Detailed Guide to Lavender’s Magical Properties

The lavender plant symbolizes purity, devotion, serenity, and calmness. While this beautiful flower is still commonly grown in the garden, modern medicine has to a great extent forgotten about the spiritual application and medicinal properties of this gem.

Our article takes a closer look at lavender magical properties in particular. We researched what lavender is, how having this plant indoors brings good energy into your home, and how useful this underestimated plant is for treating common ailments.

What Is Lavender?

Lavender derives its name from the Latin lavare, which means ‘to wash’. It is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, and is officially part of the genus Lavandula.

There are an estimated 39+ different types of lavender. The most common examples include English and Portuguese lavender, Lavandin, French lavender, and Spanish lavender.

Spanish Lavender (Lavandula Stoechas)

Also known as butterfly lavender, Lavandula stoechas is cultivated for its lavender essential oil benefits. Manufacturers of essential oils also use a natural oil, extracted from Spanish lavender’s silvery leaves, for potpourri. Its flowers can be easily recognized by their droopy, ear-like leaves sprouting from the flower heads. The blooms are deep purple and form a pinecone shape adorned with upright petals without fragrance.

English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia)

This cultivar is regarded as the most common with flowers in hues of blue-purple, violet-blue, or white-pink, depending on the strain. These plants grow up to 2-3 feet tall and go from gray-green to green-purple when they blossom in the summer. Their winter foliage varies from silver-green to gray-bronze. This plant’s upright stems carry an abundance of flowers from early to mid-summer.

French Lavender (Lavandula Dentata)

All the benefits of lavender are yet to be discovered. This variety, also called fringed lavender, is evergreen with dentate leaves and a giddy, rich scent. Blossoms consist of purple bracts with flowers in light lavender-blue. This lavender plant is known for flowering all year round and bringing good energy into a home.

Lavandin

Lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin) is an English-Portuguese hybrid with dark violet to white blooms. This shrubby plant grows 30 inches tall and features foliage and flowers with a strong, aromatic fragrance.

Portuguese Lavender (Lavandula Latifolia)

Lavandula latifolia, also known as spike lavender, is endemic to the Mediterranean and boasts pale lilac flowers on long stems. Its blooms emit a strong, pungent scent that reminds me of hot summer evenings. The plant has coarse, broad leaves and grows up to 3 feet tall.

13 Lavender Magical Properties

John Parkinson, botanist, herbalist, and apothecary to the British royalty, described lavender to be particularly good for pains in the head and the brain. However, this beautiful shrub has proven to be so much more than a home remedy.

• Stress & Anxiety

Lavender flowers are uniquely suited to the treatment of nervous exhaustion, stress, and anxiety. In order to be useful as a medicine, the flowers are harvested and dried toward the end of the flowering cycle for optimum application.

To make full use of the lavender tea benefits brew a tincture by steeping dried or fresh blooms in a 25% mixture of alcohol and water. To evaporate the alcohol, add 25-50 ml of boiling water to the tincture dose before drinking.

Alternatively, an essential oil diffuser may be used – add a few drops of lavender oil to stimulate the olfactory nerves and increase relaxation. Better still, add a handful of the fragrant leaves of lavender to your bath to soak away your stress.

• Exhaustion

Stress and exhaustion often go hand in hand. As such, lavender oil benefits include lessened irritability, sound sleep, and general well-being. Put some essential oil distilled from leaves, new stems, or flowers on the temples, forehead, and wrists as a tonic for the soul.

If your feet hurt after a long day, mix 3 drops of lavender essential oil, a drop of chamomile oil, and a drop of geranium oil with 2 teaspoonfuls of olive oil. Use this mix as a massage oil to relieve sore and swollen feet.

• Headache & Migraine

Tension headaches and migraines can be intimidating and hard to deal with. Drink a strong infusion of lavender tea made from the flowers twice daily or massage lavender oil extract into your temples and the nape of your neck to experience the benefits of lavender.

The inhaled lavender essential oil can also be used for its quick analgesic properties by adults.

• Insomnia

Using lavender is purported to have medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Keeping this in mind, opt for a natural blend of lavender flowers, lemon balm, catnip, and peppermint leaves to calm anxiety before bed. Dried flowers sewn into a pouch and left under a pillow at bedtime can also contribute to a night of restful sleep, providing a respite for insomniacs.

Lavandula angustifolia is regarded to be the best option in this instance.

• Inability to Relax

Medical research has proven that part of the healing properties of lavender lies in its fragrant scent. Linalool, a sweet-smelling alcohol compound present in essential oils made from lavender is credited for this. The rich smell has sedative qualities and acts as an analgesic.

If you want to create a relaxing atmosphere at home, you can use this information to your benefit by adding a lavender shrub to your inner sanctum as a unique houseplant. Additionally, you can also use lavender-scent aromatherapy cones.

• Depression

Aromatherapists use lavender as a complementary treatment for mild to moderate depression. Clinical studies have shown that the herb has healthful properties which increase the release of serotonin responsible for mood, cognition, memory, and a myriad of physiological functions in the human body.

The psychological benefits inherent to the properties of lavender include the reduction of anxiety and depression, in addition to heightened self-esteem.

Drink a tincture made from these healing flowers at least twice daily to stabilize and modulate your mood and improve your state of mind.

• Flatulence

This therapeutic plant is lauded for the soothing effect it has on our digestive systems. It is said to relax the smooth muscles of the digestive tract and reduce abdominal swelling caused by gas caught in the peritoneal cavity.

Lavender health benefits similarly include the treatment of vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite, and an upset stomach. Drink a strong tincture or infusion of lavender flowers to restore your digestive system’s equilibrium.

• Hyperactivity

Lavender can be used as a relaxant and tonic for the nervous system. It is believed to have an influence on ADHD symptoms, although clinical studies have been inconclusive thus far.

To reduce hyperactivity, afflicted persons can ingest up to 5 ml of a lavender tincture twice daily. Younger children should be given a milder infusion of 25% of the normal strength.

• Microbial Activity

English lavender has shown promise as an effective treatment against many methicillin-resistant types of bacteria and other resistant pathogens. The medicinal properties of lavender oil illustrate that the tannins in the plant kill these bacteria to prevent the development of ailments such as strep throat or urinary tract infections.

Make a strong infusion from the flowering parts and stems for a natural immune booster and painkiller or apply a suitable essential oil concoction that includes lavender to overcome foot odor caused by bacteria.

• Airborne Molds

Airborne molds and mildew can pose a serious health risk. To negate the effect these fungi can have on your health, use a suitable aromatherapy diffuser with essential lavender oils to refresh and clean the air in your home, killing airborne spores.

• Breath Freshener and Mouthwash

Halitosis is a terrible affliction with physical and social ramifications.

Use a tincture made from lavender flowers as a mouthwash against bad breath.

• Anti-Fungal

Fungi can cause poisoning, parasitic infections, and allergies in humans. Cold sores, ringworm, yeast infection, and athlete’s foot are all examples of fungal infections.

For relief from itching and pain associated with these maladies, benefit from the antifungal activity of lavender. Mix 3 drops of lavender essential oil with a single teaspoon of suitable carrier oil such as camomile or coconut oil. Apply liberally over the affected areas to experience lavender healing properties firsthand.

Taking an infusion or tincture in addition to the externally applied cream is bound to hasten the healing process.

• Anti-Inflammatory

The anti-inflammatory effects of lavender are legendary. As such, lavender oil can be applied topically if needed against inflammation. However, diluting with a suitable carrier oil may prevent irritation in case of sensitivity to the oil.

For medical issues concerning the ears, nose, and throat, combine lavender oil with sandalwood and chamomile for a recuperative steam treatment.

Combine 1 ml of oil with chamomile in a steam bath to treat bronchitis, asthma, and laryngitis.

Additional Benefits

• Clinical studies show that monoterpenes in lavender have the potential to inhibit the growth of cancer cells
• Lavender oil can be used to eradicate head lice
• Lavender benefits can be applied during labor as it acts as a uterine stimulant
• Colicky babies can benefit from the antioxidant activity of lavender
• Insect bites and itching can be relieved with a few drops of lavender essential oil to the skin
• Lavender’s dermatology use benefits from the fact that it acts as an astringent by removing excess oil on the skin
• Treat ear infections by massaging a few drops of lavender essential oil into the skin of the outer ear

Key Takeaways

Wrap Up

Shopping for lavender might be the best thing you can do to enhance a healthy lifestyle. Its fragrant scent boosts the mood and lifts the spirit. Use the flowers, stalks, and leaves for tonics or infusions or diffuse essential oils for relaxation and stress release. At the same time, lavender oil benefits skin, hair, and overall well-being making lavender truly magical.