The health benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to eliminate nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect the scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. The Latin name of lavender is Lavare, which means “to wash”, due to its particularly pleasant aroma.
Lavender oil is extracted mostly from the flowers of the lavender plant, primarily through steam distillation. The flowers of lavender are fragrant in nature and have been used for making potpourri for centuries. Traditionally, lavender essential oil has also been used in making perfumes. The oil is very useful in aromatherapy and many aromatic preparations and combinations are made using lavender oil.
Lavender oil blends well with many other essential oils including cedarwood, pine, clary sage, geranium, and nutmeg. Today, lavender essential oil is frequently used in various forms including aromatherapy oil, gels, infusion, lotion, and soaps.
The various health benefits of lavender essential oil include the following:
Bug Repellent: The smell of lavender essential oil is potent for many types of bugs like mosquitoes, midges, and moths. Apply some of the lavender oil on the exposed skin when outside to prevent these irritating bites. Furthermore, if you do happen to be bitten by one of those bugs, the lavender essential oil has anti-inflammatory qualities that will reduce the irritation and the pain associated with bug bites.
Sleep: Lavender essential oil induces sleep which has made it a common recommendation for an alternative treatment of insomnia. Frequent studies on elderly patients have shown an increase in their sleep regularity when their normal sleep medication is replaced with some lavender essential oil being placed on their pillows. It has such a relaxing impact on people that it can often replace modern medicine for sleep issues.
Nervous system: Lavender essential oil has a calming scent which makes it an excellent tonic for nervous concerns. It can be helpful to promote relaxation and release muscle tension, as well as assisting headaches, nervous tension and emotional stress. The scent of lavender is associated with reduced tension and relief from exhaustion, helping improve mental activity. It has positive impact on the autonomic nervous system, which is why it is frequently used as a treatment issues with poor sleep and restlessness. One study showed decreased mental stress and better cognitive function in students who inhaled lavender oil and rosemary oil before exams!
Pain relief: Lavender essential oil is known as an excellent remedy for various types of pains including those caused by sore and tense muscles, muscular aches, rheumatism, sprains, backache and lumbago. A regular massage with lavender oil can also provide relief from pain in the joints. A study done on postoperative pain relief showed that combining lavender essential oil vapor into the oxygen significantly reduced the amount of pain experienced, versus those patients only revived with oxygen after a major surgery.
Respiratory issues: Lavender oil is often used for various respiratory problems. It's often added to vaporizers and inhalers and used to help loosen phlegm and congestion associated with respiratory conditions. At the same time, the antibacterial qualities of the lavender when inhaled may further support faster recovery, while the general soothing and calming element can help promote rest. All of the above help make dealing with the common cold or other respiratory concern more comfortable and may assist a speedier recovery.
Hair care: Lavender essential oil is has many uses in hair care, including acting against the dreaded childhood lice, including lice eggs. Lavender essential oil is reported to help in prevention of hair loss, particularly for people who suffer from alopecia. Lavender oil is sometimes recommended as a preventative measure for male pattern baldness!
Digestion: Lavender oil is useful for digestion because it increases the movement of food within the intestine. Its oil stimulates the production of gastric juices and bile improving the actual digestive process and helping to reduce issues of poor digestion such as stomach pain, bloating and flatulence.
General Skin care: The health benefits of lavender oil for the skin can be attributed to its antibacterial and antifungal properties. It is can be used to calm inflammation in various skin conditions and has been used traditionally to speed up healing of wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns because it improves the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil is also added to chamomile to treat eczema.
Lavender Oil is extremely strong and should always be used in a diluted preparation - be it vaporised in water for inhaling or into another oil for application to skin.