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Lavender Essential Oil

I've seen a lot of "Top 10 Essential Oil" type lists, and Lavender Essential Oil is typically amongst the first few oils listed. Lavender Oil was the #1 favorite oil chosen by AromaWeb's visitors during the Favorite Essential Oil poll. And it's no wonder. Lavender Oil has a beautiful, versatile aroma. It is anti-bacterial and is a must-have for your first-aid kit. Its calming and sedative properties make Lavender Essential Oil a wonderful oil to help relax, fight stress and to promote sleep. And when properly diluted, it's amongst the safest of essential oils.

Lavender Oil is often the first essential oil that is used to help recover from burns. René-Maurice Gattefossé is the French chemist that first coined the term aromatherapy (Aromathérapie). As AromaWeb's History of Aromatherapy describes, Gattefossé burned his arm. A large container of Lavender Essential Oil was the closest fluid near him. By reflex, he plunged his arm into the Lavender Oil. He discovered that his arm healed quickly and did not scar. He began to study and write about the medicinal properties of essential oils after he discovered how the Lavender Oil helped heal his burn.

Lavender Oil is a floral, but I've spoken with men that love the aroma, especially when combined with other oils. For men's blends, try blending Lavender Essential Oil with oils from the citrus, mint and conifer families.

Lavender Essential Oil is well known for its sedative properties and for its ability to help calm stress and anxiety and to help promote sleep. If used in excess, however, Lavender Oil can actually act as a stimulant.

Lavender Oil is a great oil to use for children's minor cuts and scrapes because it is anti-bacterial, calming and is considered safe enough to use with children. It is the essential oil of choice used in AromaWeb's Boo Boo Juice recipe.

I've only mentioned a few of the most popular uses for Lavender Oil here. Additional uses for lavender are listed below.

If you've never smelled Lavender Oil before: I still remember the moment that I first inhaled Lavender Essential Oil. I was actually a little disappointed in the aroma, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was so brand new to aromatherapy at that time, and my nose had been so used to strong, synthetic commercial fragrances. But it didn't take long for me to like...and then to absolutely love Lavender Oil. I'm mentioning this to you now so that you don't hastily abandon Lavender Oil if you don't like it the moment that you first sample the aroma.

Lavender Oil

Botanical Name: Lavendula officinalis Common Method of Extraction: Steam Distilled Color: Clear with a Tinge of Yellow Consistency: Thin Perfumery Note: Top/Middle Strength of Initial Aroma: Medium

Aromatic Description: Lavender Oil is floral, fresh, sweet, herbaceous and sometimes slightly fruity. It can be slightly camphorous.

	Lavender Field

Lavender Oil Uses: Acne, allergies, anxiety, asthma, athlete's foot, bruises, burns, chicken pox, colic, cuts, cystitis, depression, dermatitis, dysmenorrhea, earache, flatulence, headache, hypertension, insect bites, insect repellant, itching, labor pains, migrane, oily skin, rheumatism, scabies, scars, sores, sprains, strains, stress, stretch marks, vertigo, whooping cough. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 56-67.]

Constituents: Linalyl Acetate, Linalol, Terpinenol, Cineole, Beta-Caryophyllene, Farnascene [Shirley Price, The Aromatherapy Workbook (Hammersmith, London: Thorsons, 1993), 54-5.]

Safety Information: Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand does not indicate any special precautions when using Lavender Oil. [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 207.]

Important Note: The essential oil information provided within the Essential Oil Properties & Profiles area is intended for educational purposes only. This data is not considered complete and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

General Safety Information: Do not take any essential oils internally without consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Do not apply undiluted essential oils, absolutes, CO2s or other concentrated essences onto the skin. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use essential oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and give children only the gentlest oils at extremely low doses. It is safest to consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using essential oils with children. A skin patch test should be conducted prior to using an essential oil that you've never used before. Instructions on conducting a skin patch test and more safety information can be found by visiting the Essential Oil Safety Information page. For very in-depth information on essential oil safety issues, read Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand and Tony Balacs. 

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