Health Benefits:

One of the most versatile, and unquestionably the most popular of all essential oils, lavender is best known for its standout skin healing properties and its deeply calming and soothing qualities.  Gentle and balancing, lavender oil nourishes and supports the nervous, digestive and respiratory systems, and muscle and joint health.  On the skin, lavender applied neat or diluted has a tonifying effect, supporting healing of breakouts, and encouraging a healthy inflammatory response. It can be used to profoundly support skin healing, including cuts, bites, and scrapes, but it is renowned for its ability to sooth burns and support the reduction of scar tissue. It also can be applied under the arms as a deodorant.

Lavender oil eases tension from daily stress or over-work, and promotes feelings of well being.  It is considered particularly helpful in supporting muscles and joints, encouraging a healthy inflammatory response. In the respiratory tract, lavender essential oil may be inhaled (direct palm, vapor, or diffused) to promote detoxification and decongestion, and to soothe irritation and enhance respiratory healing.  Lavender supports the circulatory system, encouraging healthy blood pressure.  Inhalation of lavender oil supports and balances the digestive system by stimulating the production of gastric juices and bile.

Lavender is also known for supporting healthy, balanced hormones and may be used to support the body during perimenopause or PMS. Lavender is thought to be a general immune supporting oil, safe for all ages.

In the nervous system lavender is calming, regenerating, and is used to promote restful sleep. The scent of lavender typically elicits pleasant associations and therefore engenders a calming, nurturing effect, supporting both deep relaxation and emotional and spiritual upliftment. The refreshing aroma helps to support  mental clarity, simultaneously grounding and calming the senses.

How to Use:

Lavender can be applied (neat or diluted) topically, as a compress, in the bath, through direct inhalation, or diffuser.

Apply a drop to support skin health, including the healing of insect bites.

Add several drops and apply as a cold compress to support joint and muscle health.

To promote restful sleep, place two drops on a cotton ball and tuck under pillowcase.

Add several drops to bath water to support the digestive and nervous system.

Blend lavender oil with a massage oil to uplift mood, and ease head and shoulder tension from daily stress.

Diffuse lavender to calm and relax the whole family.

Lavender Oil Recipes:

Sleep formula: 4 drops lavender, 2 drops Roman chamomile, 1 drop cedarwood in 15 ml marula oil

Children's Tummy Support blend (soothes and supports natural digestive function) : 4 drops mandarin, 2 drops grapefruit, 2 drops lavender, 2 drops Roman chamomile in 15ml marula oil and rub on tummy

Gentlest aromatic bath for all ages: 2 drops lavender, 2 drops Roman chamomile in warm bath water

Skin Healing blend (supports healing of burns) : 4 drops lavender, 4 drops helichrysum, 2 drops rose in 15 ml aloe vera gel (may also be applied neat)

More Information:

The French lavender industry has established a guarantee of origin, called an A.O.C. (“Appellation d’origine controlee”) which guarantees that the fields where this particular lavender grows be at a minimum altitude of 2,400 ft, and the lavender itself undergo regular laboratory analyses and olfactory testing for purity.

Modern aromatherapy as we know it owes its success in large part to the lavender plant. Though plants have been used, even in essential oil form, for millennia, the term aromatherapy was not coined until 1937 by French chemist and perfumer Rene Maurice Gattefosse. He was not a believer of the natural health movement, per se, but was interested in the properties of essential oils. After burning himself badly in his laboratory, he instinctively plunged the burned hand into the first available liquid compound, which happened to be lavender essential oil. It not only immediately eased the pain, but helped heal the hand without any sign of infection or scar.

Thought to have been originally cultivated in Arabia, lavender may have been carried by Greek traders as early as 600 BC to the islands off the southern coast of France. A common belief is that the word lavender comes from the Latin lavare “to wash” because the Roman Empire routinely used lavender in perfumed oils for bathing. In The Story of Lavender, author Sally Festing states that the word lavender most certainly did not come from lavare but from the earliest spelled form livendula - Latin for “livid” or “bluish”.

Lavender’s native range now extends across the Canary Islands, North and East Africa, south Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia, and India. The herb has been used in bathing rituals for thousands of years, beginning with the Persians. The ancient Greeks used lavender to treat throat infections and ease constipation. European herbalists employed it in hydrosol form as a head lice treatment.  Lavender was grown in medieval herb gardens, and was said to 'comfort the stomach and the soul.'

The herb was also used in mummification processes in ancient Egypt, and was found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. It was a favorite for strewing on the floor, since it released an aroma when walked upon and it is often used these days in toilet water, as an insecticide or in sachets to be placed between linen.

Lavender is the most popular, and therefore the most adulterated, of all essential oils. It is estimated that 90% of all products labeled “lavender essential oil” are either other species (such as lavandin), diluted, or are outright synthetic fabrications. True lavender grows at high altitude of above 2,000 ft.  Native to the Mediterranean region, it is now cultivated on every continent.

Read David Crow's article on Lavender.

Safety Guidelines:

Safety Considerations for Lavender Oil:

Non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-sensitizing. Do not take lavender essential oil internally.

Aromatic Profile & Blending:

Aromatic Profile and Blending of Lavender Essential Oil:

Perfumery Note: Middle to top
Odor: Complex-sweet, floral-herbaceous, refreshing, with a balsamic-woody undertone
Strength of Initial Aroma: Medium 

Blends well with:  bergamot, and other citrus oils;  clove, patchouli, rosemary, clary sage, pine; also palmarosa, black pepper, juniper, lemongrass, and peppermint

Product Details:

Botanical Name: Lavandula angustifolia
Family: Labiatae 
Composition: 100% Pure French Lavender oil 
Origin: France
Method of Extraction: Steam distilled
Cultivation/Harvesting: Organic, Non-certified
Plant Part:  Flowering tops
Color: Clear to pale yellow
Consistency: Thin
Yield: .5 – 1.6%

Bottle Size: 15 ml (1/2 oz.)

Why Buy From Floracopeia:

Floracopeia was established to help preserve and promote the use of botanical medicines as solutions to the widespread ecological destruction taking place in the world, and the loss of medicinal plants on which traditional medical systems depend. We provide our customers with the highest quality essential oils and other botanical aromatic treasures through the promotion of ecological sustainability, organic agriculture, and agro-forestry projects.

Our products are acclaimed for their therapeutic-grade, high quality at affordable prices. We provide artisanal quality oils produced by small family-based distillers. We buy directly from farmers and distillers, thus supporting the local economies in which the plants are grown. We do not buy oils from the world-brokers. Floracopeia is founded with a strong medical orientation and is involved in a number of global eco-projects based in grass roots health care, spirituality, reforestation projects, and the preservation and restoration of ethno-botanical culture.