Lavender Benefits for Health and Home

Lavender, Lavandula, of which there are several known species, is a shrub-like herb that can be found in gardens countrywide where it is adored for its lovely little blue flower buds that grow in whorls. It is famous worldwide for its popular and pleasing floral fragrance.

Further, research has confirmed that lavender produces slight calming, soothing, and sedative effects when its scent is inhaled so don’t leave your lavender outdoors solely to grace the garden, bring it indoors to grace you and your home with some of its healing properties.

Lavender Ushers Sweet Sleep

“There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.”
–SHAKESPEARE, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

For centuries, bedding and pillows have been stuffed with scented herbs, grasses, and petals for utility’s sake as well as to aid in sleep. Victorian Era ladies favored lavender in their pillows for its sweet scent and often inhaled it to calm their nerves. Using lavender as a sleep aid is as old as time, and the current research is now beginning to support what has long been known. According to one study at Wesleyan University, smelling lavender before sleep increased the percentage of deep or slow-wave sleep in both men and women, and all of the subjects reported higher vigor in the morning after lavender exposure. So, how do we infuse the sleepy scent into our nighttime routine?

• Add dried flower buds into pillows either directly or by placing a sachet or pad into the pillowcase.
• Spritz your pillows and linens with an essential oil spritzer consisting of water, lavender essential oil and either witch hazel or alcohol.
• Massage the scent (mixed with a carrier oil such as sweet almond oil) into the temples, behind the ears, and under the nose.
• Dab a few drops of lavender essential oil onto tissue paper and place it under the pillow.
• Brew a before-bed cup of lavender tea for sweet dreams.
• Make a lavender salt scrub and use it during your evening bath.

Lavender Refreshes Rooms and Drawers

• Toss the synthetic room fresheners and create a natural room potpourri consisting of dried lavender buds and any other garden flowers or herbs such as geranium, rose petals, or rosemary. Not only will it smell amazing, but when placed in a decorative bowl, it adds a burst of color and beauty. *When the scent fades, simply revive with a few drops of lavender essential oil.
• Sachets or simply old hankies or cotton napkins can be stuffed with dried lavender buds and tied with a ribbon and tossed into drawers and linen cupboards to infuse a wonderful refreshing lavender scent.
• Go to the source and infuse your laundry with lavender by stuffing a muslin sachet with the dried buds and topping with a couple of cotton balls. Pull tightly to close and you are good to go. Throw one in with the next load of damp clothes to the dryer and let the scent infuse your laundry.

Let Lavender Revive Your Beauty Routine

The Latin root for lavender is lavare which means “to wash” and speaks of the cleansing and refreshing qualities of this herb. Lavender can be added to a daily facial cleansing routine to revive and uplift your skin and your spirits. Below is a recipe for a floral vinegar that can be used in the bath or as a general tonic. Simply add 1 cup to the bath as a general tonic and to aid in dry skin, or dab the forehead, temples, and behind ears to refresh after being out in the sun.

Floral Vinegar Recipe

• 1 1/2 cup fresh lavender buds
• 2 cups white wine or cider vinegar

Put lavender buds into a large bottle. Gently warm the vinegar; then pour over lavender buds in the bottle. Leave bottle on sunny windowsill for two weeks. Strain.

Lavender as First-Aid and Relief

Lavender Essential Oil has analgesic properties and can be helpful for minor burns, scrapes, and bites. Mixed with carrier oil such as sweet almond or jojoba oil, it can be used for minor burns and/or bug bites to offer quick relief. We have a roller bottle on hand for when those inevitable kitchen burns arise. Essential oils are potent and it only takes 1 to 2 drops of essential oil added to 1/4 ounce of carrier oil. Certainly, for severe burns, seek medical advice immediately.

In his book published in 1597, Garden of Health, William Langham gave a method for perfuming clothes that would also act as an insect repellant:

“Boyle it (lavender) in water and wet thy shirt in it and dry it again and weare it.”

Laundering your clothes in the scent of lavender might serve to keep away menacing mosquitoes as well as offering a relaxing scent! However you choose to use it, lavender has much to offer within the home, heart, and heart.

Learn how to grow lavender!