Thursday 1 September 2011

Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil and What Did I Use It For

( Picture taken from mostbeautifulflower.com )

I absolutely love the smell of lavender..so does my hubs. I find it really soothing when exhaled and it will automatically put me in a calm and relaxing mode. I usually get my staples from L'occitane ( be it lotions, shampoos, etc ) but I do find that their pure essential oil is a bit too expensive for me to purchase.

Recently, I found out about Milagro Trading and was glad that I bought my EO from there at a reasonable price. I also found out that there are lots of different types and grades of lavender oil that one needs to be aware if they are getting the right and a high grade of this oil before purchasing. In this post, I will be sharing with you on the common ones, pricing grades, as well as their benefits and uses.

Where does it come from?
Lavender oil is an essential oil obtained by distillation from the flower spikes of certain species of lavender.

Common Types of Lavender Oil ( from lowest to high )

Lavender ( 40/42 ) or lavandula officinalis
Origin: France
Most floral scent of all lavenders but therapeutic levels are the lowest. However, it is recognised as having some strong properties. Has a floral, herbaceous fresh scent with balsamic woody undertone.
Price: Lowest

Lavender Mont Blanc or lavandula augustfolia
Origin: France
Scent is similar to common Lavender Population but subtle differences in tones due to different growing conditions.
Price: Average

Lavender Malliette or lavandula augustifolia
Orgin: France
A hybrid of the true Lavender and widely use in aromatheraphy and perfumery industry.
Price: Medium

Lavender Blugarian or lavandula augustifolia
Origin: Blugaria
Very therapeutic grade comparable in status to the better known Lavender Population. It has a rich lavender floral scent, fruitier, mellower and less champoraceous than Lavender 40/42. Smells more like fresh lavender.
Price: Medium High

Lavender Population or lavandula augustfolia
Origin: France
Sweet, green scent that speaks well in therapy.
Price: High


Benefits and Uses

-Remove nervous tension, relieve pain, enhance blood circulation, disinfect scalp and skin.
-Calming and relaxing.
-Antiseptic and antifungal properties. ( May add to chamomile oil to treat ezema )
-For hair, effective on lice and effective for oily hair as it regulates sebum production.
-Induces sleep and recommended for those with insomnia.
-Provide relief from pain in joints or muscles by massaging.
-Extensively used for various respiratory orders such as common colds or coughs.
-Disinfectant and insect repellant.

Caution
Should not be used on pregnant woman or a person with diabetes. Those with sensitive skin should use with caution as it may cause some reactions. Essential oil MUST be diluted with a carrier oil of your choice for massage oil.

What did I use it for?

  • Mixing them in my homemade hair serum and body oil.
  • Soothing my scalp and enhance circulation. Pour a drop unto your hair brush ( with bristles ) and comb your hair. ( Your hair will smell nice too! )
  • As a sleeping aid. Pour two drops unto a cotton pad and place it beside my pillow.
  • As a disinfectant and air refreshener for my car. Method is the same as above.
  • As a linen water. Love that my clothes smells like fresh lavender!
  • Use in a diffuser to freshen and disinfect my room. ( I did this only once as I feel that the smell last longer when placed on the cotton pads )
  • Mixing them in with my EO Lavender Shower Gel for boosting effects.
  • ( Yet to try ) Pour a few drops on a small piece of cloth and place them in your washing machine to freshen and disinfect your laundry.
Where do I get my essential oil?

Lavender Essential Oil- Bulgaria ( from Milagro Trading )
Price: SGD 11.00 ( MYR 27.84 ) for 0.40 oz ( 10 ml )

*Update: Lavender Bulgaria is no longer available at Milagro Trading. My next shopping for raw ingredients will be from this site.

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

7 comments:

  1. Hi,
    The EO from GoW, do they come with the dropper?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dawn! The EO from GoW does not come with a dropper because according to them, the EO will dissolve the rubber. It is advisable to draw out your desired amount with a disposable pipette.

    However, the one that I bought from Milagro Trading does come with a dropper. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, yes, it's helpful. I want to try organic EO to lighten the my brown spots and uneven skin tones.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Dawn! Applying Lavender EO topically( neat ) unto your skin may do more harm than good because generally, Lavender EO makes skin more prone to the burning UV rays and thus, causing pigmentation.

    Should you want to lighten your brown spots, I personally find applying l-ascorbic acid( vit c ) powder helps greatly on those areas. Using sunscreen in the day will help greatly too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, that is so good to know. Thanks for sharing. I am actually using Kiehl's Photo-Age Corrector serum, was working for a couple months but now seems to just stop doing anything. I will have to check out other brands.

    ReplyDelete
  6. If you are a fan of Kiehl's, I know that their Powerful strength line reducing corrector does contain vit C. U may want to check it out..though I personally haven't use it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello. Do you shop at newdirectionsaromatics ? Is international post available there?

    ReplyDelete

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