Lavender Oil for Skin, Benefits, Uses, How to Use

Using lavender oil for skin offers therapeutic and nourishing benefits for the skin. It also has a pleasant aroma making a favorite ingredient in skin care products

Lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia) is proclaimed to be most versatile and universal of all essential oil. A reason why it has been the go to essential beauty product by many companies to make deodorants, lotions, skin care products, hair care products, etc.

Here is more on lavender oil for skin, its benefits, uses, remedies and side effects if any.

What Is Lavender Oil?

Lavender oil comes from the flowers of a short shrub that grows about 2 feet tall, commonly known as Lavender with the scientific name Lavandula; nowadays the plant can be found anywhere, but then it was native to the Mediterranean.

History of Lavender Oil

With many applications and a distinct aroma, you can guess that lavender oil has been used for centuries; it has been in used for over 2300 years dating back to ancient Egypt, Greek, Persians, and Romans. Its principal purposes were cleaning, healing, mummification “in Egypt,” bathing, cooking, and as a perfume. Nowadays lavender oil is being used mostly to make perfumes or essential oil for the skin and hair.

Production of Lavender Essential Oil

The essential oil is extracted from the flowers through steam distillation, where a significant amount of the herbs are heated under pressure, which causes the subtle elements of the plant to separate from the flower and when the resulting steam condenses the essential oil is left floating. After this, the essential oil is separated from the liquid water.

Is Lavender Oil Good For Skin?

Overall due to the diversity in lavenders properties, and positive attributes Lavender essential oil will do wonders for your skin health and beauty wise. Plus other benefits like giving you a better mood and calming you down living, thus you relaxed when used on your skin; this falls under the compound group of the chemical known as esters.

And with natural properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, insect repellent and antiseptic you can see why lavender will be a good fit in dealing with skin conditions like acne, wounds, scars, or burns, etc. thus giving it the reputation of one of the best in not the best essential oil. The side effects are minimal and mostly happen to people allergic to lavender.

Benefits of Lavender Oil for Skin

With all its incredible properties lavender essential oil doesn’t disappoint when it comes to benefits for skin and body.  Lots of properties heal the skin directly and others indirectly so some of the benefits can be for body parts which will later lead to the brighter fresher skin thus making your look prettier. Here are the benefits brought on by lavender essential oil for skin:

Bug and Insect Repellent

Bugs and insects tend to have a bad effect on the human skin; they can leave you with red, inflamed itchy skin or even cause severe infection or bacteria in your body when they bite which could cause disease e.g. malaria from mosquitos. Essential lavender oil wards off this bugs and insects, preventing you from irritating bites, pain, and infection thus leaving you healthy and your skin glowing.

Helps Treat Eczema

Eczema is a skin condition that leaves human skin a bit red, itchy, dry, with dark patches and inflamed skin. It’s brought on by yeast or bacteria build, infecting your skin and makes it change in a way that looks displeasing.  With essential lavender oil being an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungal plus its moisturizing properties give it an upper hand in dealing with Eczema; few drops daily blended with carrier oil will do the treat.

Relieves Pain

It can be used for pain relief i.e. its helps ease tense or sore muscles, rheumatism, joint pain, backache, and sprains. Thus when used for massage it gives it time to seep into the body and reduce pain from varies situation e.g. insect bites, needle insertion, etc.; studies have shown that it can reduce back pain by 40%.

Acne

Essential lavender oil has properties that deal effectively against bacteria and inflammation.  It rebalances the over-secretion of sebum and inhibits bacteria causing an infection thus, becoming an excellent asset in fighting acne.  It has cleansing and antiseptic properties that help with mild blemishes from forming and keeps pores unclogged.

Burns, Cuts and Insect Bites

With antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, lavender oil helps with burns, cuts insects bites, and other wounds, healing them properly with minimal pain, uninfected and without scaring. The oil can develop scarring tissue, reduce the swelling of wounds and minimize its itching. Not only does it heal the pain it also has been found to have abilities to help with blood clotting which is a significant boost.

Skin Brightener

Essential lavender oil fades of age spots, dark spots, and discoloration as well as reduce inflammation thus making the skin smoother, healthy and flawless leading to the skin being brighter plus lighter.

Improve blood circulation

Research suggests using essential lavender oil benefits coronary circulation, which means that brain, skin and other body organs will get enough oxygen proving that it’s useful for hypertension, blood pressure and avoiding a heart attack; leading to incredible health benefits for skin and overall body.

As A General Skin Care

As a natural antioxidant and with all these other properties, lavender oil protects the skin from harmful chemicals, toxins, and pollutants. This is a way of skin detoxing that reduces the skin aging, its anti-fungal, anti- inflammatory and moisturizing properties also help with dehydrated or oily skin and issues like stretchmark’s, wrinkles, sunburns, psoriasis and skin scars. It also speeds up the healing of sunburns and encourages tissue formation.

Relieve a dry, itchy scalp and dandruff

If you have dry, itchy scalps and dandruff, lavender oil has powerful antimicrobial and antiseptic action that can do away with dandruff and fed away with the itchy situation; just rub a few drops to your scalp.

Other benefits when applied on the skin:

Muscle and Joints

As you have seen in pain relief, sometimes you tend to have weak, stiff or tense muscles and joints, making you tired all the time which makes work even more challenging.  Massage your body using lavender oil is essential.

Sleeping

Because of its soothing aroma, it aids people with sleeping issues to get easier sleep with no need of medication.

Headaches

When you apply a few drops of lavender oil on the nape of the neck, the forehead, and temples, it tends to bring a soothing, refreshing sense of mind hence getting rid of headaches and migraines.

For Anxiety and Depression

It’s said to have calming abilities that help with anxiety and depression. Thus when applied to the skin it positively affects some people’s mode and attitude during the day making them more joyous.

All these benefits affect the skin directly or indirectly e.g. anxiety, depression or sleep, etc. Remember that for a fresher, brighter skin which looks vibrant all day you need to be at your best with less stress and enough sleep resulting to a refreshed, relaxed and soothed skin.

Uses of Lavender Oil for Skin

The uses for Lavender oil go hand in hand with its benefits, when using essential lavender oil as a beauty product, you need not fear the of an adverse outcome. As you have seen in the interests section, lavender oil comes with a lot of excellent benefits in its plate, so not only beauty wise but also health wise.

Massage

Lavender essential can be used to massage your skin and body either by a professional or at home by user self. It will help relief joints and muscle of tension and pain. And also help with acne, wounds, and burns.

Facial Mist

You can use it to make a facial mist to use when you fill that your skin is dehydrated or oily during the day. Add lavender oil to distilled water and store in a tinted spray then use whenever you have necessary; make sure its two ounces of water added to 20 drops of essential lavender oil

Use as a Natural Perfume

Because of its pleasant aroma, chemical free and calming ability lavender oil can be employed as an alternative cologne or perfume and even added to as a form of deodorant. It will give you a better mood while smelling awesome.

 Use as a Compress

When you have a sprain or muscle injury soak a towel in warm water that has lavender oil added too, then use it to apply on the affected area.

 For a Chemical Free Lip Balm

As an all-natural, chemical free lip balm lavender oil would be excellent because it will heal dried, chapped lips and protect your lips from sunlight.

1. You can add 3-4 drops lavender oil in your bath from time to time; it will help soak away stress and ease muscles
2. You can also add it to your shampoo, lotion, and skin care products
3. It can also be used for skin detox because of its antioxidant properties

Where to Buy Lavender Oil Its Cost and Products

You can get the essential lavender oil where natural organic food is sold, in local herbal stores and online. Beware of diluted or synthetic oils so find a place with recommended places with a good reputation and best reviews. The cost is 9-14$ depending on the brand i.e. make sure you buy the pure one.

Here are favorite brands of essential lavender oil with no additives:

• Radha Beauty Essential Lavender Oil
• Edens Garden Pure Therapeutic Lavender Oil
• Majestic Pure Lavender Oil
• Soft by Nature Pure Lavender Oil

After extraction lavender oil can be converted into different forms, to fit people’s requirements, depending on the mode of for use. The various brands make lavender oil into various products which include:

• Extracts
• Soaps
• Lotions
• Aromatherapy
• Bath Gels
• Facial Mist

Home remedies with Lavender Oil for Skin

There are several essential oils lavender oil can be blended with to make mixed forms which bring about better health and beauty results when used. Many solutions use lavender oil in them that people have come up with:

Lavender Oil Face Mask

Ingredients:

• 3-5 drops of essential lavender oil
• One tablespoon of organic yogurt

Procedure:

1. Mix the two ingredients together
2. Apply on your face while avoiding the eyes
3. Wait for 10-15 minutes
4. Rinse off with warm water

Lavender Oil in a Bath

Ingredients:

• Two tablespoons of essential lavender oil
• Two tablespoons of oatmeal

Procedure:

1. Mix the two in a muslin bag
2. Put then in your bath
3. It will dissolve into the water almost imminently, and you can soak in the tub as usual

Lavender Oil for Wrinkles

Ingredients:

• Three drops of essential lavender oil
• White egg

Procedure:

1. Mix the two
2. Apply on your face
3. Wait for 15-25 minutes
4. Rinse with warm water

Lavender Oil for Acne

Ingredients:

• 12 drops of essential lavender oil
• An ounce of carrier oil/moisturizer/lotions

Procedure:

1. Mix the two together “the idea is to get a 2-2.5% dilution of lavender oil.”
2. Dab a cotton ball in the solution
3. Apply it on your face on affected spots

Everyday Things Lavender Oil Blends Well With;

As a calming, floral oil Lavender oil blends well will bergamot or citrus bliss. For better aroma, it combines well with basil or marjoram oil. Other oils include clary sage, pine, geranium, cedar wood and nutmeg.

Warnings on the Use of Lavender Oil for Skin

The possible side effects are for allergic people, and it is stated to be unsafe for

• Breastfeeding mothers
• Pregnant women
• Small children
• Elderly people
• And people undergoing surgery because it slows down the nervous system same as anesthesia; this will increase risk during surgery.

Check with a qualified doctor or use the patch test to know if you are allergic before using essential lavender oil.