Unexpected benefits of lavender essential oil (Lavender). Do you know?
Lavender is one of the world's best-known flowers, above all in the fields of France. Most people know lavender as a beautiful flower, but few know it also has some surprising benefits for our health. To learn more about what this remarkable flower can do, read on.
Getting to know lavender
What is lavender?
Lavender is a strongly scented perennial shrub native to North Africa and the Mediterranean. Its scientific name is Lavandula, from the Latin lavare, meaning to wash (or to bathe).
Thanks to its clean fragrance and insect-repelling properties, lavender is a widely used herb. It grows in a great many places around the world and is cultivated to produce essential oil and to harvest the flowers. Lavender oil is used in making cosmetics and as a herbal remedy.
Lavender is a strongly scented perennial shrub.
What lavender is used for
Lavender oil is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. It can help heal minor burns and reduce irritation from insect bites and stings. What is more, a number of studies suggest this herb may be useful in treating anxiety, insomnia, low mood and restlessness.
Beyond that, some research suggests that drinking tea made from lavender can improve digestive problems such as vomiting, nausea, wind, stomach ache and bloating, and reduce stress and anxiety.
Lavender is also used to ease headaches and the pain of sprains, toothache and ulcers, and may be used to prevent hair loss.
Lavender oil also helps with the following conditions:
- Fungal infections
- Faster wound healing
- Less hair loss and dandruff
- Treating anxiety disorders and related problems
- Reducing pain after a child's tonsillectomy
- Easing premenstrual symptoms
- Supporting digestion
- Helping with insomnia
- Relieving pain
Does using lavender have side effects?
According to specialists, drinking tea made from this herb can cause constipation, headaches and increased appetite. Applied to the skin, lavender tea can sometimes cause irritation.
On top of that, one study suggests that using products containing lavender oil on the skin may not be safe for children who have not reached puberty, because the oil can disrupt hormones in a child's body. In some cases that hormone disruption has led to abnormal breast tissue development in boys.
Lavender oil is wonderful at easing tension and tiredness and relieving stress
10 benefits of lavender oil
Removing odours and filling a space with the most alluring, appealing fragrance
Lavender oil purifies the air and removes unpleasant odours extremely effectively. More than that, it fills your space with a gentle, alluring fragrance that is every bit as graceful and refined.
As a capable brand manager you have certainly heard the term "scent marketing" at least once — marketing through fragrance. It is the secret behind the success of many leading businesses today.
Using lavender oil in your business premises is an important marketing tool aimed at your customers' sense of smell — the sense most strongly connected to human emotion and memory.
On smelling lavender, at once sweet, alluring, refined and graceful, customers sense the value of the product or service you offer. A well-judged lavender fragrance helps customers recognise your brand; it creates recognition even more powerfully than your logo.
Lavender oil relaxes customers and creates positive feelings
Lavender oil is wonderful at easing tension and tiredness and relieving stress, giving us the most positive of feelings. Of all the natural essential oils, the scent of lavender is the one that usually leaves customers with the longest-lasting impression.
Imagine your customers stepping into your reception area, showroom or shop and meeting a pleasant, gentle lavender fragrance — those visitors are certain to feel a great deal happier and more comfortable. And if you are in entertainment, beauty or fashion, this fragrance satisfies your customers' spirits all the more.
Lavender oil gives you a better, deeper night's sleep
Another wonderful thing lavender oil does is reduce sleep disturbance, improve the quality and length of sleep and lift the user's overall health. Lavender oil is 100% natural in origin, with no preservatives or any chemical that could harm your health.
Reducing hair loss
There is evidence that using lavender oil together with thyme, rosemary and cedarwood oils can improve hair loss by up to 44% after 7 months of treatment. Lavender oil is therefore regarded as promoting hair growth and helping with baldness, hair loss and an itchy scalp.
Lavender oil gives you a better, deeper night's sleep
Lavender oil helps wounds heal
According to a study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, lavender oil can promote the healing of skin tissue. It can be used to heal minor wounds and improve scarring.
It is very simple to use: mix 3-4 drops of lavender oil with a few drops of coconut oil, soak the mixture into a cotton pad and apply it to the wound. Used twice a day, the results improve.
Relieving pain and inflammation
Lavender oil relieves pain and inflammation. It can be used to ease the symptoms of conditions such as headaches, muscle and joint pain, arthritis and respiratory inflammation.
Relieving pain after a tonsillectomy
At Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, a group of researchers studied the pain-relieving effect of lavender oil in 48 children aged 6 to 12. They randomly divided the children into two equal groups: one used the painkiller Acetaminophen together with lavender oil, the other used the painkiller alone.
The researchers then observed both groups for 3 days after surgery, measuring pain intensity and recording how often painkillers were used. The results showed that the group using lavender oil needed painkillers less often than the other. That points to a pain-relieving effect from lavender oil.
Relax with the lasting fragrance of Lord Desire fabric softener
Lord Desire fabric softener - the rich fragrance of lavender from France clears away unpleasant odours and settles into every fibre, so you feel more confident every time you step out. Lord Desire fabric softener brings out your grace and elegance through every moment of the day.
Lord fabric softener with 100% French lavender oil
- Lord French lavender oil fabric softener contains 100% natural lavender oil, whose refined, gentle fragrance brings out your grace and elegance through every moment of the day.
- The concentrated formula keeps fabric from turning stiff, especially older garments. Being concentrated, it is also more economical than ordinary softeners.
- The new scent-release technology in Lord fabric softener makes your clothes release their fragrance with every movement all day long. One rinse is all it takes for clothes to come out free of detergent and surprisingly fragrant.
- Lord French lavender oil fabric softener is made to a new formula that is safe for skin and causes no irritation, even on skin as sensitive as a baby's.
How to make lavender oil simply at home
To make lavender oil at home, follow these simple steps:
How to make lavender oil simply at home
What you need:
- Fresh lavender: about 1-2 cups of flowers (depending on how much oil you want to make).
- A carrier oil: you can use olive oil or almond oil.
- Somewhere to infuse the oil: a glass jar with a tight lid, or a tinted bottle.
Method:
- Wash the lavender: rinse the fresh lavender with water to remove dust or dirt.
- Dry the lavender: lay the lavender on a tray or on cosmetic paper and let it dry naturally in the dark for about 24 hours, until completely dry.
- Cover with oil: put the dried lavender into the glass jar, then pour in the carrier oil (olive or almond) so the flowers are completely covered. Seal the jar and leave it to infuse for about 4-6 weeks at room temperature so the lavender soaks into the oil.
- Strain and bottle: once the oil has infused long enough, strain it using an oil filter or clean filter cloth. Pour the strained oil into a tinted bottle to store and use.
>>See also: Senny natural floor cleaner - a naturally clean, fresh home.
