Limitless Lavender

Limitless Lavender

The power of lavender is limitless and its benefits are too numerous to list fully but I’ll try to hit the highlights.  It is native to the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean but its popularity has spread around the world.  Ancient Romans thought lavender brought purity to the body as well as the spirit and its flowers were often added to the bath.  The scent of lavender is clean, fresh, herbal and floral and is used in soaps, cleaning and bath care products.  Its oil is used as a sedative, an antidepressant and an antiseptic to treat ailments like: burns, fungal infections, wounds and sunburn. 

Lavender is beautiful in the garden or along a path where passersby can release its fragrance.  There are more than 30 varieties of this small herbaceous plant, with colors ranging from light purple to yellow and pink and with scents just as varied.  One of the most popular varieties is Lavandula angustifolia, or English Lavender.  It has striking grey-green foliage and blue-violet flowers.   The oil in the flowers is what gives lavender its scent.  The flowers are harvested in summer as the petals just begin to open; then the oils are extracted through a steam distillation process.  The resulting essential oil contains many chemical compounds; the most important are probably linalool and linalyl acetate.  Because these compounds are easily and rapidly absorbed through the skin, they are believed to depress the central nervous system, slowing nerve impulses which deadens pain and reduces irritability.  Research has shown that massage with lavender improves sleep quality even more than massage alone.  Additional research has shown that lavender lowers cholesterol in animals, the potential for humans is not yet known.  A lavender isolate, known as perillyl alcohol , has been shown to prevent tumor development and it is being studied to assess its anticancer potential.

At Breathe Deep we love everything about lavender and we use it in many products.  It blends well with most other oils like: lemon, lemongrass, clary sage, bergamot, peppermint and vetiver.  It has the ability to harmonize scents and create beautiful blends.  We especially love lavender for its calming effect on children.