Learn about the benefits and uses of lavender essential oil. Find out practical ways to use it in your daily life.
Scientific Name: Lavandula angustifolia
Aroma: Floral, sweet, herbacious, balsamic, and woody undertones
Botanical Family: Lamiaceae
Extraction Method: Steam distillation from flowering top
Key Constituents: Linalyl Acetate, Linalol, Cis-Beta-Ocimene, Trans-Beta-Ocimene, Terpinen-4-ol
Lavender essential oil is one of the most well-known essential oils, and is often known as the “Swiss Army Knife of Essential oils” because of its versatility! Lavender oil has been used extensively for thousands of years as a fragrant addition to baths and laundry, and as a culinary and medicinal herb. It is a wonderful essential oil for beginners, because it pairs well with most other essentials; and because it is a gentle essential oil that can be safely used with all ages. Lavender has calming, relaxing, and balancing properties to support your body physically and emotionally. Whenever you think of lavender essential oil, I want you to think of the word: calming. Anytime you need some physical or emotional calming support – lavender is the essential oil to remember! It has a variety of benefits and uses, from skin care to relaxing routines. These benefits come from the constituents within the plant. (If you do not know what constituents are, you can read my Constituents Made Simple post here.) This essential oil can infuse and enhance many areas of your everyday life; and it is a must-have for every home, as you will see below!
“Lavender is for lovers true”
~ Clement Robinson
Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil:
Skin Benefits
Lavender’s anti-inflammatory properties are wonderful for soothing minor skin irritations. It is a cleansing essential oil that can support the healing of minor wounds. Lavender is great for soothing itchiness, and it nourishes skin. It is also a great choice to use on your face, as it may help reduce acne and soothe breakouts. Lavender promotes youthful skin – which means you may notice less wrinkles and a smoother complexion. I personally love using lavender daily on my face. Because it is a gentle essential oil, it is perfect for my sensitive, dry, and acne prone skin.
Hair Benefits
Lavender contains properties that regulate sebum, which is an oil that coats and moisturizes your skin. This in turn may help reduce dandruff. Lavender’s anti-inflammatory properties may help soothe scalp irritations like dry, inflamed skin or dandruff. One study found that using lavender, rosemary, cedarwood, and thyme essential oils together even encouraged new hair growth when messaged into the scalp daily. These are some of the reasons that we use lavender in every hair care product for the entire family.
Sleep Benefits
Lavender is calming to both the body and mind, so it is a wonderful choice of essential oil to use at bedtime. It has been used for centuries to help people with their sleep struggles. One study found that using lavender as a form of aromatherapy before bed helped improve the quality of sleep. All subjects in the test reported higher vigor the morning after. It was also shown that lavender increased stage 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep. The conclusion of this study showed that lavender serves as a mild sedative that has practical applications for promoting deep sleep. Simply put, lavender works to help you sleep longer and better. It has become a favorite essential oil of ours to use at bedtime to help everyone wind down.
Emotional Benefits
Lavender is very calming to the mind, which means it can help balance our emotions. Floral aromas are known for lifting your spirits and making you feel happy. For example, one study found lavender helped stabilize PMS and menopausal emotions in women. Ultimately promoting the mind and body health of women. Applying lavender topically can help create a sense of mental or emotional calm as the aroma stays close to you. Another amazing study found that using lavender essential oil topically helped reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. Our family enjoys using lavender in a diffuser, as well as topically, to encourage a calm and relaxed state whenever our kids are wound up.
Internal Benefits
When taken internally, lavender essential oil contains antioxidants that help protect the body against free radicals. It’s important when using an essential oil internally that it is labeled for internal use. This is why we use Young Living lavender vitality essential oil. Ingestion of lavender essential oil allows you to receive the cleansing and antioxidant properties from lavender that can support your overall wellness. Such as supporting a normal and healthy immune system. Lavender also contains anti-inflammatory properties, which are wonderful for any area of the body that is inflamed. This can be skin to joints and anything in between! It is well known that lavender is calming to the senses. Because of this, lavender can relieve many kinds of tension in the body.
Aromatherapy Benefits:
Aromatherapy has been used in cultures like Egypt, Rome, and China for thousands of years. These cultures used aromatherapy for medical and religious purposes, and they were known to have both physical and psychological benefits. Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils through smelling the aroma and topical application to naturally support the body in specific areas.
Aromatic Use:
Diffusing is a great way to use essential oils aromatically. By using lavender essential oil in a diffuser, you can help create a tranquil environment around your house. It is conducive to calming down the senses when you are trying to unwind. Lavender has a wonderful aroma to help calm the senses anytime you feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, or overly excited. Diffusing lavender right before bed is especially great when you want help getting a good night’s sleep.
Topical Use:
Lavender is one of the best skin-supporting essential oils. It provides many amazing skincare benefits when applied directly to your skin. It is well known for cleansing, soothing, and nourishing the skin in many situations. Lavender is soothing to minor skin irritations or wounds, and is a great choice for soothing skin after a long day in the sun. Applying lavender topically is not only beneficial for skin health, it is also an easy way to support our emotional health.
Safety:
True Lavender is often adulterated with hybrid lavender (lavendin), synthetic linalol and linalyl acetate, or synthetic fragrance chemiclas like ethyl vanillin. Keep out of reach of children. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult a health professional prior to use. For external use only. Keep away from eyes and mucous membranes.
Uses of Lavender Essential Oil:
- Soothe skin irritations: Make a Skin Soother roller bottle blend. You can find my recipe here.
- Support minor skin injuries: Add lavender, frankincense, and copaiba essential oils to a 10 ml roller bottle topped off with carrier oil. Use dilution chart above.
- Mood/emotional support: Combine lavender, chamomile, and bergamot to a 10 ml roller bottle topped off with carrier oil. Use dilution chart above. For menstrual support check out my Pretty Woman roller bottle recipe here.
- Help relieve muscle tension: Put 4-6 drops of lavender into 1 cup of Epsom salts, mix it, then add to your water for a relaxing bath or foot soak.
- Help soothe dry, itchy, or irritated skin: Add 4-6 drops of lavender to 1 cup of ground oatmeal, mix it, then add to your water for a soothing bath. (This is wonderful for little ones who have irritated bottoms.)
- Help soothe and nourish your delicate facial skin. Make my simple Glow Serum featuring lavender and some other skin supporting oils.
- Add a refreshing and relaxing floral twist: Add 1-2 drops of lavender vitality to your tea or lemonade.
- Extra calming support: Carefully place 2 drops of lavender vitality into a capsule and top off with a carrier oil like olive or avocado. You can take it as part of your bedtime routine, for extra antioxidants, immune support, or anytime you need some extra help calming down.
- Relaxing massage: Use 2 drops of lavender essential oil with 1 tablespoon of massage oil (I prefer this one because it is so smooth and clean).
- Calm down before bed: Simply place a drop or two of lavender on the bottoms of your feet and message it in.
- Uplift the air around you: Choose, and make one, of my simple room sprays that contains lavender to spritz on linens, furniture, or around your room.
- Enjoy lavender’s floral aroma: Create your own perfume with lavender to spritz on, or use a lavender roller bottle.
- Support healthy hair: Make my simple Healthy Hair Spritz featuring lavender and some other hair supporting essential oils.
- For Seasonal Support: Try diffusing the “Seasons Change” blend below. You can also make a 10 ml roller bottle of lavender, peppermint, lemon, and copaiba essential oils according to dilution chart above. (You may want to omit peppermint for children under the age of 3.)
- Sleep support or to aid in calming: Try diffusing lavender in the diffuser with some other essential oils.
Favorite lavender essential oil diffuser blends:
Seasons Change
1 drop peppermint essential oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops lemon essential oil
Laundry Day
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops eucalptus essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
May Flowers
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops geranium essential oil
4 drops bergamot essential oil
At the Lake
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops rosemary essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
April Showers
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops vetiver essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
Give Thanks
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops orange essential oil
4 drops frankincense essential oil
“Forgiveness is the smell that lavender gives out when you tread on it.” ~ Mark Twain
*Constituents are naturally occurring compounds in plants that give them specific health-supporting properties. Therefore, proper extraction is important when making essential oils to assure that these constituents remain intact.
References:
- The Aromatherapy Encyclopedia, Schiller, Carol & Dave (2012) Basic Health Publications, Inc.
- Essential Oils Desk Reference 8th Edition, (2019) Life Science Publishing
