Lavender

Many people only use lavender for its sleep-inducing scent, but the essential oil is also a wonderful first-aid-kit-in-a-bottle that is antiseptic and can relieve insect stings.

Lavender:

• Relaxes and aids sleep
• Relieves headaches and tension
• Heals stings, burns and wounds
• Relieves muscle spasms
• Antidepressant
• Antiseptic
• Antibacterial
• Stimulates blood flow 

Interesting facts

Add a few drops of lavender to a bath or sprinkle some on your pillow for a good night's sleep.

The essential oil is a wonderful first-aid-kit-in-a-bottle that is antiseptic and can relieve insect stings.

It can also treat scabies and lice and a few drops massaged into the temples can ease a headache.

Lavender can be applied undiluted to the skin for the treatment of burns, bites and spots and it minimises scarring.

New research has found that lavender oil is a powerful antifungal agent that fights and prevents skin and nail infections, including Candida albicans. 

Caution

Do not take the essential oil internally without professional supervision. Do not use when pregnant or breastfeeding.

 - (updated by Birgit Ottermann, Health24, April 2011)