Lavender Essential Oil is easily one of our most popular essential oils, and for good reason. This incredibly versatile essential oil packs many health benefits and is a relaxing scent loved by many. 

Today, we are sharing some of the top lavender essential oil benefits and how you can incorporate lavender essential oil into your routine to support yourself physically and mentally. 

Lavender Essential Oil Benefits 

Improving Sleep Quality and Relaxation

If there is one thing lavender is known for, it’s how relaxing the smell of lavender is for many of us.

One study on dental patients found that lavender aromatherapy benefited the overall mood, calmness, and anxiety of patients waiting for dental treatments. Since many of us dread going to the dentist, we consider this a great demonstration of lavender’s calming presence! 

Lavender is also known to help those struggling with insomnia. One study even found that participants who regularly had sleep disturbances experienced longer sleep and less frequent wake-ups when exposed to lavender aromatherapy. 

If you’re interested in learning more about herbal remedies for sleep, including a more in-depth breakdown of lavender’s sleep benefits, click here to read our previous piece on sleep. 

How to Use Lavender to Improve Sleep Quality and Relaxation

Lavender can be used in many ways to encourage better sleep and relaxation. Here are a few of our favorite ways to use lavender: 

• Diffuse Lavender Essential Oil or our Nerve Eaz Essential Oil blend before bed to promote relaxation and stress relief at night. Alternatively, you can diffuse lavender or inhale it right before an anxiety-provoking appointment or situation. 
• Try our Lavender Peppermint Roll-On Oil Blend out. Looking for the ultimate calming oil blend? We can’t recommend our lavender and peppermint essential oil blend enough! It's soothing and supportive for your overall well-being. Keep this blend handy and inhale or apply it anytime you need to ease anxiety or stress. 
• Take a hot bath with lavender one to two hours before bed. Taking a warm bath or shower an hour or two before bed has been shown to help people fall asleep and stay asleep. The hot bath raises your internal temperature slightly, and as your internal body temperature drops after your hot bath, your body naturally relaxes. Add a few drops of lavender essential oil to Epsom Salt, or use our Vanilla & Lavender Bath Salts to take this tip to the next level! 

Pain Relief & Menstrual Cramps

Lavender is widely used for easing pain and achiness in the body. Here are just a couple of the studies showcasing lavender essential oil’s pain-relieving properties. 

Lavender has specific properties that may help reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis. A study in 2016 found that participants who massaged a 5% mixture of lavender essential oil diluted in sweet almond oil into their arthritic knees had reduced pain and fatigue symptoms after only one week. 

In addition, a study on lavender’s effect on menstrual cramps reported that lavender essential oil helped with dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea is a common menstrual condition where individuals experience frequent and painful cramps during their cycle. During the two-month study, participants with dysmenorrhea smelled lavender essential oil during the first days of their cycles and reported a significant decrease in how painful their cramps were. 

Another study even found that lavender essential oil was beneficial for reducing pain in individuals suffering from migraines. Inhaling the scent of lavender for 15 minutes was enough for 92 out of 129 participants to experience a significant decrease in pain caused by their migraines.

If you struggle with terrible cramps, we recommend reading our dedicated article here for more information on herbal remedies to support your body. 

How to Use Lavender Essential Oil for Pain Relief

Here are a few of our top tips for using lavender essential oil to support yourself when you’re in pain or having cramps: 

• Add Lavender Essential Oil to your favorite massage oil, lotion, or salve, and gently massage into any tender areas of the body. 
• Apply a few drops of lavender essential oil to your wrists or palms and take several deep breaths. Repeat as needed to promote a more relaxed body and lessened pain. 
• Try Spike Lavender Essential Oil out. This particular type of lavender is less floral and ideal for easing achy muscles and rheumatic pain. Diffuse this throughout the day, add it to your bath or lotion, or inhale as needed to encourage less pain and tension. 
• If you’re on the go a lot, our Lavender Peppermint Roll-On Oil Blend is a great choice. Simply massage directly onto any affected areas. Don’t be alarmed if you notice some tingling in the application area for three to five minutes. 

Skin & Hair Benefits

Lavender essential oil is also known for its impressive skin and hair care benefits. Here are just a few studies showing some of its amazing benefits.

The Journal of Pharmacognosy & Natural Products reports that lavender essential oil may heal burns and wounds, reduce acne, improve eczema and psoriasis, and restore skin complexion!  

In addition, researchers found lavender essential oil mixed with thyme, rosemary, and cedarwood essential oils in a mixture of carrier oils to be an effective treatment for alopecia, a condition marked by sudden hair loss. 44% of the participants with alopecia who used this essential oil blend had a significant improvement in hair growth during this seven-month study. While this may not seem like a huge percentage, alopecia is not a curable condition, and treatments are often ineffective, so this was a very exciting find for researchers! 

How to Use Lavender Essential Oil for Hair and Skin Care

Lavender essential oil makes an incredible toner for many skin types. We recommend our Astringent Lavender Toner which is ideal for normal, oily, combination, and acne-prone skin types. By combining lavender and aloe extract, our toner encourages smoother, more evenly toned skin. 

Our Fresh Lavender Jelly is another great lavender skin care option! Any skin type can use this cooling and hydrating product. Apply anywhere on the body that needs to be soothed, cooled, or hydrated. Great for use after sun exposure! 

You can also create your own blend of lavender essential oil and other essential oils in a carrier oil and apply it to the scalp for a custom treatment oil to support thicker hair growth. Leave in for five to ten minutes, then rinse out. 

We recommend always doing a patch test on your hair or skin before applying it everywhere. 

Lavender has so many uses that we couldn’t touch on them all, but we hope today’s piece gave you some great ideas for using lavender in new ways. 

Well Wishes, 

Natalie & Leilah