Essential Oil of the Month - French Lavender

Having trouble settling back into work? Are you feeling tired, irritable and maybe a little down in the dumps after the summer holidays? To help I've selected the popular and very versatile Lavender as our essential oil of the month.

Lavender distilled from the flowers and leaves of the herb is a widely used essential oil which is an effective anti-depressant. It is a good “balancer” so it is useful in helping people to recover from mood “swings”. It is also a well known treatment for insomnia and relieving tension headaches. It has a restorative, tonic effect which makes it useful for treating individuals with debilitating fatigue or lethargy. It is an effective pain killer and anti-spasmodic so it is valuable in treating tension related “aches & pains” as well as the pain associated with arthritic or rheumatic conditions. Also used for insect bites, chilblains, varicose veins and cellulite.

Blends well with: Cedarwood, Lemon, Bergamot, Geranium and Orange. A classic unisex massage blend for stress (when you need physical relaxation but a bit of a mental boost) is 1 tablespoonful of Almond Oil, 4 drops Lavender, 1 of Orange and 1 of Cedarwood.

Historical note: The name derives from the Roman word 'lavare' which means “to cleanse”. In Pagan times it had was burnt as sacred protection against harmful spirits. Lavender was popular in the monastic medicinal gardens of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Gerard in his Sixteenth Century Herbal said that flowers helped to cure “lovesickness” and all pains and “maladies of the head”. The Victorians lined their hats with it to ward off headaches. In the First World War it was used as an antiseptic for wounds and as a drug to ease pain and induce sleep.