Sally's Soaps - featuring lavender soap

What's to Love About Lavender?

Plenty. Historically, lavender has been used for many reasons. Its fragrant perfume is well known for scenting linens, sachets, bath water and other toiletries. This was started as much for lavender's insect repellant qualities as for its aromatic nature. Taken internally, however, lavender was also used to treat and relieve respiratory conditions and abdominal ailments. During wartime, lavender's antibacterial qualities were very important in the treatment of wounds. In fact, today it is not uncommon to find a bottle of lavender oil in European medicine cabinets for treatment of bruises and minor skin ailments, as it is one of the few essential oils that can be used on the skin neat (without dilution).

Lavender has many varieties and is a shrubby but profitable plant grown in France, Italy, and England. English lavender is considered to be the most aromatic with a finer, more delicate odor than French lavender. Spike Lavender produces a much more plentiful oil, but is considered by many to be second rate because it is less fragrant than that of true lavender and resembles a rosemary/lavender mix. Lavender essential oil is only produced from the flower or stalk, and in a good year, an acre of lavender might yield 15 to 20 pounds of oil. Other parts of the plant are sold for use in items such as potpourri.

Among its many uses and abilities:

Calmative and Restorative
Can reduce fatigue, stress, and nervousness. Helps to induce sleep and prevent insomnia. Will balance mood swings. Helps with clearer thinking. Lifts depression and melancholy. Helps to relieve headache, hypertension, and migraine.

Skin Care
Because lavender stimulates cell renewal, it is a valuable treatment for practically all skin ailments. It is especially good for dry skin and is effective for acne, dandruff, dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis.

Pain and Infection
Because of its antibacterial and analgesic properties, lavender can be used for the treatment of many other complaints as well, including, but not limited to: abscesses, allergies, athlete's foot, boils, bruises, burns, inflammations, insect bites, stings, sores, and wounds.

Home Use
A few drops of true lavender essential oil

added to the rinse cycle makes a wonderful fragrance for your laundry.
burned in a diffuser, or added to distilled water and used as a spritzer, makes a good room deodorizer.
rubbed on the skin will prevent some insect bites.
on a nit comb will treat head lice.
in a carrier oil (such as almond oil) makes a wonderful massage oil and can help relieve muscle fatigue, rheumatism, and other muscular aches, pains, and sprains.
in a chamomile cream will help alleviate itchy, dry or irritated skin.
in the bath will relieve stress and help to induce sleep.

Even if you are the 1 in 100 who doesn't care for this herb's aromatic oil, there are plenty of home remedy uses that should encourage you to make it a vital part of your medicine cabinet. So, what's to love about lavender? Plenty!

The FDA has not evaluated any of the above statements. The information here is intended for educational purposes and is not designed to diagnose, prescribe for, treat, or cure disease, illness or injury.

Sources:

Dye, Jane. Aromatherapy for Women and Children. Essex, England: The C.W. Daniel Company Limited, 1992. (pages 60-61).

Fischer-Rizzi Susanne. Complete Aromatherapy Handbook. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1990. (pages 110-117).

Grieves, M. "Lavender." Botanical.com, A Modern Herbal. http://www.botanical.com. (November 2000)

Lawless, Julia. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils. Boston: Element Books, 1995. (page 162).

Ody, P., The Complete Medicinal Herbal. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. (page 73).

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