Lavender Essential Oil

I can’t remember when I first became interested in essential oils, it was possibly in my student days, when everyone was wearing patchouli oil. I couldn’t understand why I absolutely hated it when all my friends drenched themselves in it. I still to this day cannot stand the smell of it.

I had a great book on all the oils, in fact I still have it somewhere, and I used to spend hours looking through it. It was really interesting the way that some people loved different essential oils, each person with their own unique reactions.

I have come to understand that it is chemistry. The oils are secreted from glands on the leaves or the flowers of some plants, or from the outer surface of fruits, and their tiny molecular structure, coupled with the fact that they evaporate easily into the air make it easy for the scent to enter our nasal cavity, where the receptor cells pick it up and send signals to our brains.

The brain then remembers the smell and can trigger an emotional reaction based on association. It is really interesting to note that smells can pass over the placenta and the umbilical cord during pregnancy, so babies have been picking up on scents from in the womb. This is why it is so important to be very careful when pregnant with which oils you use, as they can produce very strong effects on the body, and some need to be avoided until childbirth.

Not all oils are equal. Some cheaper oils are not extracted from the plant using distillation or cold pressing technique, and in fact come from petrochemical sources, so can be quite ineffective and even toxic to use. It is always best to get your oils from a really reputable company, and to buy oils that have the botanical name displayed. There are also different plant varieties, some of which have different properties and effects, so it is worth again doing a bit of research.

Lavender is a great all-round essential oil to have in your toolkit. It is extracted using distillation from the freshly cut flowers, and there are 3 good quality varieties to look out for. Check the bottle for Lavendula Angustifolia, Lavendula Vera or Lavendula Officinalis and you can be assured of good quality.

The main properties of lavender are that it produces a sedative effect, is anti microbial and can increase the potency of most other oils when used in a blend. It reduces pain, is cooling, calming, generally mild and non irritating - although rarely it can have a reaction in some people, but this isn’t common. It is safe to use after the first trimester of pregnancy and can be very effective in aiding the bodies natural contractions during birth.

It is great to use before bed, for children and adults alike. It is best to blend it with a bit of good quality oil and add a few drops, then apply it to the skin, or to put a few drops onto a tissue. This way you can set the tissue to one side when you have finished with it. It isn’t a great idea to put it onto your pillow as sometimes with longer inhalation, it can actually be stimulating and wake you up. Another way is to burn it in a diffuser in the room.

Of course not everyone likes lavender, as it is widely used in soaps and can be overpowering in these, sometimes having a very chemical smell that then produces an emotional response and a less than pleasant memory. It also has associations with elderly people, and for some of us this can be a beloved grandparent, for others a less than favourite aunt, so our responses to lavender can depend on what exposure we have to them. It is not set in stone though, and we can create new memories with lavender under the right circumstances.

On the level of the chakras, lavender is linked to the crown and the eyebrow centre, so it’s use can be very calming for the mind and the thoughts, it can balance the hormonal system which is controlled by the pituitary gland, and therefore help to regulate the other systems of the body.

There is a world of difference in a good quality oil and a cheap oil, and I really recommend doing research and only buying properly distilled and pure oils. Good oils are not necessarily expensive either. Try asking a massage therapist who is also qualified in aromatherapy to recommend a good brand. If you buy an impure or poor quality oil, the therapeutic effects will be diluted or even non existant.

Below are a few ideas of ways to use lavender:

Put 1-2 drops onto a warm flannel after you get out of the shower, when your pores are open, and rub over your body

Mix 6 drops with a non scented liquid soap and use in the bath or the shower to wash with

This same mix can be added to your bath water just before you get in. This is much better than just sprinkling it onto the water as with the soap, it gets right into the water and doesn’t just evaporate off

Mix it with a cold pressed oil such as coconut, grapeseed or sunflower and add to skin after exposure to the sun

Burn a few drops in a diffuser before going to bed at night