Lavender essential oil: all its properties and uses

Many people start using essential oils with lavender. Lavender essential oil smells wonderful. immediately transports us to the countryside and summerand relaxes us almost instantly.

It is not surprising, then, that lavender essential oil or lavender essence is the one that has given this rather simple and discreet plant its great popularity. 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 the officinal lavender or Lavandula angustifolia.

Do not confuse this lavender essential oil, obtained by distillation, from the lavender flavored oil, which can be easily done at home. In this video we explain how to make your own homemade lavender oil, so that you can enjoy the benefits of lavender in a simple and effective way.

What is the best lavender essential oil?

The lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) It is a plant that belongs to the labiatae 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 above sea level. It blooms in summer, between July and August.

There are numerous writings that, in past times, mentioned lavender and its properties, but it is not really known exactly which lavender they were referring to, since in those times different types of lavender were used indifferently: the lavender (Lavandula stoechas)he lavender (Lavandula spica) wave officinal lavenderas they grew in each place.

He lavender essential oil began to be produced at the beginning of the 16th century, in the South of France. Starting in the 20th century, the demand for this essential oil increased considerably and it began to be produced in countries like England, the Balkans, the United States and Tasmania, among other places. In Spain, the well-known Brihuega fields in Guadalajara are mostly fields of lavandins (Lavandula x hybrida).

It is common to confuse the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with the lavender (Lavandula spica) and the 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 in knowing here is that lavender and lavandin essential oils have similar biochemical compositions; instead, lavender is chemically different. That is why it is so important not to confuse it with lavender essential oil: we would not get the relaxing results and expected sedatives.

Therefore, it is not that one lavender is better than another but that they have slightly different compositions and properties and their applications vary.

Lavender essential oil properties

They are multiple factors influencing aroma of lavender essential oil: the origin, the way of cultivation, the origin of the seeds (clones or wild). These factors also can affect the properties of lavender essential oil.

At a 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.pain-relieving properties: They are responsible for one of the best-known benefits of lavender, that of relieving different types of pain, such as headaches or period pain.antimicrobial propertiesHypotensive properties: Lavender helps regulate blood pressure by activating a specific potassium channel in blood vessels that favors their dilation and reduces blood pressure. It also calms down, which also helps to keep blood pressure at bay.Properties for the skin: Lavender essential oil is also a valuable remedy to heal different types of wounds and burns and is recommended for treat certain types of eczema and to soothe itching.

What is lavender essential oil used for?

Due to its properties, lavender essential oil is especially useful for:

fight stressanxiety and nervousness.Improve sleep problems and night rest.relieve pain such as headache, period pain or muscle pain such as stiffness or contractures.Regulate blood pressureboth for its hypotensive effect and for its action on the nervous system.Promote skin regenerationfor example in minor skin burns from contact with something very hot, sunburn, scratches or abrasions.soothe itching skin and improve certain types of eczema on sensitive skin.improve psoriasishelping to heal the skin, reduce inflammation and relieve itching.Improve acne.prevent lice In the kids.

How to use lavender essential oil

Lavender essential oil can be used in several different ways:

in a diffuser aromatic placed in the room or another room of the house or in the office.Applied to the skin with a massage, normally diluted in a vegetable oil or pure, with caution and following the instructions of a specialist. It can be applied diluted on the belly for menstrual pain, on the temples for headaches, on the back to relieve a contracture…with a roll onconveniently 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.Orallyalways following the instructions of a specialist

We are going to 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 be anxious, it is best to take the essential oil orally for three weeks. In the morning and at night, take 2 drops diluted with a little olive oil and keep them under the tongue for a few seconds. If you don’t like the taste, try the 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, the 5 ml ones are very practical. Put 15 drops of lavender essential oil on the roll-on and complete with jojoba vegetable oil. Apply on the wrists and behind the ears as many times as you need.

2. To sleep better

There are other ways to use lavender essential oil to relax, especially indicated to sleep better or fight 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. Turn it on half an hour before going to sleep. You must 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 it is enough to place the bottle of essential oil directly on the diffuser adapter.Put a few drops on your pillow. Put 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 doing a 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!

3. For the skin

Lavender oil has many applications for the skin. We will not use it in the same way in all cases.

In minor burns

Who has not ever been burned cooking? These usually mild skin burns are resolved very well with the application of lavender essential oil.

Apply 1 to 2 drops of oil lavender essential oil (undiluted) on the burn after having cooled the area, for example by running the burn under water. Repeat the application after about 20 minutes and again after about 30 minutes.The next day continue applying 3 or 4 times by diluting 2 drops of lavender essential oil with a little St. John’s Wort oil.

on sunburn

Another type of burn that you can soothe with lavender essential oil are sunburn. Then, dilute 2 drops with St. John’s Wort oil and apply to the affected area.

In case of psoriasis, scratches and abrasions

Lavender essential oil is also useful for heal wounds such as scratches or abrasions. In addition, it can help improve psoriasis thanks to its healing, anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.

In a 10 ml bottlemix 10 drops of lavender essential oil with calendula vegetable oil.Apply 3 to 4 times a day in the wound.

in acne

Lavender essential oil usually gives good results to treat acne. We can use it alone or mixed with other ingredients.

If you have only a few grains, pure essential oil of lavender can be used on each pimple.

If, on the contrary, you have many pimples, we will prepare a mixture with aloe vera gel and jojoba vegetable oil:

In a 30 ml bottle, put 20 drops of lavender essential oiladd aloe vera gel to half the jar and complete with jojoba vegetable oil.shake well before each application.

be prepared can be used morning and night and will serve as a non-greasy moisturizing emulsion.

4. For headache, menstrual or muscle pain

Lavender essential oil is said to have pain-relieving properties. It can be useful in different situations:

period pain: Lavender essential oil is helpful in relieving menstrual pain. For this you have to apply 4 drops of lavender essential oil (undiluted) in the lower abdomen every 15 minutes 4 times in a row. Then you can go spacing depending on how you find yourself. 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 formula against menstrual pain.Headache: Another well-known use of lavender essential oil is also to relieve tension headaches, applying it on the temples and on the neck. Apply 1 drop of essential oil (undiluted) to each temple and 2 drops to the nape of the neck. Repeat another application 30 minutes later. Then you see applying depending on how you are. You can also combine lavender with peppermint essential oil in this other headache formula.Aches and contractures: Muscle cramps and contractures are easy to alleviate with lavender essential oil. For this, you have to apply 4 drops of essential oil diluted with a…