A well-loved Mediterranean herb, lavender has been associated with cleanliness ever since Romans added it to washing water. In fact, the word comes from the Latin lavare (meaning “to wash”) as do “lavatory” and “lavage.” Lavender remained popular as facial water from the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries. It was the basis for palsy drops, which were recognized by the British Pharmacopoeia for more than two hundred years, until the 1940s, and was used to relieve muscle spasms, nervousness, and headaches.

Medicinal action: Lavender is among the safest and most widely used oils in aromatherapy and is considered a universal first aid oil. Studies show that the essential oil destroys a wide range of fungal and bacterial infections, including Staphylococcus, strep throat, and pneumonia, as well as most flu viruses. It treats lung, sinus, and vaginal infections, including Candida, and is excellent for laryngitis and asthma. It relieves muscle pain, headaches, and cystitis. It also treats digestive disturbances, including colic, and may help boost immunity.

Cosmetic/skin use: Lavender is suitable for all skin and hair types, including a couperose complexion. A cell regenerator that helps prevent scarring and stretch marks, it has a reputation for slowing wrinkles. It is used on sun-damaged skin, skin growths, wounds, rashes, skin infections, varicose veins, and anything that is swollen. There is no better remedy for burns than lavender. This is one of the few times we recommend using a few drops of the oil neat (undiluted) to stop the itching of insect bites and on small, first-degree burns several times during the first day of treatment. However, dilute the essential oil with aloe gel when treating overall sunburn.

Emotional attributes: Nervousness, exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, depression, and even manic depression are addressed by lavender. Producing balancing effects on the emotions, it both relaxes and stimulates, depending on dosage and, probably, the individual’s needs. It is specific for central nervous system conditions. Preliminary Japanese studies indicate that lavender’s scent affects the autonomic, sympathetic, and parasympathetic nervous systems as well as adrenal glands. Quite a few studies on lavender show the scent alone helps counter insomnia, depression, mental stress, anger, and anxiety and improves one’s mood and memory. It even reduced aggressive behavior of elderly people with Alzheimer’s. Lavender-scented rooms also worked as well as drugs to lull hospital patients to sleep. It was shown to work in a manner similar to sedative drugs such as diazepam, but without the drug’s intensity or side effects. On the other hand, it also improves concentration levels. For centuries, lavender was brought into birthing rooms and made into baby pillows. Old texts say it “raises the spirit,” and it was the main ingredient in Victorian “smelling salts” to revive the all-too-common fainting due to a lack of oxygen from wearing restricting corsets. Victorian women also revived themselves with lavender-filled “swooning pillows.” In his sixteenth-century Herbal, William Turner wrote that lavender could “comfort the braine."

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