I have been an active user of essential oils for some time now. I am also very choosy of the grade of oil and its source.
An Aromatherapy Certification Intensive Course I attended a few years back by Mikael Zayat, changed my appreciation of essential oils forever. I realised then the great difference between pure therapeutic grade oil and most of the commercial stuffs sold out there. One thing for sure, we owe it to ourselves to know how pure the essential oil we use are. Find out how was the process of extraction (which can be usually one of the three ways for different raw materials - distillation, expression ie compression, or solvent extraction) and also the source of the raw materials for the oil (ie where the plants are farmed or harvested from).
Some people will ask further, if the plants harvested are genetically modified, or if any genetically modified organisms are used for pest control. We certainly don't want to use oil that has been derived from plants sprayed chemically or fertilised with hazardous stuffs.
The highest grade is referred to as therapeutic grade, which means they can be used to promote health in massages for example, on the skin, pure, diluted or diffused in the air. There are also food grade oil which means the oil from herbs and spice that can be taken or used in cooking or orally. Needless to say, I would advice anyone to choose only the highest grade for obvious health and safety reasons.
An easy way to realise or test the differences between pure and 'adulterated' essential oil is by trusting our own olfactory, the nose. Trust me, one sniff and you will realised the huge difference between pure or otherwise.
I have long since stayed away from anything labelled fragrant oil and scented oil with dilution in various chemically produced addition, trusting only pure therapeutic graded ones. So therefore, we owe it to ourselves to read the labels carefully and ask for information when in doubt.
Having said all the above, my reason for sharing now is to talk about Lavender oil. I find this one of the most handy and easy to use essential oil to aid healing especially. From my own experience, I have used lavender oil in spritzing a room (a few drops mixed into a water spray) to up-lift and chase away musty, moldy smell of stagnant air and carpets (especially in hotel rooms). Great to use in your ironing spray too for that real fresh scent on your clothes, towels and linens.
One of lavender oil's best use is for women, especially for premenstrual and menstrual cramps. I have seen it take effect with my sister who is proned to the cramps from time to time. A few drops pure therapeutic grade lavender oil onto a hot or warm moist towel, then applied to the region below the navel will do wonders.
Another way to apply the oil is in massages. I used a few drops of the pure lavender oil on the hand to rub into troubled areas of cramps and sprain. Headaches and neckaches are soothed just as well. The popular way of long ago was to put a few drops on the oil into hot water, then the vapour is inhaled. Nowadays, we use diffuser or a burner. Lavender oil has soothed many of my migrane days. Great to brew some lavender tea to help along too!
There have been stories of pure lavender oil helping to sooth minor burns, insect bites and even smoothening of scarred skin from lacerated and burn wounds.
A few drops in warm bath water does the trick to calm down a stressful body too. Soothing to babies as well.
There are a variety of lavender flowers available, from True Lavender to Spike Lavender and many more in between. However, there are no noticeable difference in the quality of oil produced from different varieties, though some folks do have their own preferences.
So if you must choose an essential oil for the first aid kit in your home, I would say, go for lavender.
Cheers!
p/s - i have used pure lavender oil by Mikael Zayat and from Young Living and have found them both most agreeable to my needs!
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