep. But don’t use it only on yourself; use this to bathe little ones, get them to sleep, or put in a diffuser in their room. I used this on my girls when they were babies. Worked every time. Try making spritz and spraying your sheets with Lavender before bedtime. Ahhh, nighty night.
Promote Wound Healing of Minor Cuts, Scrapes, and Burns
Lavender acts as an antiseptic and will aid in healing minor cuts and scrapes. All of its anti-properties will aid in preventing infection. Clean the wound first, then apply topically. I like to use a mix of witch hazel and Lavender and apply them to the cut. Also, it will alleviate any pain from the wound and provide anti-inflammatory relief as well. If the cut, scrape, or burn causes a scar, it can also help with minimizing the scar.
Help Hair Loss
To be more correct, it promotes hair growth. So if you are losing hair, it will help with regrowth. Massage oil directly onto the area where hair loss has occurred; it needs to be on the skin. Leave on for 10-15 minutes before rinsing. Or you can add Lavender to your hair products and use it that way. As an added benefit, Lavender will also help dandruff and dry scalp as it’s anti-microbial.
Side note I also found that using natural shampoos without sulfates, parabens, silicones, phthalates, gluten, paraffin, or propylene alleviated my dry scalp completely. See what works for you if you experience dry scalp or dandruff. It may be your shampoo/conditioners. After I started using a natural shampoo, without all those ingredients, it helped improve my naturally wavy hair too.
Mosquito Repellent
Natures mosquito repellent. You can have Lavender growing in pots and place them around your patio to help keep the mosquitos away. They do not like the scent of Lavender. So use it to your benefit. Make your spray repellent with Lavender, citronella, clove, catnip, and more.
Improve Circulation
By improving relaxation and dilating blood vessels, circulation is improved. It stimulates blood flow and allows for more proper circulation. Apply topically with a carrier oil and massage into areas impacted by poor circulation. You also get benefits through diffusing.
Lower Blood Pressure
It lowers emotional stress and dilates the blood vessels. You can use Lavender alone or mix with other essential oils that contribute to lowering blood pressure. These include Bergamot, Citronella, Frankincense, Lemon, Neroli, Ylang Ylang, and many others. Do not stop the BP medication you’re taking; add this as a layer and talk with your doctor. Read more about it here.
Help Eczema
Due to its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, Lavender helps relieve eczema. Apply topically and use after bathing. Add to lotion and apply or apply directly. I used this on my daughter’s eczema, and it helped a lot. Also, we got down to the root cause of her eczema, which is dairy.
Since she has stopped drinking milk, which she only had at school, it immediately went away. So, in addition to using Lavender, I urge you to find the trigger of eczema; this is your body talking to you. Listen to it and start the process of finding out the root cause.
Improve Skin and Acne
As mentioned above, Lavender provides antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, but it also has anti-microbial properties. That is what helps improve your acne. Lavender gets deep down and treats and heals your acne. Apply daily with witch hazel and use it as a toner. Witch Hazel by its self is a great natural toner but add Lavender and get the added benefits.
How Do You Apply Lavender?
Aromatherapy
Diffuse Lavender essential oil and take in this pleasant light aroma to soothe and relax you. Try placing the diffuser in your main living space and your bedrooms. Read this for more about essential oil diffuser blends.
Topically
Lavender is one of the few essential oils you can apply without a carrier oil. It’s gentle enough to apply directly to the skin. Or use it with a carrier oil and apply via a rollerball, glass dropper, or even put in a lotion.
Where Do You Buy Lavender Oil?
You can find this little gem almost anywhere these days, even your local grocery store, but be careful because they are not all created equal. Read more about Essential Oil brands here. Some brands include synthetics in their essential oils or aren’t pure quality.
There are always knock-offs, even of essential oils. So watch out.
Check the label; it should only have the essential oil name listed as the ingredient. You should also see the Latin name. If there are other ingredients listed, it is not pure essential oil. It may contain synthetics.
You can also check the company performs gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze the quality of the product.
What Essential Oils Do I Use?
You want to try as many as possible but don’t want to pay a ridiculous amount if you’re like me. I agree. There are quality companies out there, no doubt, but do they have to be soo expensive? I’ve tried them all; read more about my experience here.
That’s where Rocky Mountain Oils steps in, thank goodness because I was going broke trying to buy all these EO’s. You’ll love this brand, and the quality is not at all compromised. It’s a win-win. But I use other brands interchangeably all the time.
Please give Lavender essential oil a try if you haven’t already. I’ve used countless bottles since I first started using EO’s about six years ago. Use it on yourself, kids, even your little fur babies. I’ve been using it recently on one of my dogs for a skin issue. Worked like a charm.
Leave a comment and let me know how you use Lavender. I’d love to hear your ideas!
Check out Tea Tree Oil, my second most used oil, and 6 Benefits of Frankincense.
I wish you peace and guidance on your journey. Take care and be well.
Be sure to check out my Amazon Store for more and different essential oil brands. Find what works for you!
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