Lavender

Lavendula officinalis

Let’s talk about one of the most misleading propagandas in modern wellness culture: Lavender. 

Lavender is marketed as a calming plant, which when ingested or inhaled, aids anxiety and nerves. Ask any herbalist and they’re likely to laugh at the notion that Lavender is as calming as we are led to believe. While Lavender does have a relaxing scent, it is not the most promising plant to be used to relieve anxiety, it is hardly what we turn to as the go-to-herb for mental peace. 

Lavender is extremely adaptable which makes it very manipulative in herbal blending, meaning you can trust it to go in and do its job without too much micromanaging. It is nutritive, a great balance for a supplemental herb, and assists with stimulating the targeted zone of the body so the primary healing herb can go in to do the actual repair. Are you picking up what I’m putting down? Lavender is made out to be this “end all be all” herb, when in reality it is like a glorified receptionist. If it had a job, it would be titled: Director of First Impressions. 

So here is the breakdown of Lavender.

Topically, Lavender relieves burns and sunburns. It is a great addition to toners to cleanse skin tissue and add a pleasant floral scent. Lavender is anti-inflammatory, prevents blisters, and is soothing to burns. It is also gentle to most skin types and therefore encourages the primary herbs in the blend to be gentle as well. Adaptable.

Internally, Lavender stimulates the nervous system and slows down the libido. Although inhaling Lavender is pleasant, calming and alluring, it can actually act as more of an uplifting agent than an anxiety suppressant. Balance. 

Don’t be fooled by mass marketing. In fact, did you know that Lavender sells 3x as much than is actually produced? Adulteration of essential oils compromise authenticity and can cause more harm than good. This false production involves a chemical that when burned reacts like the chemical constituents of Lavender, and then is sprayed on wheat barley which when properly bundled and colored can look exactly like Lavender. So, in turn, this bundle looks like Lavender, smells like Lavender, and produces like Lavender; therefore, it is categorized as Lavender. 

And this, folks, is why we source organically and always trust our Herbalists!