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Lavandula oil

Long loved for its delightful fragrance and beauty, lavender has also been used for medicinal, cleaning and household purposes. Essential oils are never cheap though, and making your own lavender oil is one option. While the lavender-infused oil suggested here won’t be as true to form as a properly distilled lavender oil, the homemade version will still carry a lovely scent and the properties of lavender will still be imparted into the oil.

Instructions

1. Pour the non-scented oil into the jar and stir in the lavender flowers. Cover tightly and leave the mixture to steep for 48 hours in a sunny windowsill, shaking every 12 hours.
2. Lay a piece of muslin over the bowl and strain the oil. Gather up the muslin and squeeze the material to extract as much as you can.
3. Put the oil back into the jar and add fresh flowers. Place on the windowsill again. Repeat this process until you get the aroma you want.
4. If the weather is cold and dull, you can place the jar in a saucepan of cold water. Slowly heat it until the water becomes just hand-hot. Maintain that temperature for 10 minutes. Remove the jar. Do this once a day.
5. After the final straining, you can pour the oil into a dark glass bottle. The shelf life for lavender infused oil is 6 – 12 months if kept in a dry, dark, cool place.

Lavandula

Lavandula (common name Lavender) is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, southern Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India. Many members of the genus are cultivated extensively in temperate climates as ornamental plants for garden and landscape use, for use as culinary herbs, and also commercially for the extraction of essential oils. The most widely cultivated species, Lavandula angustifolia is often referred to as lavender, and there is a colour named for the shade of the flowers of this species.

Health benefits

Hair loss

The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCB) currently rates lavender as possibly effective for treating alopecia areata, a condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body. There is evidence that lavender can promote hair growth by up to 44 percent after 7 months of treatment.

Calm itchy skin

So you’re a mosquito magnet? Get the itch out with lavender essential oil. «It’s a natural anti-inflammatory, so it helps reduce itching, swelling, and redness,» explains Naila Malik, MD, a Texas-based dermatologist. Dab a drop or two on the area and wait about 15 minutes for it to seep in (but stop if skin becomes more irritated). Apply as needed every six to eight hours for the next 24 hours.

Healthy up your meal

Add lavender’s phytonutrients (good-for-you plant compounds) to any meal by using herbes de Provence (available at grocery stores). Sprinkle the lavender-based spice blend onto sauteed or grilled meats, poultry, vegetables, and even whole-grain pilafs (barley, couscous, brown rice), Dr. Gerbstadt suggests. Voila!