Post by Allan on Aug 2, 2007 19:44:33 GMT -5
Aromatherapists name lavender as an indispensable oil. Its attributes of effectiveness, mildness and aroma are unequaled in the repertoire of essential oils.
Lavender has scented human history - from Egyptian perfumes and incense
through the Dark Ages when sprigs were carried to ward off the plague.
Today, the unique components of lavender are vital to countless cosmetic
and aromatherapy products. In fact, lavender recently made worldwide
news when The Lancet, a British medical journal published a letter from
Dr. David Stretch, researcher at the University of Leicester, on the
preliminary findings of a study on aromatherapy and insomnia. Dr.
Stretch reports that lavender oil was successful in helping four elderly
insomniacs fall asleep quicker and sleep longer. Three of the subjects
who had been taking sedatives were able to stop medication. Further
research including large trials will be necessary to verify the work
being done by Dr. Stretch.
Lavender originates in the sun-drenched countries along the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. A long tradition of careful cultivation and
distillation in the Grasse region of southern France has inspired
successful cultivation in countries as far away as Tasmania and China.
The aroma of lavender essential oils is sweet, fruity-floral giving way
to a body note that is sweet, floral-herbaceous, refreshing and pleasant
with a balsamic-woody undertone. The oils is quite volatile with little
tenacity, leaving behind a dry, lightly sweet, floral-herbaceous aroma.
Lavender oil contains up to 40% linalyl acetate and 30% linalool, a
terpene alcohol that's non-toxic to humans, yet naturally germicidal.
Linalyl acetate has a very pleasant fruity-floral aroma. The combination
of pleasant fruity-floral sweetness with anti-microbial activity is key
to lavender's long-standing popularity in cosmetics and aromatherapy.
The mind-spirit aromatherapy benefits of lavender are vast and varied.
It balances stagnant and hyper energies and emotions. Lavender soothes
and nourishes the spirit; enhances the intuitive process; gently
clarifies the mind; and helps to combat the blues.
The physical benefits that lavender imparts to the skin mirror its
balancing mind-spirit effects. Lavender cools sunburn and soothes dry
skin, while helping to quiet over-active sebaceous glands that produce
oily skin.
Lavender is also used as an air freshener, in potpourris and in
masculine and feminine colognes and perfumes.
Lavender has scented human history - from Egyptian perfumes and incense
through the Dark Ages when sprigs were carried to ward off the plague.
Today, the unique components of lavender are vital to countless cosmetic
and aromatherapy products. In fact, lavender recently made worldwide
news when The Lancet, a British medical journal published a letter from
Dr. David Stretch, researcher at the University of Leicester, on the
preliminary findings of a study on aromatherapy and insomnia. Dr.
Stretch reports that lavender oil was successful in helping four elderly
insomniacs fall asleep quicker and sleep longer. Three of the subjects
who had been taking sedatives were able to stop medication. Further
research including large trials will be necessary to verify the work
being done by Dr. Stretch.
Lavender originates in the sun-drenched countries along the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. A long tradition of careful cultivation and
distillation in the Grasse region of southern France has inspired
successful cultivation in countries as far away as Tasmania and China.
The aroma of lavender essential oils is sweet, fruity-floral giving way
to a body note that is sweet, floral-herbaceous, refreshing and pleasant
with a balsamic-woody undertone. The oils is quite volatile with little
tenacity, leaving behind a dry, lightly sweet, floral-herbaceous aroma.
Lavender oil contains up to 40% linalyl acetate and 30% linalool, a
terpene alcohol that's non-toxic to humans, yet naturally germicidal.
Linalyl acetate has a very pleasant fruity-floral aroma. The combination
of pleasant fruity-floral sweetness with anti-microbial activity is key
to lavender's long-standing popularity in cosmetics and aromatherapy.
The mind-spirit aromatherapy benefits of lavender are vast and varied.
It balances stagnant and hyper energies and emotions. Lavender soothes
and nourishes the spirit; enhances the intuitive process; gently
clarifies the mind; and helps to combat the blues.
The physical benefits that lavender imparts to the skin mirror its
balancing mind-spirit effects. Lavender cools sunburn and soothes dry
skin, while helping to quiet over-active sebaceous glands that produce
oily skin.
Lavender is also used as an air freshener, in potpourris and in
masculine and feminine colognes and perfumes.