Oh Lavender, sweet sweet Lavender! This is probably one of my favourites for sooooooo many reasons! It is probably (not an actual statistic) the most widely used essential oils out there! It has so many uses, so here’s a few that I use it for regularly, and some others…
Healing
It’s ability to heal the skin so much faster is incredible, every time I am about to get a cold sore and I catch it at that tingly state, I can almost just end it there with a few applications, and if I didn’t catch it in time, it significantly decreases the time that thing is on my face with cutting down healing time! Burns, it is amazing at fighting a burn, quick story – cooking supper and it required me to heat my pan with the broiler on high for 20 mins, took it out, went to spin the pan around so I could hold it with my opposite hand, grabbed that handle with me bare hand and wow did that hurt, right to the bathroom where I keep it, (more on why it’s in my bathroom later) and just dump it all over my hands neat (no carrier oil used to dilute, because you shouldn’t put fatty oils on a burn as they keep the keep in and can be worse) and instantly it took the pain away, there was no redness after a few minutes and not a single mark on my hand, where I’m pretty sure that would have done some damage with a cast iron handle! Cuts, scraps you name it, Lavender has you covered!
I once had a client that had a by-pass surgery done and they needed to use the vein from his leg for the by-pass, well he’s diabetic so his healing isn’t great, especially in the legs where he has less circulation, they tried all kinds of prescribed creams and ointments, extra mural (home care) would come in and change his bandages and nothing would heal this now hole in his leg because it went on for so long, so at the 9 month mark I said, ‘Tom why don’t ya just humour me and put some of this on, morning and night’, so he did and that hole was healed over completely in under a month! Magic folks, magic! Actually no it’s nature but that’s magic in itself right?!
I don’t want to bore you with all the scientific jargon but the anti bacterial and anti fungal properties in this oil are incredible for healing and should be kept in your house hold, for simply this alone!
Aromatherapy
Lavender is widely used in aromatherapy, for its calming de stressing effects, as a Massage Therapist, this one gets requested often, and I have to say I do enjoy it myself and really adds to the relaxation setting, EO’s reach the bloodstream thousands of times faster than medications, or anything that depends on blood circulation for its effects, so you can be sure to feel the calm pretty quickly in a session, leaving you relaxed for a long time afterwards!
Sleep
Lavender is definitely well known for its calming effects and it ability, to help with sleep, anxiety and some forms of depression. Some will just add a few drops to a cotton ball and stick it in the pillow case at the bottom, some will diffuse it right in the room, I don’t love this method in the bedroom because it should still be in a better ventilated space, and I find when I did I had a lot of dreams, and I was awake more than I normally would have been, too much brain activity going on in there maybe, who knows! But I will sometimes just dab a touch under my nose for the night! Some people add it to their skin care routine (I only recommend adding any essential oils to lotions and creams that are made naturally, just because essential oils are natural doesn’t mean they’re not potent and when mixed with synthetic chemical, they can cause a skin reaction, so stick to natural, which you should be do8ng anyway, remember this stuff is going into our skin,and then our blood stream, and filtering through our organs and tissues, one word -cancer, all the shit (food, skin care, cosmetics) going in our systems for the past however many years is surely contributing to the mass amounts of cancer we se today, again not a statistic or a fact, but come one, how can’t it be?) anyhow tangent over… so yes if you add it to your creams, then some will find it’s just enough at bedtime to help induce sleep a little faster and a little deeper!
Aromatics
So let’s just say right off that it smells amazing! I remember I used to say ugh lavender, smells so gross and old, well that was man made synthetic lavender, with nothing natural about it! Now different story, I have people tell me aaaallllll the time, ‘I could smell Lavender the other day and swore you were in the room’, or they smell lavender amd are like ‘mmmm this smells like Abby’ even little kids! It’s so great I love that! My daily use for Lavender is in my armpits, say whaaa? Yup, so I use a crystal deodorant, or salt stone, as it is, and it doesn’t have any smell to it, so I put a couple dabs under the ol’ pits for the extra ‘smell fresh’ effect! (This is why it’s in my bathroom mostly) If you’ve never tried it you should, anti perspirant means anti perspire means anti sweat?! Like yea it’s not always the greatest bodily function, but we have to do it, and yes just because it’s go8ng under our arms doesn’t mean we aren’t sweating everywhere, but the armpits are an important area that needs to release toxins, we have so many lymph nodes that pass through this area, we don’t want to leave any extra toxins lying around to accumulate or be picked up and moved around to let’s say breast tissue, just for example! Just want to add, no judgment here at all, I’m simply trying to educate anyone that might not be aware of this information, as there was a time that I was in the dark too!
Most essential oils should be diluted with a natural carrier oil or cream, you can find all kinds of ratios online depending on the size amounts you’re using. These are probably the most common uses for Lavender, there are many more, as they’re used as additives in lots of things, and can also be used in proper amounts for cooking.
Lavender is grown all over the world but the most common areas you see it grown are, France, Bulgaria, Greece, South Africa, Spain and many more, but these are some off the largest for commercial Oil production, but you can buy your very own lavender plant and still reap some of the benefits, without steam distillation! But if you want to give that a try, feel free!
So in short, buy yourself some Lavender Essential Oil, keep it stored I. A cool dark place and enjoy, it’s got you covered in many areas!
***Disclaimer***
*Essential Oils should never be used in place of proper medical treatment if something major is going on, it’s generally safe to use at the same time as most medications, from all of my reading and courses I’ve taken over the years, but there are always precautions to take!
* Please make sure that you are using 100% therapeutic grade essential oils. This matters big time, some companies (shakes fist) will use additives, or are using oils that have been compromised in some way, to cute costs. So please know what you’re buying!
So this wraps up my first Essential Oil of the Week segment, and if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to reach out at…
Thanks for stopping in,
~Abby
My Humble Abode 