Ingredient Spotlight: French Lavender Oil
In Summer (and always) - we love Lavender Oil. Lavender oil, also known by its scientific name Lavandula angustifolia, is extracted from the lavender stems and flowers via steam distillation. The harvest starts in July when flowering has ended and the lavender flowers are harvested and dried. The dried flowers are then steam distilled in a large distillation vessel whereby steam is passed through the vessel contents, vaporizing the essential oil. Below just a few reasons why we love to use lavender essential oil on our formulas:
It helps you sleep
One study [1] found that several whiffs of lavender oil before bed increased the percentage of deep sleep time in healthy men and women. It even has beneficial effects for those who suffer from insomnia—a study [2] found that inhaling lavender oil twice a week for 20 minutes at a time soothed the nervous system and improved sleep quality scores for women with insomnia when compared to a lavender-oil-free control group. We use French Lavender Essential Oil alongside other calming oils such as chamomile and frankincense as part of our Calm It aromatherapy blend which is available as our Calm It Home and Linen Mist.
It soothes your skin
In particular skin flare-ups like eczema and psoriasis have responded well to the anti-inflammatory properties of lavender oil. Studies show that lavender essential oil can calm irritated skin [3]. We use Lavender Essential Oil to create our Kiss It Lip and Skin Balm with Lavender + Chamomile which has been developed to nourish, soften and protect chapped or dry lips as well as other dry skin areas.
It has would healing properties (minor wounds)
One study [4] found that when applied topically, lavender oil closed up wounds more quickly than other solutions, over the course of a five-day period.
Sources:
1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07420520500263276?journalCode=icbi20&
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159017/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5435909/
4. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/361832/
