Lavender Essential Oil Uses
- Aching Muscles
If you’ve spent a back-breaking
afternoon in the garden, jump into a lavender bath to soothe aches &
pains away. Apply Epsom salts & a few drops of Lavender Oil to the bath and soak away the tension.
- Acne
Lavender is one of the most valuable oils for the
treatment of acne, according to aromatherapists. “It inhibits the
bacteria that cause the skin infection, helps to re-balance the
over-secretion of sebum, which the bacteria thrive on, and reduce
scarring”. Add a few drops of lavender oil to a plain cream sold by
chemists and use as a moisturizer or cleanser.
- Bugs & Bacteria
French laboratory
studies in the early 20th century showed that lavender is a powerful
antibacterial in dilutions of 5 per cent or less it is lethal to
bacteria that cause typhoid, TB & diphtheria. Combined with Lemon
Balm, for its clinically tested anti-viral properties. - Burns (minor)
After you have cooled
the area by immersing it in running cold water for 5 minutes, gently
stroke on neat lavender oil. Pain relief is almost immediate, and burn
usually heals without scarring. - Cuts & Wounds
Apply lavender oil to sooth pain, prevent bacterial infection and aid scar-free healing. Apply neat.
- Earache
Warm a bottle of lavender oil
in hot water for a minute or two, then gently massage a few drops into
the skin around the ears and throat. For babies & small children,
add 2-3 drops of the warmed oil to a little olive oil and massage in the
same way. - Eczema
Stroke infused lavender oil (a
few drops of lavender oil & carrier oil) into dry, itchy skin—small
children will find this especially comforting or add a few drops of
lavender oil to calamine lotion, shake before use. - Fatigue
Add 5 drops of lavender oil
to a hot foot bath and relax while your feet soak in it. The soles of
the feet are particularly porous, so lavender reaches your bloodstream
very quickly, exerting its stimulating and soothing effects on various
systems of your body. - Fevers
For babies or small children,
sponge them down very gently with tepid water to which you have added a
drop of lavender oil. Take care not to let them get chilled. This works
for adults too. - Giddy Spells, Faintness or Palpitations
Make your own smelling salts—sea salt , lavender oil, peppermint oil & basil oil. - Headache
The distilled water of
Lavender (Hydrosol) Mist around your head, is refreshing and soothing.
Alternatively, make a compress of a piece of cause or muslin soaked in
icy cold water then sprinkled with a few drops of lavender oil and apply
to the forehead, or massage a few drops into the forehead, temples and
nape of the neck. - Insomnia
In a number of small
studies, elderly psychiatric patients have been shown to sleep better
and be more alert during the day when their sleep medication is replaced
with lavender oil either dropped on their pillows, or placed in a
diffuser on the ward. To help to induce sleep, put 3 or 4 drops of
lavender oil on your pillow. For babies, add 1 drop of lavender oil
& geranium oil in carrier oil and massage into a babies back or a
few drops in their bedtime bath. - Long-Haul Travel
Combine lavender,
rosemary, Neroli, frankincense & clary sage, into your hand luggage
and roll it over your pulse points to help you keep a clear head during
those endless hours in the air. - Menstrual Cramps
Massage a few drops of lavender oil into your lower abdomen or apply a hot compress onto the area, which a little lavender oil has been sprinkled.
- Moths & Mosquitos
These
annoying little insects all hate the smell of lavender. To prevent
bites, splash yourself with lavender hydrosol before you go out at
sunset or to bed, put 3-4 drops of oil on your pillow or soak cotton
wool ball in the oil and leave it on a saucer in front of the window.
Lavender oil is also a terrific remedy for insect bites, soothing
itching & inflammation: dab it on to them neat as soon as possible.
To keep moths off your clothes, hand lavender bags on you coat hangers
or keep them among your sweaters and refresh them with a drop or two of
lavender oil from time to time. - Scabies
This infestation by a tiny
mite burrowing into your skin causes intense itching. Rub the whole body
with neat lavender oil, then following every day until better with a
mixture of lavender oil and alcohol. Change and wash bedding and clothes
and sprinkle lavender oil on the mattress. - Shingles
Combine a mix of lavender
oil with, analgesic, antiviral & scar preventing essential oils neat
or on compresses on the agonizing lesions of shingles. It usually
produces a cure within 5-8 days. - Sinusitis
Lavender is one of several
essential oils that aromatherapists recommend for inhalations to relieve
sinusitis, add two drops of lavender & thyme oil to a bowl of
near-steaming water and inhale slowly and deeply, with a towel over your
head & bowl. - Stress & Anxiety
Keep a spritzer
of Lavender Mist – Hydrosol handy to spray on your face during the day,
or apply lavender oil neat to your temples. - Sunburn
Spray pure Lavender Mist –
Hydrosol directly onto the skin or Add 8 drops of lavender oil and 4
drops of peppermint oil to a teaspoon of jojoba oil. Pour it into a
cool-to-lukewarm bath and soak for 10 minutes.
