Lavender Oil’s 25 Uses and Benefits: Leaves You Feeling Relaxed, Calm, and Healthy in Your Skin, Muscles and Head
Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils are becoming popular in treating various ailments. Each oil is unique in how it can help people, and it depends on the person’s age and health conditions to determine which one will work best for you. Also, essential oils and aromatherapy are meant to complement traditional medicine, not replace it. So, you should talk with your doctor before using lavender oil for the benefits listed.
Lavender is an herb. The flower and the oil of lavender are used to make medicine. Lavender is used for restlessness, insomnia, nervousness, and depression. It is also used for a variety of digestive complaints including meteorism (abdominal swelling from gas in the intestinal or peritoneal cavity), loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, intestinal gas (flatulence), and upset stomach. Some people use lavender for painful conditions including migraine headaches, toothaches, sprains, nerve pain, sores, and joint pain. It is also used for acne and cancer, and to promote menstruation. Lavender is applied to the skin for hair loss and pain, and to repel mosquitoes and other insects. Some people add lavender to bathwater to treat circulation disorders and improve mental well being. In foods and beverages, lavender is used as a flavor component. In manufacturing, lavender is used in pharmaceutical products and as a fragrance ingredient in soaps, cosmetics, perfumes, potpourri, and decorations.
Lavender (scientific name Lavandula angustifolia) is commonly contaminated with related species, including Lavandula hybrida, which is a cross between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia, from which lavandin oil is obtained.
The following video gives you a brief summary of lavender oil uses.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qQ_o1yvUpJs
What are the health benefits of lavender essential oil?
- Fall into dream land. 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. Watch this video to see how to use it for sleep-inducing benefit.
- It calms nervous system. Lavender essential oil has a calming scent, which makes it an excellent tonic for the nerves and anxiety issues. Therefore, it can also be helpful in treating migraines, headaches, depression, nervous tension and emotional stress. The refreshing aroma removes nervous exhaustion and restlessness while also increasing mental activity. It has a well-researched impact on the autonomic nervous system, which is why it is frequently used as a treatment for insomnia and also as a way to regulate heart-rate variability. One study showed that people taking tests showed a significant decrease in mental stress and anxiety as well as increased cognitive function when they inhaled lavender oil and rosemary oil before taking the exam!
- It fights acne. According to dermatologists and aromatherapists, lavender essential oil is one of the most beneficial oils in the treatment of acne. It is characterized by red, raised sores on the face and body that develop due to a bacterial infection near the sebum gland. When sebum cannot be properly secreted from the sebum glands on the face, it begins to build up, particularly because puberty stimulates extra sebum and bacteria feed off it, creating a vicious cycle of irritation, infection and visible sores that can result in serious scarring. Lavender essential oil inhibits the bacteria that cause the initial infection, helps to regulate some of the over-excretion of sebum by hormonal manipulation, and can reduce the signs of scarring after the acne has begun to heal. Adding a small amount of lavender essential oil to other skin creams or ointments can greatly increase the potential for relief and healing.
- It relieves pain. The use of lavender essential oil is 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 provide relief from pain in the joints. A study done on postoperative pain relief showed that combining lavender essential oil vapor into oxygen significantly reduced the amount of pain experienced versus those patients only revived with oxygen after a major surgery.
- When you can’t go, lavender oil helps with flow. Lavender essential oil use is good for urinary disorders because of its stimulating effect on urine production. Furthermore, it helps in restoring hormonal balance and reducing cystitis or inflammation of the urinary bladder. It reduces cramps associated with these and other disorders.
- Breathe easier with lavender oil. Using lavender oil is widely used for various respiratory problems including throat infections, flu, cough, cold, asthma, sinus congestion, bronchitis, whooping cough, laryngitis and tonsillitis. The oil is either used in the form of vapor or is applied on the skin of the neck, chest and back. It is added to many vaporizers and inhalers that are commonly used for colds and coughs. The stimulating nature of lavender essential oil use can loosen up the phlegm and relieve the congestion associated with respiratory conditions, speeding up the recovery process and helping the body naturally eliminate phlegmand other unwanted material. The vapor of lavender essential oil also has antibacterial qualities which can battle respiratory tract infections.
- Eliminate head lice with lavender oil use. Lavender essential oil is useful for hair care because it has been shown to be very effective on lice, lice eggs, and nits. Furthermore, lavender essential oil has also been shown to be very helpful in the treatment of hair loss, particularly for patients who suffer from alopecia, an autoimmune disease where the body rejects its own hair follicles. A Scottish study reported that more than 40 percent of alopecia patients in the study reported an increase in hair growth when they regularly rubbed lavender essential oil into their scalp. Therefore, lavender oil is sometimes recommended as a preventative measure for male pattern baldness!
- Take care of breast cancer with use of lavender oil. Although more research needs to be done on human subjects, there is significant research on the effects of lavender in combination with other essential oils as a way to prevent the occurrence of breast cancer in mice. However, this could be an indication of an increased chance of lavender battling other carcinogenic effects and the presence of cancer.
- Use lavender oil as an aid for blood circulation. Lavender essential oil is also good for improving the circulation of blood in the body. Research suggests that aromatherapy using lavender oil has beneficial effects on coronary circulation. It also lowers blood pressure and is often used for hypertension. This means that not only do the organs increase their levels of oxygenation, promoting muscle strength and health, but brain activity can have a noticeable boost, skin remains bright and flushed with blood, and the body is protected from the risks of heart attack and artherosclerosis that is often associated with poor circulation.
Using lavender oil affects digestion. Lavender oil is useful for digestion because it increases the mobility of food within the intestine. The oil also stimulates the production of gastric juices and bile, thus aiding in the treatment of indigestion, stomach pain, colic, flatulence, vomiting and diarrhea.- Get immunity from regular use of lavender essential oil. Lavender use provides resistance to a variety of diseases. It is well-known that lavender has antibacterial and antiviral qualities that make it perfect for defending the body against rare diseases like TB, typhoid and diphtheria, according to early research in the 20th century.
- Lavender oil use is good as general skin care: The health benefits of lavender oil for the skin can be attributed to its antiseptic and antifungal properties. It is used to treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions. It is commonly used to speed up the healing process of wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns because it improves the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil is also added to chamomile to treat eczema.
What other uses can you get from lavender oil?
This video explains some of the common uses of lavender oil:
- Use lavender on insect bites or bee stings. Put a drop of Lavender oil on a bee sting or insect bite to stop itching, reduce swelling and get rid of the stinger.
- Lavender oil use is effective on burns. Put two to three drops of lavender oil on a minor burn to decrease pain. I recently did this after I spilled scorching hot tea on my hand at Starbucks and luckily had my lavender with me. Result: NO redness, swelling or pain. NO sign of any burn. Lavender works wonders!
- Stop nosebleeds with lavender use. To stop a nosebleed, put a drop of lavender oil on a tissue and wrap it around a small chip of ice. Push the tissue covered ice chip up under the middle of the top lip to the base of the nose and hold as long as comfortable or until the bleeding stops (do not freeze the lip or gum).
- You can protect your lips from damage. Rub a drop of lavender oil on chapped or sunburned lips.
- Have allergies? Use lavender oil. Rub a drop of lavender oil between your palms and inhale deeply to help alleviate the symptoms of hay fever.
- Keep hair healthy and eliminate dandruff by making use of lavender oil. Rub several drops of lavender oil into the scalp to help eliminate dandruff. You can add to your shampoo or in the shower to keep hairs healthy.
- Cold sores go away when coming in contact with lavender oil use. Put a drop of lavender oil on a cold sore.
- Make a cold compress of lavender oil. Used as a compress by soaking a towel in a bowl of water infused with a few drops of lavender oil. Apply this to sprains or muscle injuries.
- Lavender oil added to foot soak. When added to your hand or foot soak, you can get relief. Add a drop to a bowl of warm water before soaking your hands or feet.
- Add flavor to your favorite food by using lavender oil. Add a few drops of lavender to any recipe you want to enhance. Add to your water or tea (especially sparkling!), brownies, bars, cookies, dessert recipes, raw chocolate or salad dressings. Enjoy!
- Lavender oil is used as cleaning agent. Lavender Lavandula angustifolia (Mill.) (also called French lavender or true lavender) is a fantastic essential oil for green cleaning! It’s especially ideal for those who prefer a light, floral scent to the medicinal aroma that accompanies other well-known green cleaning essential oils like eucalyptus or rosemary. (Note that you can also use Lavandin Lavandula intermedia (Emeric ex Loisel.) for green cleaning, but it has different constituents and actions.
- How do you use lavender oil on your pet? Watch this video to give you instructions on how your dog can benefit from lavender oil.https://youtu.be/rwuY1t7jXK4
- How to use lavender oil to clean makeup brushes. Lavender oil is effective to sanitize your makeup brushes and clean off old makeup. Watch this video.https://youtube.com/watch?v=KhCW7Goo9Es
Sources:
Organic Facts
Webmd
MBG
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7769/13-uses-for-lavender-oil-the-only-essential-oil-youll-need.html
American College of Healthcare Sciences
http://info.achs.edu/blog/green-cleaning-why-we-love-lavender-essential-oil-and-you-should-too
Dr. Mercola
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