3 minute read
“Put Lavender Oil on That”
Apparently, this will be on my epitaph, according to my stepdaughter. Primarily because since she (temporarily) moved in with us in June, every time she asks me what to do about one skin issue or another, my answer 9 times out of 10 is “Put Lavender Oil on that.”
Now this is partially due to the season –summer heat, heat rashes, insect bites, sunburn – all issues common at this time of year and all respond EXTREMELY well to an application of lavender oil. Preferably diluted, but in an acute instance – bee sting for example, putting it on neat (undiluted) is fine too.
Example one – my stepdaughter had taken her dog to a nearby beach for the day and not used insect repellant. As a result, in the evening she was just scratching herself all over, looking quite honestly like she had fleas!! It was that bad. I gave her a lavender infused lotion bar which she applied straightaway and instantly the scratching stopped. It was quite simply quite miraculous. (She asked me if she could keep the bar, so she was obviously impressed ��)
Example two – while moving some fallen branches from the roadside, she got some grazing on her forearms from the bark. Aloe vera gel plus lavender oil gives a cooling while soothing sensation and also helps to heal the skin faster. Now keen to try whatever I recommended after her first experience; she applies this one time and didn’t need it again. No more irritation, no further signs of the graze after just a couple of days.
Example three – a large swollen bite on her thigh. We don’t know what stung or bit her, but the lump was a couple of inches across, red, swollen and very itchy.
Classified as an acute case, we applied neat lavender oil to the site, which gave instant itch relief. A couple more applications through the evening and the swelling was gone. By the next morning it was like nothing had ever been there.
Example four – this was actually me –while investigating our honey supplies in the beehives, I managed to extremely irritate one hive in particular (long story, but in brief, I had to reorganize their home, which they weren’t too happy about,) and they stung me right through my jeans into the muscle on my thigh. I knew from previous experience with this that this can be extremely painful, I think because it’s right in the muscle, so as soon as I could get the hive back together, I went inside and poured neat lavender oil over the entire area. This did help eliminate the pain of the stings, but there was quite bad bruising later so I should remember next time to also add arnica to prevent that. Always think of prevention rather than cure though, when possible, so I just ordered a pair of bee keeping pants to go over my jeans. Hopefully that additional layer will protect my legs from stings here on in, albeit really, really hot!
When purchasing lavender oil you should be aware that there are different types of lavender out there and they all have different therapeutic properties. As a general rule, look for the Latin Name - Lavandula angustifolia – and you won’t go far wrong. If the bottle doesn’t show a Latin name at all, do not buy it, and if it’s a different name, then do not expect it to work in exactly the same way (it may or it may not have similar properties and without comparing a GC/ MS report you won’t know that.)
You can purchase on my site https://bit.ly/3Jr7iKE email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com I web: us.nyrorganic.com/shop/tracybhalla I www. LogHouseAromatics.com
This lavender is grown on Neal’s Yard’s Eco-farm in southern England, and everything is harvested, essential oils extracted and bottled right there on the farm. Beautiful cobalt blue glass that is also recycled into glass bricks and used on the farm itself. Neals Yard has been around for 35 years now and was one of the very first to use essential oils in skincare. I personally have used their products for over 25 years and cannot praise them enough. They are also still a privately owned company, which in this day and age is pretty rare. SO if you’d like to support them and me at the same time, please click on the link above and enjoy.
Tracy Bhalla, independent consultant with NYR Organics and founder of LogHouseAromatics.com; after 25 years of using homeopathic remedies, it was time to take charge and complete my Aromatherapy Certification, which I achieved April 2020 and since founded LogHouseAromatics.com as a source for useful essential oil and general natural health information and a place to purchase certain products. email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com I am here to answer any questions you may have.