Lavender Essential Oil's Many Uses in the Home

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Lavender Essential Oil's Many Uses in the Home - By: Michael South, Posted on: 2008-05-04

Interest and motivation for creating a completely 'green' household is on the rise as awareness grows of the many potential hazards in the synthetic chemicals found in our modern lifestyles. Here are a few tips on going green by going 'purple', with the extremely versatile essential oil of Lavender. The flowering, fragrant purple tops of Lavender yield an essential oil that's inexpensive, and has diverse uses for your family's health and wellness. In many cases, Lavender can replace synthetic formulations that you just might not feel comfortable with for long-term use -- as you have little idea what the ingredients really are, if you are even able to pronounce them. So what can this wonder oil do? Let's have a look at some of its most common, simple to use applications.

The action of Lavender essential oil is calming and regenerating, on both the cellular structure of tissues and on our overall being. It's a profound effect, as injuries need to be relieved of stress (e.g. Infection and inflammation) in order to heal, as do our entire bodies and minds for us to lead healthy lives. The sweet aroma of Lavender brings calm to almost everyone -- it seems particularly effective for children, women and the elderly (some men may not appreciate the floral aroma, and might do better with soothing scents like Sandalwood or Bergamot). Lavender's aroma has proven itself an effective stress reliever in laboratory studies -- it even makes mice fight less. For personal use you only need to inhale a few drops from a tissue, or dab a little on your wrists to get a hint of the scent now and then. A little more high-tech approach can use any type of essential oil diffuser; just the smallest amount of Lavender's aroma is necessary to achieve its renown calming action.

Another favorite stress reduction technique is the Lavender bath: just add 20-30 drops of Lavender to an already drawn bath for a soak. If one needs to unwind before they make it home from work, small diffusers are available that plug into the cigarette lighter of a car. A few drops placed on the pad can really go a long way to relieving the tensions of the day while still in the evening commute!

Associated with its calming effect is Lavender's ability to improve sleep. One headline proclaimed 'Lavender Beats Valium' in sleep studies. If you or your children have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, Lavender can be a profoundly effective home remedy. For a really simple method, sprinkle just a drop or two (really just a little as too much can actually be a stimulant for some folks) on the bed sheet, on-top-of, or under the pillow before bed. It's especially nice to fall asleep to a hint of Lavender, and catch another whiff if one wakes again in the middle of the night. For some, it works well to utilize a diffuser set to run on low all night long, or one on a timer that cycles on for a minute or two every hour. Think about how the scent is relaxing your whole body; using lavender regularly this way may continually improve the aroma's effectiveness as a sleep aid over time.

Lavender essential oil is a surprisingly effective wound healer. We sometimes think a product needs to be more medicinal smelling, or sting at least a little bit to work, but it was actually Lavender that began the modern 'medicinal' aromatherapy revolution. Dr. Rena Maurice Gattafosse, a French scientist, burned his hand in a laboratory accident; he thrust it immediately into the closest vat of liquid, which happened to be filled with Lavender essential oil. He recovered from his injury so quickly that he was inspired to write the first book on the medical use of essential oils, coining the term 'Aromatherapy' as the title.

As you can guess, Lavender works exceptionally well on burns. It can be used neat, undiluted, on any burn where the skin is unbroken; it will bring quick pain relief and speed healing. Lavender is considered anti-septic, anti-inflammatory and regenerative, so virtually all cuts, bruises and scrapes will also respond well. You can use in combination with Helichrysum for burns and bruises (Helichrysum is a powerful anti-inflammatory/regenerative/pain reliever as well), or with Tea Tree for a stronger, yet still soothing anti-bacterial formula (a 50/50 mix of Lavender and Tea Tree can replace any sort of topical anti-bacterial formula used under band-aids and small dressings). Lavender can work well on a sunburn, at a 10% dilution in water dabbed over the area. A drop of lavender on a bug bite or sting is also highly effective, and is useful for many itchy and irritated skin conditions as well.

Lavender's antiseptic properties make it an excellent natural household disinfectant. Sprinkle baking soda and Lavender in place of chlorine-based cleansers and scrub away! Add a little lemon essential oil too for greater potency, and a very uplifting scent. Lavender and Lemon can be added to a bucket of water (use about 30 drops of each) for larger surfaces and floors.

Now that we've (hopefully) convinced you to give Lavender a try, make sure you find the right one for your needs. There's a wide range of quality available -- a nice Lavender should really bring a smile to your face on the first 'whiff'. If it doesn't, it's not the oil for you; it may not be the right species, or grown in the right place, or distilled properly. It should have a beautiful complex bouquet, almost like a fine wine will have in it's flavor. No particular note should stand out, but all the individual constituents should harmonize in a wonderful aromatic symphony. The essential oil that does this will have the greatest therapeutic actions, hopefully putting you and your family in the best of moods that aromatherapy has to offer.

Article Source: http://www.girlarticles.com

The author is a regular contributor to several sites in the areas of using essential oils and Bach flower essences.