Lavender Love

Lavender is more than a pretty flower with a soothing scent.  It is one of the most common flowers used in natural skin care.  I love lavender.  It is possibly of of my favorite aromas in the world, which is apropos because lavender is used in aromatherapy to calm the spirit... and some days that is exactly what my modern life needs: Calm.

Lavender has many healing properties.  It contains analgesic (meaning "without pain" in Greek), antibacterial, antidepressant, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties.

I make an ointment using plant fats and oils combined with lavender.  It is a multipurpose wonder that I use as a diaper rash cream, a soothing post-waxing cream, a rich facial moisturizer, a comforting bug-bite balm, a dry elbow/knee cream, and an all-around boo-boo fixer-upper (for my 3 year old daughter).

In the treatment room it is great to have some lavender aromatherapy, and in a few masks I use lavender to help troubled or stressed-out skin conditions.   

You can add lavender oil to a foot soak to ease you tired toes, or add it to a bath to tame cranky kiddos.  Lavender tea works wonders as a mouthwash.  Added to a massage oil, lavender can loosen sore muscles.  The leaves are edible and it is a main ingredient in the popular spice mix "Herbs De Provence".

Recommended: Aura Cacia Lavender Essential Oil, Dr. Hauschka's Lavender Bath, Clovertree's Vintage Lavender Whipped Sugar Scrub, Celebration Herbals Lavender Tea