Any other lavender fans out there? Our entire office has become obsessed with the purple plant — I even got married on a lavender farm! — because it’s the perfect relaxing summer scent. Dr. Sarah Villafranco, founder of Osmia Organics, often uses lavender in her luxury skincare products, and for good reason! The list of benefits, which takes some medical studies into consideration, is far longer than the “nice smell” alone. Dr. Villafranco explains below, and then be sure to shop some of Osmia’s best lavender products in the slideshow.
1. You’re dealing with low-level anxiety.
Lavender has been used for ages to quell an anxious mind. Try using pure, high-quality lavender essential oil in a diffuser for an hour or two as you’re doing something relaxing, like reading a book or sipping your tea. It’s even been studied in the medical setting, and found to reduce the pain and anxiety of having an IV placed. That’s some beautiful medicine.
Lavender has been used for ages to quell an anxious mind. Try using pure, high-quality lavender essential oil in a diffuser for an hour or two as you’re doing something relaxing, like reading a book or sipping your tea. It’s even been studied in the medical setting, and found to reduce the pain and anxiety of having an IV placed. That’s some beautiful medicine.
2. You have trouble falling asleep.
Just like Pavlov and his pups, you can train your brain to understand that a certain scent means bedtime. I formulated our Night Body Oil with this in mind. Scented with essential oils of lavender, Roman chamomile, and atlas cedar, this oil can become a powerful trigger to the body and the brain that it’s time to power down for the night. I recommend it on wet skin just after a shower, followed by a quiet walk to a dark bedroom and your waiting bed.
Just like Pavlov and his pups, you can train your brain to understand that a certain scent means bedtime. I formulated our Night Body Oil with this in mind. Scented with essential oils of lavender, Roman chamomile, and atlas cedar, this oil can become a powerful trigger to the body and the brain that it’s time to power down for the night. I recommend it on wet skin just after a shower, followed by a quiet walk to a dark bedroom and your waiting bed.
3. You work your body hard.
For the pedestrian commuter or the athletic crowd, lavender – especially in a bath soak – can have an anti-inflammatory effect on sore, tired muscles. It’s not quite like taking a bath in ibuprofen, but it’s a fine-smelling alternative.
For the pedestrian commuter or the athletic crowd, lavender – especially in a bath soak – can have an anti-inflammatory effect on sore, tired muscles. It’s not quite like taking a bath in ibuprofen, but it’s a fine-smelling alternative.
4. You’ve gotten too much sun on your face.
We do our best to protect our skin with SPF, but even the most careful of us occasionally comes home a little too pink. Lavender is an amazing remedy for sunburn, especially when applied to clean, damp skin in the form of a nourishing oil blend. I created our Restore Facial Serum for exactly this reason, blending organic lavender with helichrysum and calendula extract to help the skin recover from too many ultraviolet rays.
We do our best to protect our skin with SPF, but even the most careful of us occasionally comes home a little too pink. Lavender is an amazing remedy for sunburn, especially when applied to clean, damp skin in the form of a nourishing oil blend. I created our Restore Facial Serum for exactly this reason, blending organic lavender with helichrysum and calendula extract to help the skin recover from too many ultraviolet rays.
5. You have keratosis pilaris (little red bumps on the backs of your arms).
Again, the anti-inflammatory power of lavender comes to the rescue. Along with an exfoliating bar of lavender soap to loosen the top layer of skin, a shea-based lavender balm can decrease redness and swelling of the hair follicles that are raised and irritated in KP. A few weeks of this gentle routine, and your bumps should be packing their bags.
Again, the anti-inflammatory power of lavender comes to the rescue. Along with an exfoliating bar of lavender soap to loosen the top layer of skin, a shea-based lavender balm can decrease redness and swelling of the hair follicles that are raised and irritated in KP. A few weeks of this gentle routine, and your bumps should be packing their bags.
