The Incredible Capabilities Of Lavender

Since lavender oil is gentle enough to be applied to your skin directly and has such versatile properties, think of it as a must-have oil, particularly if you are just beginning to use essential oils to improve and maintain your health. Science has only recently started to investigate the wide variety of health benefits contained in lavender essential oil; however, there is a great deal of evidence already that demonstrates the incredible capabilities that this oil has. Lavender is now one of the world's most popular and widely used essential oils for a perfectly good reason. Many people have started to discover all of the benefits that lavender oil has to offer to their homes as well as to their bodies.

When purchasing lavender essential oil, be sure to buy a high-quality brand that is both a therapeutic grade and one that is organic to ensure that it was not sprayed with chemicals. These things are particularly important if you are going to be using lavender oil topically or ingesting it. For a majority of individuals, lavender oil is completely safe to use, and you will only experience the benefits offered by the oil. However, not a lot of scientific research has been conducted on how lavender oil interacts with other medications or how it might affect pregnant women who use it, so there are some situations where you need to be cautious when using lavender oil.

1Provides Food With Added Flavor

Put some lavender flower spikes in your sugar and then store it for one week or longer. You can use this to sweeten your milk or your black or green tea and give it a lavender flavor. Add lavender flavor when making custard filling by adding lavender flowers to the milk and then steeping it for one to two hours. Before continuing to make your custard filling, strain the lavender flowers.

Lavender can be used as well in savory recipes, particularly as a substitute for recipes calling for rosemary. When using it instead of rosemary, double the amount of lavender. A marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped lavender can provide any fish or meat with a delicious taste.

2Calms Your Skin

The environment contains numerous toxins, in addition to the daily stress that may tax your skin, which can lead to the appearance of premature aging and, at times, cause immediate effects like a rough and inflamed appearance. Lavender can also help to fight these culprits due to its powerful antioxidants that can help with preventing and counteracting the harmful effects that pollutants bring. It helps to calm your skin, just like it helps to calm your nerves and mind.

An amazing sensory sensation is created when you make a DIY bath detox using lavender. When it is used in combination with Epsom salt, it is a perfect recipe that can draw the toxins out and reduce your stress-related hormones, soothe your skin, and balance your pH levels. Add ten drops worth of lavender essential oil and a handful worth of Epsom salt to the running water for a warm bath once per week. Soak in it for 20 minutes.

3Treats And Prevents Acne

Although you may think that it would make your acne worse to put oil on your face, plant oils, such as lavender, do not clog your pores, and an ideal solution is offered by the lavender oil's natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Harsh chemicals and prescription or over-the-counter drugs may lead to additional irritation, which can make the problem even worse than it was in the first place; however, essential oils, such as lavender, can naturally kill bacteria that are on your skin and also protect it from stress and irritation. Lavender also helps with balancing hormone levels while also providing numerous other benefits that help to promote improved skin health.

You can make yourself a facial toner to treat acne using lavender essential oil. You just need to combine a tablespoon of witch hazel oil with a couple of drops of lavender oil and then dab some on a cotton ball and then put it on your clean skin. Witch hazel works to tone your skin, and lavender helps with healing breakouts.

4Improves Blood Circulation

You can use the lavender essential oil on your skin to help improve your blood circulation. A vital aspect of the overall health of your body is blood circulation. When blood circulation is increased, it benefits the heart, in addition to the arteries and muscles throughout your body; this helps to improve oxygen-rich blood flow to all of your extremities.

For this purpose, one of the most effective ways of using lavender oil is to dab a few drops of this oil onto your skin, on your temples, wrists, feet, or wherever you want to. Then lie down and raise your legs against a wall or on a chair. The leg elevation will help you get the benefit from the lavender essential oil. By the time you are finished, you will feel much more relaxed.

5Prevents Infection And Kills Bacteria

The lavender essential oil has practically an endless number of antibacterial benefits. It is imperative that you kill the bacteria inside your home. Killing the bacteria outside and inside of your body is equally as important.

Lavender oil is a very potent antibacterial herb, and it can be combined with natural cleansers. Use a couple of drops of lavender oil to promote faster healing, prevent infection, and to clean infected wounds. It also creates household cleaners that are more efficient.

6Combats Free Radicals

Pollutants, chemicals, toxins, and other free radicals are the most common and dangerous risk factors for practically all diseases that currently affect Americans. Free radicals shut your immune system down and can cause great harm to your body. The natural response of your body to free radical damage is creating antioxidant enzymes, particularly superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione, which can help to prevent free radicals from causing damage. If the free radical damage is substantial enough, your body can, unfortunately, end up being deficient in antioxidants due to high toxin exposure and poor diet, which has become relatively common in the United States.

Lavender essential oil, fortunately, is a natural antioxidant that helps to reverse and prevent diseases. It was found by a study conducted in 2013 and published in Phytomedicine that lavender oil increases activity of the most potent antioxidants in the body: SOD, catalase, and glutathione. Similar results have been obtained by more recent studies, which conclude that the antioxidant activity in lavender helps to reverse or prevent oxidative stress that is so prevalent these days.

7Soothes Tired Muscles

After working all day, your muscles can get very tired, and you know well how great a nice massage can feel then. Lavender oil can really help with this and is something you should definitely take advantage of. A lavender bath can be made by adding four to six drops of lavender oil into a big bowl of warm water. Your feet or hands can be soaked in the warm bath for around ten minutes, which will make you feel relaxed and refreshed afterward.

It has been found that lavender oil is beneficial in treating tired muscles, particularly the head and feet. A small bit of lavender oil can also be rubbed into your feet before you go to bed. This will help with soothing your tired feet. This can also help to hydrate and soften any rough patches or spots that your feet have.

8Can Be Used As A Natural Perfume

Would you like to smell nice without having to use toxic perfumes? Both men and women can wear lavender oil for a pleasant scent. You can dilute the lavender oil with a carrier oil or water for a subtle scent, or you can apply the pure oil directly to your skin.

If you want to rub the oil directly into your skin, add two or three drops into the palms of your hands and then rub them together. Rub the oil onto your hair or skin directly. Two drops of lavender oil can be added with around 1/2 cup of water to a spray bottle. Shake the spray bottle up and then spray on as much you want.

Studies conducted so far have mainly studied the effects of lavender oil being used either via inhalation or topically on the skin. No adverse symptoms have been found from three drops of oil being mixed in with a carrier oil and then applied to the skin surface directly; however, not a lot of formal research has been conducted that has looked at what the effects are from swallowing the lavender oil. A majority of individuals do not experience any adverse symptoms when they ingest lavender essential oil; however, due to its high antioxidant levels, this needs to be kept to a minimum, and if your digestive system is sensitive, then you definitely need to be careful. At this time, lavender oil is not known to have any food interactions.

In general, lavender oil is considered safe to be used by children. Some concern has been expressed that lavender could have a harmful effect on the hormone levels of boys who haven't gone through puberty yet. So far, there isn't any substantial evidence of lavender disrupting the hormones (just one to two minuscule studies were conducted); however, parents should be cautious when using lavender oil on young children on a more frequent basis.