Posted on November 13, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Discover the Duality of Lavender Essential Oil!

Our amazing lavender suppliers, The Kahns, boast 14,800 lavender plants, 2000 olive trees and 1/1/2 acres of petite syrah grapes on their truly spectacular property.

Their luxurious fields of purple splendor reap certified organic lavenders including English Munstead and Hidcote as well as French Grosso and Provence. This bounty of lavender is capable of producing 6-700 gallons of hydrosol and about 40 quarts of essential oil annually.

Essential oil is the very life essence of a plant, an aromatic pure oil extract that provides a deeply positive impact on both mind and body.  Unlike ‘fragrance,’ which is pretty much a dressed up word for the toxic chemical phthalates, an essential oil is a truly natural scent with myriad, often miraculous uses.

Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils. With its soothing scent, it relaxes and calms. And with its analgesic, antiviral, antiseptic and antibacterial properties, it’s good to go for practical uses like cleaning and wound-care.

Here’s just a whiff of its range:

Lovely Lavender Liquid Body Wash

Materials Needed:

• One bottle of unscented shampoo
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
• 15 drops of lavender essential oil
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops of tea tree oil

How To:

1. Take a large, glass mixing bowl and pour in one and a half cups of shampoo. It doesn’t need to be expensive, it just needs to be unscented.
2. If you’re someone who likes your body wash to be extra thick, add in a thickening ingredient such as Xanthan gum and mix well.
3. Next, add in all 30 drops of essential oils to the bowl and blend well. Feel free to choose whatever oils you like best. This combination works because the lavender is calming, the tea tree oil works as an antibacterial (and it smells great), and the peppermint and rosemary are invigorating.

Source: Bella Sugar

DIY Lavender Dishwashing Liquid

Materials Needed:

• One recycled 25 oz. plastic dishwashing liquid bottle
• Liquid organic castile soap
• 3 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
• 15 drops of organic lavender essential oil
• 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 4 drops of lemon essential oil

How To:

Fill plastic dishwashing liquid bottle with castile soap. Add essential oils and vinegar and shake to blend. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid to water and wash dishes as usual. Shake bottle before each use.

Source: Laura Klein’s Green Club