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Issue No. 1
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November, 2011
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OK, I know that the title is a little corny. The cornball in me just couldn't resist the alliteration--all those Ls and Vs. And the sentiment is exactly right. Lavender is indeed a lovely, lovely plant, as well as one of the most useful plants in the herb garden.
It may have been my passion for the scent of lavender that jump started my interest in herbal medicine. I don't remember when I got my first whiff, but I was immediately hooked. From then on I sought out all things lavender, in lotions, soaps, etc. As my sense of smell became more discerning, I began to perceive differences from one brand to another. Not all lavender is created equal, it seemed. Some lavender products had the sweet yet earthy and utterly heavenly scent of a real lavender plant. But some had a "lavender-ish" smell that was too sweet and rather perfumey. I had stumbled across the difference between essential oils (eo) and fragrance oils (fo). More about that in the next newsletter!
The name "lavender" comes from the Latin "lavare", meaning "to wash". It was used in Roman public baths for its beautiful scent and to restore the skin, two of the very same reasons we use it today! To herbalists, lavender is known as an antiseptic, antidepressant, antibacterial, analgesic, antispasmodic, carminative, nervine, aromatic, sedative, tonic, stomachic, cholagogue, diuretic, anodyne, emmenagogue, parturient, stimulant, and vulnery herb. All this means that lavender is good for what ails you! You're probably wondering how it can be both a sedative and a stimulant. This is the miracle of lavender--it is a balancing herb. Consider its value in skin care. Most herbs that are used for skin care are specific to dry skin or oily skin, or for (ahem) mature skin, or for irritated skin, etc. Lavender is good for all skin types, it is balancing. It moisturizes dry skin, and helps to dry oily skin. It helps to return skin to a healthy balance. So also it is a balancing herb in aromatherapy. Although most widely known for its relaxing properties, it does also have stimulant qualities. Not like caffeine, more in the sense of helping to cause an increase in body functions; it helps the body to balance, or work more effectively and efficiently.
Lavender is one of only two essential oils that can be used directly (undiluted) on the skin. The other is tea tree. Being an antiseptic, antibacterial, and analgesic, it is an incredibly useful herb for wound care. It is cytophylatic and cicatrisant, two big words that I left off the list above, which mean that it stimulates growth of skin cells and is healing for wounds. It is good for any wound on the skin, but I personally feel that it is exceptionally useful for burns, and that this property is greatly overlooked and underutilized. There is a true story fairly well known in aromatherapy circles of a French perfume maker alone in his factory who somehow managed to sustain severe burns to one arm. Frantically looking around for a water source to plunge the arm into to stop the pain, the only liquid he saw was a vat of lavender oil. He submerged the arm into the oil, and over the next few days the perfumer, his doctor, and his family were all amazed at how quickly his arm healed, and with much less scarring and pain that anticipated. I have my own personal version of this story. Working in my shop making lip balm one day, I poured boiling water into a glass measuring cup to melt off the beeswax. Being a scatterbrain, I immediately forgot that the water was not room temperature, and attempted to pick up the measuring cup, not by the handle, but by plunging four fingers into the water with my thumb on the outside of the cup! Don't ask me why. I immediately remembered that the water was not room temp. While I was leaping around the shop howling in pain, I remembered the French perfumer, and grabbed a 16 oz. bottle of lavender eo and poured it over my hand. Then again. And again. Then I alternated lavender oil and cold water a few times, and the pain stopped. The burn healed more quickly and with less pain than I had any right to expect. So generally I would agree with Robert Tisserand, the world's leading expert in aromatherapy, who said, "Lavender is generally regarded as the most useful and versatile essence for therapeutic purposes." All this, and a lovely, lovely, smell too!
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Lavender finds its way into almost everything Coyote Cove makes. We have a lavender soap, lotion, sugar scrub, bath salt, bath oil, room spray, and face cream. It has a starring role in the Healing Salve and the Headache Ointment. My newest product to feature lavender is the Sunburn Relief Spray, which works quite well (personal experience again. I am old enough to know better than to get a sunburn, so I won't make any excuses for it.) This spray would be great for any burn, not just a sunburn, so it deserves a place in your medicine cabinet even though you're smarter than I am and you don't get sunburned. It also contains aloe vera gel, and a couple of mint essential oils that are very cooling.
Check out all our lavender products on our website, and hope to see you at a craft fair soon.
Sincerely,
Kathy Stephens
Coyote Cove |
Coyote Cove
PO Box 304
South Pittsburg, Tennessee 37380
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