Top 10 Essential Oils: #1 Lavender

Lavender field in Provence

Just to be clear, I understand that there is kind of an essential oils bandwagon at the moment…and while I normally stray from the trendy and overly-hyped, here I am holding the reigns. The only thing I can take from the fact that so many people are buying/using essential oils (EOs) these days is that maybe there’s a good reason for it. And if you have any trepidations about the world of EOs – as one is want to have – let me tell you: lavender is a total gateway oil. Lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia) is one of the most versatile and gentle oils which can be used to help with anything from burns to diaper rash to stress management and allergies. And the fact that it’s as gentle as can be, it can be used neat (i.e. undiluted), even on sensitive skin of a newborn baby.

Sharing time! When I was laboring, in the hospital, as “go time!” was approaching, my midwife gave me an extremely calming lavender oil leg massage. I still remember the pleasant fragrance consuming me when I was in a considerable amount of, shall we say, discomfort. Of all the things that have since faded from my memory after three years, that experience remains clear and strong.

Cut to our first attempts at making a solution for cloth baby wipes. Our typical mix either included a squirt of Bronner’s Lavender Castille Soap (see my first post) with several drops of tea tree oil in some warm water or Bronner’s Peppermint Castille Soap with lavender oil. Not only was this solution a great anti-bacterial wash but it also helped with any redness that might remain on our sensitive-skinned baby’s behind because of lavender oil’s amazing healing properties.

Other things that I use it for regularly are around the house is diffusing it daily with lemon oil for a lovely, uplifting scent around the house as well as on its own overnight to help with sleep in a couple of manners: 1. It helps keep my allergies at bay (with it’s antihistamine abilities) and 2. It helps to calm, soothe and relax for a peaceful night’s sleep. I have used it in my son’s lotion post-bath time when sleep has seemed like it would otherwise be hours away. Just yesterday I had a headache above my eyes, and simply rubbing a couple of drops into my temples relaxed the pain away. I have used it on my son’s mosquito bites, which has immediately eased the itching as well as on small scrapes, which has healed them considerably faster than they would have on their own. I haven’t tried using it for this particular problem (yet), but it’s reportedly a great insect repellent for people, horses and dogs. Here is the story of the supposed origination of lavender oils amazing healing power regarding burns as well: http://roberttisserand.com/2011/04/gattefosses-burn/