I began my essential oils journey a few years ago with lavender (lavandula angustifolia) essential oil. It seems fitting that I would kick off this series — 10 Best Essential Oils for Everyday Use — by sharing about it.
Lavender essential oil is the most used essential oil in the world. Since ancient times it has been used both for medicinal and religious purposes — mummification, bathing, cooking, and as an air freshener. If you only ever buy one essential oil for the rest of your life, it should be lavender. It is, hands-down, the most versatile of all the essential oils. I carry a bottle with me everywhere I go, knowing that at any moment, I have a first-aid kit, anti-anxiety formula, and perfume at my disposal.
Lavender essential oil has been found to:
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Heal mild burns, bruises, and wounds
- Improve sleep
- Treat skin condition such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis
- Contain powerful antioxidants
- Alleviate headaches, joint pain, and muscle aches
- Take away the sting of insect bites
- Improves symptoms of motion sickness
- Stop nosebleeds
- Control seasonal allergies
- Eliminate dandruff
As you can see, this lavender essential oil is like a little medicine-cabinet in a bottle. And even though I now have an arsenal filled with about 50 single essential oils and blends, lavender remains my most often used and purchased. In addition to being so versatile, it is also one of the least expensive essential oils on the market. It seems nearly every blend I make myself contains it, and almost every personal use recipe begins with it.
Here are some of the best everyday uses for lavender essential oil:
Pet Smells: Mix baking soda with a few drops of lavender, sprinkle on carpet, and vacuum.
Sleep: Sprinkle a few drops of lavender on your (or your child’s) pillow for a great night’s sleep.
Linen Spray: Add a few drops of lavender to a spray bottle of water and spray your musty linens to freshen them up! Don’t worry . . . it won’t leave any oil spots. Spray your mattress when you change your sheets, too!
Steam Treatment: Add 5-6 drops of lavender to a bowl of not water, place a towel over your head and lean over the bowl, inhaling deeply. It will help with your cold symptoms and it’s wonderful for your skin.
Bath Time: Add a few drops to your bath to soothe sore muscles or relieve tension.
Allergies: Apply a few drops to the back of your neck, chest, and between your eyes to relieve allergy symptoms.
First Aid: Keep a bottle in your first aid kit to use with minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises.
Hair Care: Add a few drops to your shampoo to help with dry scalp or dandruff.
Warnings
Lavender Essential Oil is one of the safest oils on the market.
Essential oils are highly concentrated, strong, and powerful liquids that can be harmful if not used carefully and properly. Use caution when using them. Please keep essential oils out of reach of children. Please do not use this essential oil on children under the age of 6 months.
One of my other favorite ways to use lavender essential oil is mixed with magnesium oil. My love for lavender is nearly matched by my love for magnesium, so mixing the two makes for a powerful formula. I’m not going to spend an extraordinary amount of time discussing magnesium today, but I highly recommend everyone read this book — Transdermal Magnesium Therapy for more information about how this mineral can change your life and health.
Magnesium oil has a variety of uses — skin refresher, natural deodorizer, restores cellular magnesium levels, protects skin cells, aids in detoxification, relieves aches and pains, improves mood, helps relieve stress, and encourages healthy skin tissue. Magnesium is also known to improve sleep.
Magnesium deficiency is common, and the use of magnesium oil can maintain healthy magnesium levels. Dr. Mark Sircus, a leading magnesium expert and author of Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, says this:
After oxygen, water, and basic food, magnesium may be the most important element needed by our bodies, vitally important yet hardly known. It is more important than calcium, potassium or sodium and regulates all three of them. Millions suffer daily from magnesium deficiency without even knowing it.
And this:
Magnesium deficiency is often misdiagnosed because it does not show up in blood tests – only 1% of the body’s magnesium is stored in the blood. (Read more in his article on magnesium deficiency.)
If you wish to use magnesium oil purely as a magnesium supplement, I recommend going ahead and purchasing the bottled form of magnesium oil found here. You can read more about why that might be the best choice here. But for our purposes today, this DIY recipe is fine and much more cost-effective.
Keep reading to learn more and to get my recipe for Magnesium Oil Spray.