It Is Important To Know Which Lavender To Use For Your Skin
Lavender essential oil is a wonderful ingredient to use in skin care, for face and body. But because everything you put on your skin goes into your body system, it is most important to know that your essential oil is pure. It needs to be grown from seeds that are potent, and free from any exposure to pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Same applies with growing of the plant and distillation. Nothing must be added to the plant or essential oil that is derived from it. Quality is very important!
Also, when using Lavender on skin, you need to know that you are using only True Lavender. It has the properties that are beneficial for skin. Don’t be mistaken with using cheap similar looking plant variety called Lavandin. You will not get the same result, it may even harm the skin.
How To Recognise The True Lavender?
Many people think they recognise a Lavender plant. But most likely they are actually seeing the hybrid variety – Lavandula x hybrida – which grows all over the world.
It also has calming fragrance and purple colored flowers, but other properties are very different. This hybrid lavender is called Lavandin. It has antiseptic properties and is not used for skin. Lavandin has been used to sterilise hospitals in Europe. So it is great for cleaning and purifying. Fragrances in most supermarket-bought body care products are derived from Lavandin!
This flower is the true Lavender – Lavandula angustifolia:
It grows in rare mountainous areas in France, Bulgaria, Russia as well as in Utah and Idaho in the USA. True Lavender has calming properties and it eases frustration and irritability. It is great for skin because it promotes tissue regeneration, it helps renew the skin.
Everyone seems to know that Lavender is great for using at bedtime to relax and sleep better. Even our grandmothers used dried lavender in linen cupboards to keep linen fresh and repel moths. Those are all good ways to use Lavender essential oil.
Lavender to help the passion and panting of the heart! – John Gerard, 1597
How To Make Your Own Skin Care Products With Lavender Essential Oil – Video
Make your own Anti-wrinkle Facial Balm and Refreshing Toner. Watch the video for the recipes. Very simple, effective and affordable!
More Tips On How To Use Lavender Essential Oil
- Apply Lavender oil on skin after a day in the sun.
- Diffuse Lavender in the bedroom before going to sleep.
- Inhale from the bottle or from your hands to calm down.
- Use Lavender when feeling nervous.
- Make your own bath salt with Lavender and Epsom salts, use for a relaxing bath
- Make a spray bottle with Lavender and water, put on your wrinkled shirt and spray it all over instead of ironing! Body heat and lavender will smooth the fabric.
- Apply on stomach when having `butterflies´ or feeling upset.
- Massage on your child’s feet at bedtime to relax and calm down for a good sleep.
- Diffuse Lavender in the pollen season, or after dusting and vacuuming.
[Images – Main Photo by Mareefe from Pexels; Lavandin: by Heribert Bechen, Flickr, Creative Commons CC BY 2.0; French Lavender by Annie, Flickr, Creative Commons CC BY 2.0]
Tuula Olin is a Raindrop Technique practitioner and Young Living Essential Oils Independent Distributor (ID 1241038) from Australia. Her interests are natural toxic-free living, health & fitness, alkaline diet and raw food recipes and yoga.