Lavender sits in the floral category of fragrance in essential oils. It's a shrub that we're well known for in the UK but also Europe, most famously France, and Australia. It flowers from April to September before being left to dry for use in natural skincare and fragrances.
There are different types of lavender; true lavender (with narrow leaves), broadleaved lavender and hybrid lavender which is a mix of the two. True lavender is the highest quality crop and so is used in fragrance mostly.
How is lavender used in skincare?
Whilst lavender has been used for centuries to fragrance and in many ancient remedies, you could say that lavender was responsible for the modern day term aromatherapy. It was first coined by french perfumer Gattefoss because he burnt himself one day and put his hand into some lavender essential oil which helped to heal the burn without blistering.
Lavender essential oil is extracted from the flowers. The paler the colour of the oil the earlier the crop and the higher quality the scent. There's also lavender hydrosol/floral water and the dried buds can be crushed into a powder. You'll also find pure dried lavender flowers in some of our wellbeing products.
What are the properties of lavender?
Lavender oil is famed for its calming and soothing effect on both the skin and the senses. The smell of lavender can help beat tiredness, tension headaches and lift mood. Lavender essential oil can be applied directly to the skin without dilution (as long as you do a patch test) because it is quite gentle and can help burnt or bitten skin. It's really anti bacterial as well as anti allergenic, anti inflammatory and anti septic so is great for cleansing and detoxifying the skin.
What skin types is lavender suitable for?
Lavender is useful for most skin types as it is said to normalise skin as well as enhance the other ingredients it's blended with. It's calming and soothing for dry skin types and conditions, plus, its anti bacterial properties make it great for skin that's prone to breakouts, acne prone and stressed out skin.
How our natural skincare brands use lavender
Most brands scour provence for perfume standard lavender like Coraline Skincare's Lavender soap and AD Skin Synergy in their range of natural skincare.
What products will you find lavender in?
You'll often find lavender in wellbeing products created to help you tackle stress and for drifting off to sleep. As well as cleansers for oily and acne prone skin, soothing moisturisers, natural soaps, bath products, body creams and home remedies.
What is the INCI name for lavender?
The INCI name for lavender is lavandula augustifolia or lavandula officinalis
Shop natural skincare products with lavender
Sources
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Winter, Ruth. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, 7th Edition. Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
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Milady Skincare and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary 4th Edition; M. Varinia Michalun, Joseph C. Dinardo
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An Atlas of Natural Beauty: Botanical ingredients for retaining and enhancing beauty L'Officine Universelle Buly
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Practical Aromatherapy; The Complete Beginners Guide to Choosing, Massaging and Relaxing with Essential Oils; Penny Rich
Whilst we hope the pages are informative it’s important to remember we’re organic beauty enthusiasts not scientists so the information is detailed here to the best of our knowledge or research we have conducted from third parties. Whilst we are continually updating our content based on new research, it may not always be up to date and as such it is the readers’ responsibility to conduct their own research in order to independently verify the information and make an informed decision on their beauty regime/lifestyle. Any opinion expressed on the efficacy of a product is based on tests performed by our team. As everyone has different skin types and concerns, please be advised that what works for them might not work for you but we try to give as much subjective information as possible which we hope you will find useful. If in any doubt, please consult a medical professional.