Lavender got its name from the Latin word “lavare” or ‘to wash’. The ‘to wash’ is important because of how many people used it in baths to clean both your spirit and body. This flowering herb has been documented in use for more than 2,500 years and the use of lavender oil is still popular today. Lavender was even mentioned in the Bible as ‘spikenard’ which was its name at that time.

Rich families in ancient Egypt used lavender for embalming, medicines, cosmetics, and massage oils. A Greek physician by the name of Theophrastus wrote of lavender’s healing powers. It was the Romans that started to use lavender for cooking and keeping insects at bay, as well as an air freshener. The Romans also used lavender for health issues as well.   

Lavender was used all through the middle ages for bath oils, perfumes, medicinal uses, and dyes.

How are Essential Oils Made?

There are a couple of different ways to make essential oils, and the process is probably what makes them so costly.

What’s probably the easiest way to make essential oils is through distillation. You boil the freshly gathered plant in water and the steam is captured to be pushed through a tube and quickly cooled. The steam, once condensed back into the water is separated from the oil.

 

Lavender Oil Health Benefits

1.  Stress Relief

Lavender oil is amazing for calming people down when they are suffering from depression, stress, migraines, and anxiety. The scent of the oil has a calming effect on the brain. You can use a diffuser that you buy at the store.

Or, if you are short money, you can make a diffuser of your own. All you need is a small glass, bottle with a cap, a fourth cup of sweet almond oil, bamboo reeds (skewers work as well) and 25 or so drops of lavender oil. You put the reeds in the oil mixture and wait couple days for the mixture to move up the sticks. If you use the skewers, you might need to wait a little longer because of the thickness.

2. PTSD

PTSD is a bigger concern than most people give it credit for. You will be okay in the end, but that does not mean that it is any easier to deal with, does it? And that is all good. Using lavender oil in a diffuser or a diffusing bracelet or necklace has been found to lessen depression related to PTSD while helping you sleep more soundly and keeping moodiness down.  

 

3. Diabetes

Lavender oil is used to control weight gain; liver and kidney functions, meaning antioxidant depletion, killing free radicals that mess with needed cell membranes and fat molecules, and other dysfunctions; blood glucose levels; and metabolic disorders.

You can always use an oil diffuser, or can heavily dilute the oil in a lotion that you apply to your skin and try that as another way of using it.

4. Antioxidants

Lavender is great for fighting off colds and viruses, as well as some kinds of cancer. The antioxidants in lavender oil kill off free radicals that can later become cancer, it kills germs and bacteria, and even boosts how other antioxidants like SOD, glutathione, and catalase.

 

5. Burns and Cuts

Lavender oil has antimicrobials which can help to quicken healing time. If you think that lavender oil is taking too long, then you can add in cinnamon, clove, or tea tree oils to the diffuser as well.

 

6. Brain Functions

Inhaling the scent of lavender oil can increase cognitive activity and lessen oxidative stress. Between these two benefits, that also means a smaller chance of getting diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.

7. Pain

Diluting lavender oil into something like sweet almond oil or a lotion can calm muscle pain in the lower abdomen, dysmenorrhea, and pain related to menstrual cramps.    

 

8. Headaches

Inhaling lavender oil for even 15 minutes can help you with a headache because of the anticonvulsant in it. If you are suffering from a cluster headache, mix a little of water or a carrier oil with two drops of lavender oil and two drops of peppermint oil and rub it into the back of your neck and your temples.

 

9. Skincare

You can mix lavender oil with a carrier oil like jojoba, coconut, or grapeseed. Lavender oil, because of the antioxidants and antimicrobial can help you with acne, allergic reactions rashes, and signs of aging. Another part of what calms these are the anti-inflammatory compounds.

You can even make your own skin care ointment with three or four drops of lavender oil mixed with a half teaspoon of jojoba or coconut oil and you can rub it into the affected area. You can just add a couple drops to your body and/or face wash.

You can also make a face wash of your own with coconut or jojoba oil and adding a couple drops of lavender and frankincense oils. This will work best if you apply it first thing when you wake up.

10. Hair

 You can make your own hair mask with a carrier oil, and oils of lavender, thyme, cedarwood, and rosemary. You do not need more than just a couple drops of each essential oil. Making your own hair mask with these oils can retain volume and lessen hair loss. You want to make sure to rub this into your scalp.

You can make your own shampoo using 40 drops of lavender oil and a cup and a half of both castile soap and coconut milk. It is pretty easy to make. You just mix everything together in a bowl and put in a squeeze bottle. You want to make sure to shake the bottle every time you use the shampoo, though.

 

11. Sleep

For most people, lavender can actually act as a sedative because of how calming the scent is. The main benefit of using lavender to help you sleep instead of an over the counter sleeping pill is that lavender does not leave you drowsy, it does not have any side effects or anything that you have to worry about.

To help you to sleep faster, you can take a warm bath with a cup of Epsom salts and about 15 drops of lavender oil. This bath can help to ebb away insomnia. You can also make your own oil rub using magnesium and Roman chamomile oils with lavender. Just rub that into your wrists and the back of your neck and it should calm you down.  

12. Perfume

You can put a couple drops of lavender oil into a palmful of water and rub it into your hair or onto your wrists. You can make your own body spray with a half cup of water and a couple drops the lavender oil. You can actually use this spray on anything you would like to.

 

13. Lip Balm

When lavender oil is mixed with jojoba oil or shea butter, it works well to heal your lips from sunburn. If you want to make your own actual lip balm, you can do that too.

To make the lip balm, you melt two tablespoons of shea butter, a tablespoon of coconut oil and beeswax on low heat. Once those are a liquid, you add in seven drops of lavender and peppermint oils and mix them in very well. Once those are mixed in, you want to quickly the mixture in the containers you choose for the chapsticks. You then let them cool and harden in the containers or tubes.

 

14. Air Freshener

You can make this with a couple drops of lavender oil, some water, and a spray bottle. Spray it around your room, in your car, on your beddings, wherever you want to. You can even use it in your bathroom.

 

15. Flavor

While this shocking to most people, you can actually buy food grade essential oils. Food grade lavender oil can be used to add flavor to a dish while boosting your immune system. You do not need a lot of the oil either since the scent itself is so strong. You should not need more than a drop or two. If you are not sure what kind of tastes lavender oil would be good with, try adding it to things like honey, black pepper, and apples, lemon, dark cocoa, balsamic vinaigrette, or cranberries.

16. Respiratory Issues

Lavender oil can be used for asthma, bronchitis, throat infections, coughing, sinus congestion, laryngitis, whooping cough, tonsillitis, the flu, and a cold. All of this because of the anti-bacterial properties it has. You can add a couple drops of lavender oil into a humidifier, into a vapor rub. You can just rub a couple drop with a little bit of water into your chest, neck, and back. Taking a warm bath with a couple drops of lavender oil can help too.

The different healing properties in lavender oil get rid of phlegm that can help to keep respiratory tract infection trapped in your body.

 

17. Anti-Bacterial

Lavender oil can be used to fight off things like typhoid, TB, and even diphtheria all thanks to power against bacteria. All you have to do is use it in a diffuser and you can reap its benefits.

 

18. Urine Flow

Lavender oil is good for getting your urine to flow because it calms inflammation and cystitis in the bladder while correcting hormonal imbalances.

 

19. Bug Spray

Lavender oil can help to keep away bugs like midges, mosquitoes, and more. Even if these bugs do bite you, the anti-inflammatory in the oil can help to ease the annoyance of the bites. To use lavender oil as a bug repellent, all you do is mix a couple drops with a little bit of water and rub it into exposed skin.

 

20. Blood Circulation

Lavender oil triggers something in the brain that gets your blood flowing. Because of this, the lavender oil can keep blood more oxygenated, it can lower blood pressure, prompt muscle strength, lower the risks of heart attacks, and it can even keep your skin looking healthy.

Sources

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-lavender-essential-oil.html

https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/aromatherapy/how-essential-oils-work1.htm

http://chappellhilllavender.com/history.htm