Lavender is one of the most popular Essential Oils in the World.

It smells like clouds, dreams, cozy duvets, warm tea and a summers day all in one sniff.

We LOVE Lavender Essential Oil. It is one of the few oils that literally can be used for everything. It's properties are wide ranging so we can use it for skin care, anxiety, sleep, detoxing, immune boosting, muscle pains, Chronic Fatigue, cuts and burns.

Regarded as one of the most best and most versatile oils for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes, here are five reasons to love Lavender Essential Oil.  

1. Anxiety & Stress 

We all feel stress and anxiety to differing degrees. It's great to have something like a bottle of lavender on hand for some quick fix help.

• Inhaling Lavender oil is one of the first things to do when experiencing stress or anxiety. It's calming aroma triggers the brain to stop reacting in 'fear mode' and switch to 'safe mode'.
• Lavender improves mood and brain function. This includes emotional stress, PTSD, postpartum depression and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Lavender contains medicinal compounds of linalool and linalyl acetate, both of these have properties that are proven to calm the body and mind.
• Lavender is the base of almost every calming, stress reducing essential oil blend.

TIP: Add a drop or two of Lavender Essential Oil to your hand. Rub your hands together and breathe in deeply through your nose.  Hold a second or two and then breathe out your mouth. Instant stress relief.

2. Skin Care 

Lavender loves skin! This makes it one of the best essential oils to add to your daily skin care routine.

• It's anti inflammatory and anti microbial properties make it soothing to red or inflamed skin. You can dab a little Lavender (neat) on pimples or other inflamed skin to reduce swelling and redness.
• Repairs and hydrates dry skin.
• Anti aging benefits as Lavender promotes collagen production and cell regeneration.
• A perfect addition to any blend for eczema and psoriasis.

TIP: Add 10 drops of Lavender Essential Oil to a bottle of Witch Hazel to make your own toner. Shake and spray over skin after washing.

3. Sleep

Sleep is one of the basic necessities of life. We need it, and most of us aren't able to turn our brains off long enough to enjoy a good nights sleep. Lavender to the rescue!

• Inhaling lavender calms the mind. When the mind is calm, the body is allowed to relax and sleep.
• Lavender contains naturally occurring chemicals that sedate and calm, good for all ages.
• Lavender can be used by inhalation, diffusers, roll ons or a few drops in the bath before bed.
• A study on college students found that using lavender oil improved the overall quality of sleep by 60%. This included length of sleep, time it took to fall asleep, restfulness and reduced symptoms of insomnia.

TIP:  Add a 20 drops of Lavender to 1 Tbsp carrier oil, leave in a bowl by your bed. Rub a little of this sleep oil on your wrists, temples and under your nose.  Breathe in and sleep. This oil can be applied to the bottoms of feet of children for the same effect.

 

4. First Aid Kit

Lavender is anti inflammatory, anti microbial, anti bacterial and analgesic. All the properties perfect for your first aid kit.

• Cuts: Lavender can be applied neat to cuts. It's anti microbial, anti bacterial and anti inflammatory properties make it perfect to clean the wound.
• Sprains: You can add Lavender oil straight up on a sprained or damaged ligament. It reduces pain and swelling. Best if you can combine with some carrier oil first.
• Burns: Lavender is a go-to for burn treatment. It will speed healing of burns and reduce swelling and scarring.

TIP: Apply a drop of Lavender straight on a bug bite to reduce pain and itching and speed healing.

TIP: Apply a drop of Lavender to a blemish to reduce redness & swelling.

 

5. Muscle Pain

Lavender is an anti inflammatory, analgesic and anti spasmodic, making it perfect for natural pain control.

• Lavender is a perfect addition to relieve the pain of headaches. Most headaches begin with neck tension, so apply lavender diluted to the back of the neck.
• A massage oil containing lavender can be used after rigorous sports or workouts. The anti spasmodic and anti inflammatory properties give those tired muscles some calming love.
• Chronic fatigue and other Auto Immune diseases cause the body great pain. A bath in Epsom salts and Lavender give great relief.
• Recovering from surgery or injured bodies can be a painful process. A little lavender in a massage oil can provide much needed relief.

TIP: Add 10 drops of Lavender to 1 cup of Epsom Salts. Use the whole cup in a hot bath. Your aching body will thank you.