Close your eyes. Imagine you’re inhaling the perfect aroma. What is it? Hopefully, it’s not the Thanksgiving dinner table. Go deeper. Think outside. Flowers, maybe?
Lavender, the pretty, purple flower found in the Mediterranean, India, and parts of southern Europe (and Sequim, WA!) has long held high-esteem. It’s a member of the mint family and has a pleasurable fragrance--the essential oil derived from lavender is a sweet and potent oil.
Keep reading to learn more about the all the ways you can use the beautiful lavender plant.
Lavender Essential Oil Uses: Skin Benefits
1. Fight Acne
Sufferers of acne understand how the numerous products on the market make it hard to figure out what's genuinely useful. Well, lavender oil keeps it simple. Typically, you wouldn’t think to fight acne with oil, as the build-up of oils is usually the culprit behind the unfortunate condition. Lavender oil, however, is an anti-bacterial. It can literally fight the bacteria that can clog pores.
2. Anti-fungal
Some scientists in Portugal found that lavender oil has anti-fungal properties as well. Skin infections can be the result of a reaction to fungi. Using plant material from the Lavandula genus, and isolating the oil in a controlled compact, the oil was put to the test and found to inhibit a reverse reaction to fungal diseases. Lavender oil can be added to the skin undiluted, making it a safe topical solution.
3. Anti-inflammatory
Campers, hikers, and other nature-lovers might want to consider taking lavender oil along with them on their next adventure. In addition to its strong anti-bacterial properties, it can also treat insect bites and wounds because it is also an anti-inflammatory. Lavender essential oil can administer relief to irritated skin reddened by the sun or an insect bite.
4. Detox
Lavender oil also works as a great detoxifier. Add some to your bath water with Epsom salt and let it work its magic. The mixture helps to relieve sore muscles and reduce inflammation in stiff joints. Lavender oil cleanses the skin and leaves your body with a soft glow. It’s the perfect remedy after a long day.
Science Indicates Lavender May Offer Neurological Advantages
Since ancient times, oils used were used therapeutically for several mental and emotional conditions. Lavender shows up with its amazing aromatic abilities as a mood stabilizer, sedative, and treating anxiety. A study done on people with anxiety disorders were given lavender for six weeks, and patients showed increased mood and decreased psychological distress symptoms. Linalol, potent alcohol found in lavender extracts, can be transformed into a vapor which, when smelled, triggers relaxation.
Lavender’s superior calming benefits can help you sleep better. You can find cute boutique hotels and DIY home-makers singing the praise of placing lavender on your pillow to induce a calming relaxation for a sweet snooze. It smells so amazing you may be inspired to hug your pillow a little tighter. A few drops of lavender essential oil placed in your eye mask before catching some z’s is a fantastic idea for long-haul flights--imagine that lovely fragrance as you drift off among the clouds!
Lavender essential oils are stocked in many specialty shops, yoga studios, and massage parlors. It’s almost too easy not to find. In vapor form or straight from a bottle, lavender oil seems to make the air you breathe a little sweeter immediately. It soothes the nervous system with minimal application. Your nose and brain is happy--how’s that for a win-win?
And now, add all those fantastic benefits into a creamy little bar.
A Lovely and Magical Skin-Care Product
Far too many commercial soaps include chemicals you wouldn’t dare want to put in your body, and surely not on your skin.
A non-inclusive list found triclosan, formaldehyde, parabens, and DEA, among others commonly used in our favorite beauty bars. Skin is our largest organ and deserves the same consideration we give to our insides. Some soap makers have heralded the chemical-free soap mission to include amazing products for the skin that look beautiful and sound like a dessert for your skin. Come on. Lavender, rosemary, and vanilla in a soap -- the combination sounds nothing short of extraordinary!
For some health and beauty enthusiasts, lavender oil is liquid manna.
From liquid soap to hand bars, lavender oil in soaps create a yummy lather and leaves your skin feeling soft. Lavender liquid soap is not only good for the body but is biodegradable, so it’s also good for the environment. Find some French lavender soap with its fragrant aromas and transform into a true Parisian of sophistication.
In a process known as saponification, lye is used to inhibit the chemical reaction that turns the mixture into a soap. With organic ingredients like oats, goat’s milk, honey, and plant butters, lavender soap is the upgrade your skin didn’t know it needed.
You’ll wonder why you never treated your skin to more luxury before. They can be as simple or fancy as you like, but the benefits are the same. Just make sure the soap uses quality
distilled lavender oil (not the same lavender essential oil you find in your local grocer).
Treat Yourself!
Not to mention, lavender bars are just beautiful. The soft purple lavender plant in a bar is as pleasing to the eye as it is on the skin. There’s a reason Queen Elizabeth herself insists on using lavender as a perfume and even for her tea.
They’re perfect gift ideas, or as an addition to your bathroom’s decor. The pretty purple flower sets the mood for relaxation, then you lather it up to add on all the amazing benefits mentioned above.
Scoop up any of the lovely variations available in at shops like this one. Lavender essential oil soap is the beauty secret you'll be glad you know.
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