Our spotlight Essential Oil (EO) is Lavender. This is the one EO I have tried in 3 different brands.
From left to right: Edens Garden, doTerra, Nature's Alchemy.
Just as a little disclaimer I did not purchase Nature's Alchemy myself, I received it as a birthday gift. I did purchase the other two and although I purchased Edens Garden in a 6 piece EO kit, I do know it's significantly cheaper than doTerra (when purchased on its own). With that being said, my personal favorite out of these 3 would be the doTerra Lavender. I can't say for sure I notice a difference in how one performed compared to the next, I did notice that the doTerra Lavender smelled a little sweeter. All 3 worked great for what I used them for. It's up to you to decide if spending more for doTerra is worth it for the sweeter scent and a more well known company.
If you are just starting out using EO's and can't decide if you will like it or not I would suggest purchasing Edens Garden over the expensive brands (doTerra, young living). If you decide you like it and want a sweeter scent (in Lavender) I would purchase doTerra.
Some pro's and con's about doTerra vs. Edens Garden (since I didn't purchase Nature's Alchemy I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't have a ton of knowledge about this brand).
-Edens Garden you can purchase online, doTerra you need a consultant in your area.
-Edens Garden is not too much money (under $10 each for most of their EO's), doTerra is over $10 for ALL of their oils (in fact a lot of their oils are over $20).
-Edens Garden you can buy kits, with several EO's in them, for as much as you can purchase 1 EO from doTerra. doTerra does offer kits as well.
-doTerra has pre-mixed EO's for specific uses (ie. On Guard, Balance, Deep Blue, Digestzen etc...), Edens Garden (I believe) does not offer this. If your not into mixing them yourself doTerra would be the way to go for mixed EO's.
I am not sure how each of these brands extract the oil from the plant, if that is something that interests you let me know and I will research that and let you know in the next post on essential oils!
With that out of the way let's go over the benefits of Lavender. It has been found to be antidepressant, decongestant, deodorant, analgesic, antiseptic, rejuvenating, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, tonic, nervine, sedative, harmonizing, emmenagogue, cytophylactic and calming. It has also been found effective in cases where acne, stress, dry skin, depression, insomnia, head aches, skin irritation, anxiety and infections were present.
I have been using Lavender since the beginning of me using EO's (almost 2 years). I have heard you should never use Lavender because it irritates the skin. If you over use it, it probably can. I have never had a problem with this oil though. I use it neat (undiluted) a lot. I also mix it in with all sorts of my skin care products.
The many ways I use this oil are:
-Mix it in with skin care products. My face wash, toner, lotion, masks, etc... I would say 15 drops or under for the whole product (depending on how big). If you are using it as a "one time thing" with a product I suggest only using 1-2 drops. With that being said you can determine how many drops for the whole product you would need.
-Mix it in with your hair care products. Shampoo, conditioner, and any oils you put in to add shine or tame frizz. Use as many drops as I mentioned in the skin care products.
-I add some to my brush just before I brush my hair mainly for the scent but this is also calming and relaxing.
-A few drops on your pillow to combat insomnia. Or 1 drop on each foot of a child to settle them down for sleep.
-A few drops in a warm bath to relax you or your muscles. Or add some drops to the bottom of your shower if your not a bath person or, like me, don't have a tub readily available.
-Used neat (undiluted) as a spot treatment for blemishes.
-I put a few drops on a wash cloth and put it in the dryer with my wet clothes to scent them for when we wear them. I have heard you can do the same thing but put the wash cloth on top of your dryer to help scent your home. I however, don't have a dryer that heats up enough on the outside for it to scent my house.
-Use it during labor to help calm you. I personally loved this when I was in labor with my daughter. I sniffed it right from the bottle and had some mixed in with my face lotion.
-It can be used in massage too. I'm sure I don't need to go over the benefits of massage but adding EO's can improve it and benefit you.
-I have added lavender to my cleaning water. I try to be as natural as I can so if I can do a task with soapy water, I will. Just add 5 drops to a bucket full of water and your task is instantly improved. Plus it scents your home.
-I make my own carpet freshene,r so I add a few drops of lavender (as well as other oils) and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then vacuum it up.
-I also add a few drops to a burner or a humidifier when my son is sick.
-Another suggested use that I have not tried is to add a few drops to a tissue for when flying (or any other time you need a little help relaxing) and sniff the tissue as needed.
If you have any more questions on this topic or of lavender please feel free to ask away!
Talk to you next time!
