With lavender and its wonderful essential oil, you can make relaxing natural remedies, for period or headache, acne, lice … and much more!
- What is the best lavender essential oil
- Properties of lavender essential oil
- What is lavender essential oil for?
- How to Use Lavender Essential Oil
- 1. For stress and anxiety
- 2. Sleep better
- 3. For the skin
- 4. For headache, menstrual or muscle pain
- 5. For lice in children
- Contraindications
- Differences between lavender, lavender and lavender
Many people start using essential oils with lavender. Lavender essential oil smells great, transports us quickly to the countryside and summer, and relaxes us almost instantly.
It is not surprising, then, that lavender essential oil or lavender essence is what has given its great popularity to this rather simple and discreet plant. The properties of lavender essential oil are so numerous that it has come to be considered as one of the most complete aromatherapy remedies.
There are several types of lavender or related plants, but here we refer to the essential oil obtained from office lavender or Lavandula angustifolia.
Do not confuse this lavender essential oil, obtained by distillation, with the flavored lavender oil, which can be easily made at home. In this video we explain how to make your own homemade lavender oil, so you can enjoy the benefits of lavender easily and effectively.
WHAT IS THE BEST LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a plant that belongs to the labiadas family and is believed to be native to Persia. The natural habitat of this lavender is mountainous areas, where it thrives between 800 and 1,900 meters of altitude. It blooms in summer, between July and August.
There are numerous writings that, in times past, mentioned lavender and its properties, but it is not really known exactly what lavender they were referring to, because in those times different types of lavender were used indifferently: cantueso (Lavandula stoechas), lavender (Lavandula spica) or office lavender, as they grew in each place.
Lavender essential oil began to be produced in the early sixteenth century, in the south of France. From the twentieth century the demand for this essential oil increases considerably and will begin to be produced in countries such as England, the Balkans, the United States and Tasmania, among other places. In Spain, the well-known Brihuega fields in Guadalajara are mostly lavandula (Lavandula x hybrida) fields.
It is common to confuse lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with lavender (Lavandula spica) and lavandin (Lavandula hybrida) and also their essential oils, but it is relatively easy to distinguish the three plants if you look at the details. At the end of this article, you will find more detailed information on how to distinguish them.
What we are interested to know here is that lavender and lavender essential oils have similar biochemical compositions; In contrast, lavender is chemically different. That is why it is so important not to confuse it with lavender essential oil: we would not get the expected relaxing and sedative results.
Therefore, it is not that one lavender is better than another but that they have slightly different compositions and properties and their applications vary.
PROPERTIES OF LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
There are multiple factors that influence the aroma of lavender essential oil: the origin, the mode of cultivation, the origin of the seeds (clones or wild). These factors can also affect the properties of lavender essential oil.
At the therapeutic level, lavender essential oil is attributed the following properties:
- Relaxing and sedative properties: It is perhaps the highlight of lavender essential oil, which makes it very suitable for stressful situations, to promote sleep and combat insomnia, to calm anxiety.
- Anti-pain properties: They are responsible for one of the best-known benefits of lavender, that of relieving different types of pain, such as headache or menstrual pain.
- Antimicrobial properties
- Hypotensive properties: Lavender helps regulate blood pressure by activating a specific potassium channel in the blood vessels that favors their dilation and reduces blood pressure. It also calms, which also helps keep blood pressure at bay.
- Properties for the skin: Lavender essential oil is also a valuable remedy for healing different types of wounds and burns and is recommended to treat certain types of eczema and to soothe itching.
WHAT IS LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL FOR?
Due to its properties, lavender essential oil is especially useful for:
- Combat stress, anxiety and nervousness.
- Improve sleep problems and night’s rest.
- Relieve pain such as headache, menstrual pain or muscle aches such as stiffness or contractures.
- Regulate blood pressure, both for its hypotensive effect and for its action on the nervous system.
- Promote skin regeneration, for example in mild skin burns due to contact with something very hot, sunburn, scratches or chafing.
- Soothe itchy skin and improve certain types of eczema on sensitive skin.
- Improve psoriasis, helping to heal the skin, reduce inflammation and relieve itching.
- Improve acne.
- Prevent lice in children.
HOW TO USE LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
Lavender essential oil can be used in several different ways:
- In an aromatic diffuser placed in the room or other room of the house or in the office.
- Applied to the skin with a massage, usually diluted in a vegetable oil or pure, with caution and following the instructions of a specialist. It can be applied diluted in the belly for menstrual pain, in the temples for headache, in the back to relieve a contracture…
- With a roll-on, conveniently diluted in a vegetable oil, to apply on wrists and behind the ears.
- Placing a few drops on the pillow in the bedroom, to promote sleep and rest.
- Orally, always following the instructions of a specialist
Let’s see below how to use lavender essential oil in more detail in each case and what to mix it with to enhance its effects or facilitate its use.
1. FOR STRESS AND ANXIETY
As we have seen, thanks to its sedative and anxiolytic properties, lavender essential oil can be a great remedy to relax in situations of stress, anxiety and nervousness.
- If you have a tendency to have anxiety, it is best to take the essential oil orally for three weeks. In the morning and evening, take 2 drops diluted with a little olive oil and keep them under your tongue for a few seconds. If you do not like the taste, try lavender capsules: you can buy them at your usual pharmacy.
- If you feel nervous or irritable and don’t get a good night’s rest, try using a roll-on. There are different sizes, those of 5 ml are very practical. Put 15 drops of lavender essential oil on the roll-on and complete with jojoba vegetable oil. Apply to wrists and behind ears as many times as needed.
2. SLEEP BETTER
There are other ways to use lavender essential oil to relax, especially indicated to sleep better or combat insomnia:
- Put an essential oil diffuser in the bedroom. Using lavender essential oil in an essential oil diffuser can be a great help to rest better. Put it on half an hour before going to sleep. You will have to adapt the number of drops depending on the type of diffuser you use: if it is a diffuser that works with water, calculate about 15 drops. If it is a nebulizer, then simply place the essential oil bottle directly on the diffuser adapter.
- Put a few drops on your pillow. Place a couple of drops on your pillow just before you go to sleep. For a while you will inhale its volatile compounds and it will help you relax and fall asleep.
- Relaxing self-massage. If you feel a lot of nervous tension, try self-massage with lavender essential oil on your hands, neck and feet. To do this, add 2 drops of lavender essence to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (jojoba or sesame, for example) and take the opportunity to breathe calmly and deeply. Enjoy!
2. SLEEP BETTER
There are other ways to use lavender essential oil to relax, especially indicated to sleep better or combat insomnia:
- Put an essential oil diffuser in the bedroom. Using lavender essential oil in an essential oil diffuser can be a great help to rest better. Put it on half an hour before going to sleep. You will have to adapt the number of drops depending on the type of diffuser you use: if it is a diffuser that works with water, calculate about 15 drops. If it is a nebulizer, then simply place the essential oil bottle directly on the diffuser adapter.
- Put a few drops on your pillow. Place a couple of drops on your pillow just before you go to sleep. For a while you will inhale its volatile compounds and it will help you relax and fall asleep.
- Relaxing self-massage. If you feel a lot of nervous tension, try self-massage with lavender essential oil on your hands, neck and feet. To do this, add 2 drops of lavender essence to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (jojoba or sesame, for example) and take the opportunity to breathe calmly and deeply. Enjoy!
IN CASE OF PSORIASIS, SCRATCHES AND CHAFING
Lavender essential oil is also useful for healing wounds such as scratches or chafing. It can also help improve psoriasis thanks to its healing, anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.
- In a 10 ml jar, mix 10 drops of lavender essential oil with calendula vegetable oil.
- Apply 3 to 4 times a day on the wound.
IN ACNE
Lavender essential oil usually gives good results in treating acne. We can use it alone or mixed with other ingredients.
If you have only a few grains, you can use pure lavender essential oil on each granite.
If, on the other hand, you have many grains, we will prepare a mixture with aloe vera gel and jojoba vegetable oil:
- In a 30 ml bottle, put 20 drops of lavender essential oil, add aloe vera gel halfway through the bottle and complete with jojoba vegetable oil.
- Shake well before each application.
This preparation can be used morning and night and will serve as a moisturizing non-greasy emulsion.
4. FOR HEADACHE, MENSTRUAL OR MUSCLE PAIN
Lavender essential oil is credited with pain-relieving properties. It can be useful in different situations:
- Menstrual pain: Lavender essential oil is helpful in relieving menstruation pain. To do this you have to apply 4 drops of lavender essential oil (undiluted) on the lower abdomen every 15 minutes 4 times in a row. Then you can space out depending on how you find. It is normal to notice significant relief after the first 4 applications. You can also combine it with exotic basil essential oil in this other anti-pain rule formula.
- Headache: Another well-known use of lavender essential oil is also to relieve tension headaches, applying it to the temples and neck. Apply 1 drop of essential oil (undiluted) to each temple and 2 drops to the back of your neck. Repeat another application 30 minutes later. Then you apply depending on how you are. You can also combine lavender with peppermint essential oil in this other headache formula.
- Laces and contractures: Muscle soreness and contractures are easy to relieve with lavender essential oil. To do this, you have to apply 4 drops of essential oil diluted with a little arnica oil. Repeat every 20 minutes 4 times in a row. Then you see spacing depending on how you are.
5. FOR LICE IN CHILDREN
It is very common to use tea tree for the purpose of avoiding lice. If you think about it and remember what this essential oil smells like, I think you’ll understand why I encourage you to switch to lavender essential oil: it’s so much nicer and your kids will thank you for the change!
Lavender essential oil repels lice and is a great preventative.
- Put 3 drops of essential oil on your hands and rub them before passing them through your son’s or daughter’s hair.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
Lavender essential oil has no contraindications or toxicity at the doses usually recommended in aromatherapy.
Respecting the indications and precautions for use, lavender essential oil can be used on children. Also, during pregnancy, lactation and in babies.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAVENDER, LAVENDER AND LAVENDER
Looking at the morphological differences of each plant, we can easily distinguish them in the field or the medicinal nursery:
- Flowers and leaves of lavender and lavender: Lavender and lavender are very similar plants; they are distinguished by the stems of the inflorescences and by the size of the leaves.
- Look at the stems: In the case of lavender, the stem is triple forming a trident. In lavender we will only observe a single stem.
- The differences against lavender in: Lavandin is born from the natural cross between lavender and lavender. It is a sterile plant; the stem of the inflorescence is also trident-shaped. The inflorescence is noticeably longer than that of lavender and lavender.
- They grow in different places: Another important fact when distinguishing them is their habitat. Lavender and lavender grow below 800 meters of altitude; Lavender, on the other hand, does not support low altitudes and grows above 800 meters of altitude.
- The cantueso: from the same family, it also tends to generate confusion, but its flower is very different and smells slightly thyme. It is also known as thyme borriquero.
