WHAT IS LAVENDER OIL? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Lavender is the common name of Mediterranean origin plant species that belongs to Lavandula from Lamiaceae family. Lavender grows commonly in Isparta province in Turkey. 90% of the lavender plant is grown in Isparta. Lavender flowers begin to bloom at the beginning of July and the lavender harvest continues from the last week of July to mid-August. It is a 40-50 cm long purple flowering plant with green and gray leaves that grow in high and rural areas. It has been used as a perfume for centuries because of its fragrance. Since it is rich in vitamins and minerals, it can be consumed as oil and tea.

Lavender can be easily peeled from other flowers with its scent. The source of its smell is its essential oil content.

• Lavender oil helps to eliminate sleep problems. (1)

• Lavender oil shows antibacterial and antifungal properties. (2)

• It helps to relieve headaches. (3)

• Lavender oil is antiseptic. It is effective in insect bites, cuts, wounds, burns, bruises, spots, allergies. (4)

Many benefits of lavender oil have been proven by scientific researches.For more information about benefits of Lavender Oil, we recommend you to take advantage of scientific researches.

To obtain lavender oil, lavender flowers must be wrapped in cloth and dried in shade. After 2 weeks of drying process, lavender oil is produced by a distillation method from lavender flowers. Distillation is the separation process that takes advantage of the different steam pressures of the components that make up a mixture. It is the most used method in the production of essential oil. The process is carried out by applying the plant with water or steam, or both. There are 3 different distillation methods. These are;

1) Water distillation

2) Steam distillation

3) Water-steam distillation

Steam distillation method is used to produce lavender oil. If you would like to learn more about how herbal oils are produce, you can read our blog titled "Herbal Oils Production Methods".

Today lavender oil is frequently used in various forms, including Aromatherapy oil,tea, gels, infusions, lotions, perfumes, soaps, baby products and candles. Lavender oil is recommended for headaches caused by tension or high blood pressure. (3) Lavender Oil is frequently used in cosmetics and aromatherapy.

How to Use Lavender Oil?

You can use Lavender oil by dropping a few drops needed area on the body. You can have a deeper sleep by dropping two drops of lavender oil to your pillow. For a soothing effect, you can add a few drops of lavender oil to your bath water. You can relieve headaches by soft massaging with two drops of lavender oil to the nape root, your temple and behind your ears. You can use lavender oil with diffuser. You can benefit from the calming effect of lavender oil for a long time when you drip lavender oil in approximately 1 liter of water.

Reference 

1. P.H. Koulivand, M.K. Ghadiri, A. Gorji Lavender and the nervous system Evid Based Complement Altern Med (2013)

2. S. Aazza, B. Lyoussi, C. Megías, I. Cortés-Giraldo, J.Vioque, A.C. Figueiredo, et al. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of Moroccan commercial essential oils Nat Prod Commun, 9 (4) (2014), pp. 587-594

3. S. Kim, H.J. Kim, J.S. Yeo, S.J. Hong, J.M. Lee, Y. Jeon The effect of lavender oil on stress, bispectral index values, and needle insertion pain in volunteers J Altern Complement Med, 17 (2011), pp. 823-826

4. İlisulu, K., (1992). İlaç ve Baharat Bitkileri. Ankara Ünv. Zir. Fak. Yayın. No: 360.