The whole world is in love with lavender right now!

This fragrant herb has become a key ingredient in almost every type of body care and home product on the market.  The easily recognizable scent is both calming and cleansing.  They say there are over one hundred uses for lavender.  Lavender is one of the most fragrant and versatile herbs, especially when it comes to body care products.  Lavender has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.  If you have a troubled complexion, use lavender to calm and cleanse it.  As a hair care product, lavender will deeply cleanse your scalp.  Healthy hair results from a healthy scalp.

Lavender and lavender essential oil are useful in boosting hair growth and healing your skin.  Just a dab of lavender oil on a small cut, scrape, or burn will help you heal.   Make a simple skin balm by melting together some cocoa butter, beeswax, and adding a few drops of lavender oil.  Let the mixture cool and you have a skin-soothing product that you can tuck in your backpack or tote and use when needed

If you have a bad sunburn, a strong infusion of lavender oil or lavender tea can help with some of the discomforts.  Simply spray it on your scorched skin, or soak cotton fabric in a lavender solution and apply it to your body.

Enjoy the Year of the Lavender with these few simple lavender recipes. These recipes can all be created at home featuring lavender and easy to find household and garden ingredients.

Lavender Calendula Gel

If you have lavender and Calendula growing in your yard you may use the dried buds in this recipe or they are also easy to find at most natural food stores or from local growers. Calendula flowers (pot marigolds) are a lovely shade of yellow-orange to red and have a sweet scent that compliments lavender. Marigolds are naturally antiseptic. Lavender is also a natural skin healer that is good for burns and insect stings because it has a mildly sedative quality. This gel is an excellent skin soother; and the fresh scent is especially appealing and comforting. Yield: 4 ounces

Ingredients:

• 1 /2 cup aloe vera gel
• 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds or 3 tablespoons fresh lavender buds
• 1 tablespoon dried calendula petals or 3 tablespoons fresh calendula petals

Directions:

• Mix together the aloe vera gel, lavender, and calendula in an ovenproof glass container.
• Heat the mixture gently, until very hot but not boiling. Do this by placing the container in a water bath on the stovetop.
• Let the mixture cool completely and sit for 24 hours.
• Strain out all of the flower petals and solids and pour into a clean container.

To use: 

• Massage into clean skin or use as a spot treatment for minor cuts, scrapes, and bites.

Roll-on Lavender Oil

You can find little bottles at the natural food stores with roller applicators or maybe you have one that you can repurpose at home.  Fill them with my favorite natural oil blends such as jojoba, almond, avocado, and dried lavender buds.  You can also add other dried herbs and a few drops of lavender essential oil.  These make nice natural scents to use on your pulse points and are perfect for tucking inside pockets and totes.  They also can be used on small cuts and scrapes. Yield: .5 to 1 ounce depending on bottle size

Ingredients:

• 1 -2 teaspoons light natural oil such as almond, jojoba, argan, avocado, olive or grapeseed (enough to fill the bottle)
• 1 /4 teaspoon dried lavender buds
• 1-2 drops essential oil of lavender
• Small 1-ounce glass bottle with roller applicator and lid (you may also use a smaller size.)

Directions:

• Fill the bottle with oil and add the dried herbs and essential oil.
• Let the bottle sit for a few days. If you would like a stronger scent you can strain and repeat with more lavender and essential oil.  If you feel the scent is too strong, strain and add more oil.

To use: 

• Roll on pulse points and enjoy.

Relaxing Lavender Oatmeal Soak

This recipe is perfect for relaxing and also soothing for dry, sensitive skin. It contains oatmeal, baking soda, and lavender all of which have healing properties and can be used by all skin types. This bath soak works well in calming the skin especially if you have a bad rash, sunburn, or insect bites. Yield: 28 ounces

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried lavender buds
• 2 cups whole oats
• 1 /2 cup baking soda

Directions:

• Place all the ingredients inside a food processor or blender.
• Grind until you have a smooth fine powder.  The powder should have the consistency of whole-grain flour.
• Pour into a clean airtight container.

To use: 

• Pour 1 /2 cup into your bath as you fill the tub.
• You can also fill a muslin tea bag or tie up the bath mixture inside a square of cotton fabric and toss it into the tub.

Lavender is a great pollinator for bees.  Plant in beds and containers to attract bees.

Written By: Janice Cox
Author of: Beautiful Lavender

“This post Lavender Recipes for Health and Beauty is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”

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