Your go-to essential oil to use for anything and everything…
Written by Sonoma Lavender Wellness Team
Over 20 years’ experience producing lavender spa products in Sonoma County, California.
STORY AT A GLANCE
Discover 12 ways on how to use lavender essential oil for better sleep, stress relief, pain, skin care, home deodorizing, bug repelling, and more…
Lavender Uses for Your Mind and Body
Lavender oil is most well-known for helping to naturally promote good sleep and also helps reduce anxiety and stress. It soothes acne, scars, eczema and dry, aging skin as well as encouraging scalp and hair health plus growth. It can also be used as a natural deodorant and scent.
Lavender Uses for Health and Healing
Lavender oil helps soothe and heal bug bites, burns, cuts and scars and offers pain relief for headaches, arthritis, cramps, muscles and joints. Delivers relief from allergies, colds, flu and fever and is also used as a treatment for fungal infections.
Lavender Uses as a Natural Deodorizer and Bug Repellent
Lavender oil is an all-natural fabric refresher, a mosquito and bug repellent and an effective home deodorizer.
The world of essential oils is vast, intriguing, and honestly, a touch overwhelming. You’ve scoured the net for hours searching for practical ways to make use of them in your everyday life. Yet you still have very little idea about what oils to use or how to use them…
If you only have room for one essential oil in your life, then use lavender oil. Arguably the most versatile oil you can find, lavender essential oil is truly an astonishing multi-tasker with many helpful healing properties.
Most well-known for helping you sleep, reducing anxiety and calming the body and mind, lavender oil has so many other uses - from caring for your skin and hair to home cleaning and repelling bugs - and even as part of your go-to essential oil first-aid kit.
Ready to explore how to use lavender oil for you, your family and your home? Find out why you need this little natural miracle in a bottle to make your day - and life - so much easier…
LAVENDER OIL USES FOR YOUR MIND AND BODY
It’s not often that you can find one solution to sort out a whole bunch of your personal health and beauty issues. That’s what makes lavender one of the most powerful essential oils.
Renowned for its ability to help you dramatically sleep better, reduce stress and calm anxious thoughts, lavender oil also contains many healing properties for your skin like clearing up acne and eczema, and also helps reverse signs of aging. The benefits of this pretty purple flower also extend to promoting a healthy head of hair.
Here’s how to use lavender oil’s multipurpose magic to make your life better. The fact that it smells nice enough to use as a scent is an unexpected bonus…
1. Reduce Anxiety and Stress
You’re a tightly wound-up stress ball - anxious about not having enough time/conflict at work/ taking on too much/family problems/an unhealthy lifestyle or any other major life changes (delete whichever is not applicable). No wonder you’re stressed, irritable and grumpy…
Time to use lavender. Lavender aromatherapy - especially inhalation - has been linked in some well-designed studies with reduced anxiety and stress responses.
Within a few minutes of diffusing a few drops of lavender essential oil you’ll begin to feel the calm. Or add a few drops of lavender oil to a warm foot soak to reduce anxiety and clear the mind. And ease away those worries by relaxing with a warming lavender neck pillow to improve your mood and soothe the soul.
2. Manage Acne, Scars, Eczema and Dry, Aging Skin
Problems with those not-so-nice acne breakouts, ageing or dry skin, or even eczema? Or maybe you’ve got an allergic rash, a scar you’d like to disappear, or chapped lips or hands? Try using that brilliant little multi-tasker - lavender oil - to help manage a whole bunch of problems with your face and skin.
Lavender’s calming effects on skin irritation are widely used in topical blends. Use a few drops of lavender essential oil added to an all-natural, unscented moisturizer or a ready-made lavender body lotion can help help improve dry or aging skin.
Add a few drops of lavender oil to a carrier oil and regularly massage onto your scars and eczema prone areas. Use the same mixture to also help heal calm allergies or a rash, and get rid of chapped lips.
To get rid of acne, dip a Q-tip into 5 drops of lavender oil in 1 teaspoon of warm water and hold onto a pimple for a few minutes. Regularly repeat until you zap that zit.
These 5 Powerful Benefits Are Why You Need Lavender Essential Oil For Your Skin – Read More
3. Double Duty Lavender Deodorant and Scent
Are you looking for a more natural alternative to your normal underarm deodorant? That’s easy. Just apply a couple of drops of lavender oil mixed with coconut oil to keep you smelling fresh - and relaxed - the whole day.
And if you like a fresh floral scent, swap out your normal scent for lavender. Dab a drop of oil behind your ears and onto your wrists. How to keep calm and smell great in one simple step…
4. For Hair Health and Growth
You’re not having much luck treating your dry and itchy scalp. Maybe you are starting to lose more hair than normal and can’t figure out what to do. Or the kids have picked up lice at school and you don’t want it to spread? No problem…
Daily use of Lavender oil benefits as part of a stimulating head massage can help to kill lice, their eggs and nits as well as soothe dry scalp problems. Even better, there are some small studies showing that using lavender may also potentially promote healthy hair growth. So, even though the jury is out on this one, you can still enjoy a blissful head massage in the meantime (who doesn’t?).
Either add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil to your normal shampoo or some coconut oil to create a quick and easy hair mask, or massage a few drops of lavender oil directly onto your scalp.
5. Helps You Sleep Better Naturally
If you find yourself tossing and turning at night or feeling distinctly lackluster during the day, you’re more than likely suffering from the greatest health problem of the modern world - lack of sleep - specifically deep sleep (that’s the good one).
Lavender essential oil is touted as the reigning queen of sleep and with good reason. A number of research studies suggest lavender may help you fall asleep more easily, as well as improve sleep quality, when inhaled before bedtime.
Start your night-time ritual by diffusing lavender oil for about an hour in your bedroom to create a sleep oasis. Then lie back, soak, relax and feel oh-so good in a tub of warm water generously sprinkled with lavender bath salts. To seal the deal, mist your pillows with a lavender linen spray and rub a few drops of lavender oil onto the soles of your feet to guarantee those high quality zzz’s.
Proof: Lavender Essential Oil Can Definitely Help You Naturally Sleep Better – Read More
USES OF LAVENDER OIL FOR BUG BITES, BURNS, PAIN, COLDS & FLU
A well-stocked first-aid kit is a must for every home, especially when you have kids. An antiseptic cream and headache tablets - check. An antihistamine and some mentholated deep heat pain and cramp relieving rub - check. Cold and flu medication in winter and a sunburn relief spray for summer - check. And so the list goes on…
But what if you found out that one natural alternative can replace all these - and more? Lavender essential oil with its powerful healing properties is about to come your new family favorite first aid cure-all…
6. Soothes & Helps Heal Bug Bites, Burns, Cuts & Scars
Lavender’s traditional use as a mild antiseptic and soothing agent is long-standing.
A quick dab of lavender essential oil soothes bug bites and stings, and can help relieve itching and reduce any swelling. Use a few drops of lavender oil on minor burns and scalds to avoid the formation of blisters and lessen the pain. Lavender also helps stop bleeding whilst soothing small wounds, cuts and scrapes – plus it reduces scarring. It can even help treat cold sores.
And while prevention is better, sunburn can happen to anyone. Lavender oil cools the skin and soothes away any puffiness, soreness, and redness. Mix a few drops with aloe vera gel for a double dose of relief.
7. Pain Relief for Headaches, Arthritis, Cramps, Muscles & Joints
Apply a few drops uses for lavender oil onto the temples, below the jawline and onto the forehead to help ease a headache. And if it’s brought on by stress, try a lavender neck pillow to reduce neck tension and pain. A therapeutic rub down with lavender massage oil followed by a hot lavender bubble bath also effectively relieves sore muscles, sprains, aching joints and backaches.
Fast-track your pain relief by using a lavender infused spa mask or body wrap as a hot or cold compress. Heat helps soothe arthritis and stiff joints, relax your muscles, and ease spasms and cramps. Cold helps numb sharp pain and reduce inflammation and swelling. All your aches and pains done and dusted.
5 Powerful Essential Oils to Help Get Rid of Headaches and Migraines Naturally (And How to Use Them) – Read More
8. Allergies, Colds, Flu & Fever
A stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing or a scratchy throat? Add 4-6 drops of lavender oil to boiling water, throw a towel over your head, and breathe in the healing effects of the purple flower.
For lasting relief from sinus pressure and pain, use steam inhalation together with a few lavender oil drops rubbed onto your top lip, the forehead, temples and the back of your neck. And if your allergies are driving you mad, one of the best remedies is to simply sniff lavender essential oil straight out of the bottle to stop that incessant sneezing.
When a fever hits, lavender can also work wonders. Soak a washcloth in a few drops of lavender oil diluted in lukewarm water, and gently wash the forehead, neck and trunk to cool down the body. Or chill a lavender infused spa blankie in the freezer for an hour or so, and cover the entire body. Sweet cooling relief.
7 Powerful Essential Oils That Are Proven Natural Remedies For Quick Relief From Allergies – Read More
9. Fungal Infections
If you’ve ever had athlete’s foot, ringworm or thrush, then you know all about fungal infections. Commonly making an appearance after you’ve been exposed to a warm moist environment, they can be a nuisance but most are harmless.
Daily doses of lavender essential oil - a natural antifungal - rubbed into the infected skin or onto the nails can help clear them up. Or soak your feet in lavender-infused water to ease the irritation, moisturize and heal.
USES OF LAVENDER OIL AS A NATURAL DEODORIZER AND BUG REPELLENT
Scent is one of the first things that people notice about your home. And for most of us, our house smells best right after we clean. Except between the kids, cooking, pets and your family just living their everyday lives, it can quickly revert to smelling like a mix of garbage disposal, gym socks and wet dog.
Enter sweet-smelling lavender. Using the essential oil is the simplest and smartest way to freshen up your laundry, your home and your life without constantly having to use artificial room freshening sprays. And it even chases away bugs…
10. Natural Fabric Refresher and Deodorizer
One of the most wonderful smells in the world is freshly laundered clothes. Add about 10 drops of lavender essential oil to your washing machine to not only kill odor-causing bacteria during the wash cycle, but for its great fresh scent. Or add a few drops to a clean cloth and use it like a dyer sheet to naturally deodorize your laundry. Also use lavender oil to freshen up your fabrics while ironing by adding a couple of drops to the water in your iron.
If your sheets, linens or towels have taken on a slightly musty smell after they’ve been in the closet for a while, simply refresh them with a spritz of lavender linen water. You can also restore a fresh clean smell to your sofa fabric, curtains and bedding by lightly misting them with a lavender spray mist.
11. Natural Mosquito and Bug Repellent
Flying insects (especially mosquitos) hate the smell of lavender, making it a much safer option than chemically based insect repellents. Plant lavender close to windows and doors, or scatter dried lavender floral arrangements around the house.
Hang pretty lavender sachets above open windows to repel bugs and catch a waft of lavender every time you enter a room. Spritz your mattress and bedding with lavender linen spray to keep bed bugs away. Slip lavender sachets between your sweaters, hang them in closets and use a handy lavender sachet liner in your drawers to chase away moths and other bugs.
You can even use lavender essential oil diluted in a carrier oil to rub onto your arms and legs as a natural bug repellent.
10 Essential Oils to Naturally Repel Mosquitoes and Bugs (And Soothe Itchy Bites Too!) – Read More
12. Natural Home and Room Deodorizer
Lavender doesn’t just have a pretty face - its pleasing smell can help freshen up your entire house.
• Arrange some dried lavender flowers in a vase or display a few lavender sachets in the bathroom for effective deodorizing where you need it most.
• Add 5 or 6 drops of lavender oil to some baking soda in a pretty jar and place anywhere where smells lurk (like the garbage can or laundry hamper). Just shake the jar to refresh.
• Using a mix of baking soda and lavender oil is also a very effective pet stain and odor remover. Just sprinkle a little onto the offending spot, let sit for half an hour, then vacuum. This tip is also useful for removing musty odors from your car.
• Using cotton ball perfume bombs is an old hack, but it really works. Add a few drops of lavender oil to cotton balls and tuck them out of sight wherever you need them - between sofa cushions, in the A/C panel, behind furniture - wherever you want a little whiff of pleasure. You can even place them inside your vacuum bag to spread the scent throughout your house.
• Lavender sachets are also pretty air fresheners. Slip them into flower arrangements, hang them onto lamps - the heat helps diffuse the scent - or tie them onto your air vent so the scent wafts through the room as the air blows.
• No home décor would be complete without some gorgeous candles and eye-catching diffusers which gently disperse the wonderful scent of lavender throughout your house…
The Many Amazing Uses For Dried Lavender You May Not Know About – Read More
Can you now see why using lavender should be your first-choice essential oil – and how it can quickly become an indispensable item in your life?
It’s not often we find something so versatile that we can pretty much use it anywhere and everywhere - for ourselves, our family and our homes…
IMPORTANT NOTE:
There's a difference between an essential oil or simply an oil, which is basically a perfume. If a label does not clearly state that it is an 'essential oil,' then it is not a pure oil and should not be used as suggested. Ensure that you always use top quality essential oils such as Sonoma Lavender’s lavender essential oil.
The Ultimate Guide on How to Use Essential Oils – Read More
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do you use lavender oil safely?
It is primarily used for aromatherapy via diffusers, topically on skin for irritation or massage, and as a spray. Keep it away from eyes and children.
Diffusion: Dilute the oil in a water-based diffuser using 3-8 drops per half a cup of water.
Topically: Dilution with a carrier oil is absolutely key when applying to your skin as essential oils are very potent. Some good choices are jojoba (regulates oil production for all skin types), sweet almond (for dry/sensitive skin), grapeseed (for oily/acne-prone skin) and rosehip oil (lightweight and nourishing).
Mix 6–12 drops of lavender oil per ounce of carrier oil. Apply diluted oil to temples, wrists, under the ears or feet.
Spray: Mix 1/2 cup distilled water, 2 tablespoons witch hazel or vodka, and 15-20 drops of lavender essential oil in a 4 oz glass spray bottle. Shake well before each use.
Cautionary Notes: Essential oils may also cause allergic reactions when the oils are used on the skin or inhaled. Make sure you patch test first.
Be cautious of using essential oils if you suffer from common respiratory conditions like asthma, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Can lavender oil help with sleep or stress?
A number of studies show that inhaling lavender oil acts as a natural sedative to improve sleep quality, particularly when used in combination with sleep hygiene practices.
Research shows it helps by increasing slow-wave (deep) sleep, lowering heart rate, blood pressure and skin temperature, and in doing so, reduces stress and anxiety.