101 Uses for the Intro Kit Part 1/3: Lavender in Wellness Advocate - Essential Enterprises LLC

This came from the dōTERRA blog.
Posted on February 4, 2013 by dōTERRA

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series. Click here to view Part 2: Lemon or here to view Part 3: Peppermint. Ask me if you have any questions or please feel free to go to Essential Enterprises LLC.
As an important member of the Intro Kit, Lavender essential oil is one of our most popular oils—and for good reason! It’s versatile and can be used to flavor food and beverages, clean your home, uplift your mood, and much more.

Lavender has antidepressant, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-toxic properties. It was historically known as the flower of love and has universally been used to help balance the body and mind.

In one study, lavender essential oil was found to be a simple, inexpensive, and safe method to help minimize patient anxiety before and during gastroscopy. Read more about the study here.

Lavender may help with anxiety, arthritis, bruises, depression, headaches, insect bites, sunburns, and more. Read the list below for 34 different ways you can use Lavender essential oil.

Home Use

1. Chase Away Stagnant Closet Air. You know that smell. Fabrics of all variety, shoes for every occasion, plus a dirty clothes bin and no fresh air can only equal one thing…you need lavender essential oil. Whether diffused, drizzled on earthen ware, or dripped on cotton balls, chase stagnancy away!

2. Take the Bite Out of It. Insects, creepies and crawlies are not too fond of the smell of lavender. In fact, they hate it. If you forget to go the prevention route, lavender soothes bites, itching and inflammation.

3. A Multi-Purpose Spray. Next time you sitting in traffic, pull out a spray bottle filled with a lavender and water mixture and freshen your car. Who wouldn’t prefer a car smelling like lavender?

4. Kids Won’t Go Down? Lavender drops on their pillows … it’s like magic. It will help ease their mind, calm them down, make bedtime a bit more rewarding, and best of all … lull them into a restful sleep.

5. Skip the Aerosol Chemical Sprays. Next time you are deodorizing the bathroom, think of lavender and water in a spray bottle. Lavender’s antibacterial, antibiotic, antiviral, antiseptic properties can only help.

6. Take the Acrid Out of Vinegar. If you clean with vinegar, but can barely stay vertical while using it, lavender is the answer. Just add lavender and vinegar together in the spray bottle and you’re set!

7. Therapeutic Dish or Laundry Soap. If your liquid soap smells a bit flat, you can add lavender for additional aromatherapy benefits and antibacterial properties. It transforms your cleaning experience!

8. Lovable Linens. What does your linen closet smell like? Probably cotton. Maybe old cotton. Energize your linens with lovely smelling lavender. It leaves no oil marks and leaves things invigoratingly fresh.

9. Lavender candles. Ahhh the long lost art of candle making. If you’ve ever made candles you know how fun it can be. When you add lavender, the smell that is released is intensely therapeutic!

10. Wood Floors, Like New. A tired wood floor is, well … tired. Commercial floor polishes often contain harsh chemicals. Woods love oil. Just add lavender to your cleaning system and your floor can look like new!

11. Help That Trusty Ball Cap. A well-worn, much loved ball cap can look great, but smell like a wild animal. Add 4-5 drops of lavender to make it bearable. It will be your favorite hat if you have a headache too!

12. Change Your Sheets, Refresh Your Mattress. Unfortunately, your mattress can be neglected, and have that “wires, foam and fabric” smell. Add lavender when you change your sheets and neglect no more!

13. Homemade Room Freshener. Put baking soda and a 5-6 drops of lavender oil in a small Mason jar. Punch holes in the lid. Place in smelly areas (near garbage can, dirty clothes), shake jar often. Smile.

14. Pet Smells No More. Add a skiff or two of your baking soda and lavender mixture to carpets and vacuum up! If you have pets, (especially the un potty trained variety), fight back with lavender!

15. Extra Potpourri Mileage. If you have a pot of potpourri that has seen its day, try refreshing it with a few drops of lavender essential oil. You’ll love the way lavender can change the feel of your home!

16. Sweet Smelling Vacuum Bags. Your vacuum can be your nemesis when it comes to keeping your home smelling clean. As you well know, it can even blow microfine dirt! Pin some cotton balls (soaked in lemon and lavender oils) on the inside of the bag and let your vacuum blow!

    Cooking and Food

17. Soften Citrus Flavors. Use in delicate lemon sauces for chicken or fish or in powerful orange marmalades, citrus salads, real lemonade and more!
    

18. Amazing Marinades and BBQ. Baste chicken or fish on the grill with honey or a garlic and rosemary blend, spread over roasted vegetables, marinade chicken pieces in honey and lavender, yum!

19. Bake Like the Best. Lavender is a nice addition to lavender blueberry banana bread, lemon lavender cookies, baked salmon, lavender sugar cookies, lavender muffins, lavender cakes, oh yeah!

20. Give Your Sugars a Delightful Twist. Use as a substitute for vanilla extract (in creams, custards and sugars), use it in lavender icing, add to honey for extra flavor in tea or toast, and even maple syrup!

    Body and Mind

21. The Oatmeal Secret. Fill a baby food jar with oatmeal, and add 5-8 drops of lavender oil. When it’s time to wash your face, add water and it becomes an excellent natural scrub! A little goes a long way.

22. Minor Burns, Major Relief. When you’ve slightly overdone it in the sun, a little lavender oil is helpful in preventing peeling skin. It aids in your skin’s healing without scarring as well!

23. Boo Boo Relief. Lavender has disinfecting properties. It’s great for the skin, and wonderful for relief from cuts and scrapes, especially if the cut or scrape is located wherever it’s difficult to keep covered.

24. Alleviate Feelings of Earaches. You can warm lavender (don’t scald it), mix with olive oil and gently massage around the ears (not in the ears) and near glands in the throat.

25. A Dry Climate Answer. If you suffer from dry, itchy skin, and don’t want to mess around with chemical smelling lotions, add lavender to fractionated coconut oil and comfort will be yours!

26. Horrific Heels & Foot Fatigue. If you’ve been wearing sandals all summer, and your heels look like the Atacama Desert, 6 drops of lavender in a hot foot bath is the answer. Your porous feet will thank you.

27. Neck & Wing Relief. When you have neck and scapula tension, apply lavender with fractionated coconut oil, breathe it in and massage those knots out!

28. A Hood of Wonder. Next time you have a cold or the flu, remember the lavender steam hood. Add 4-6 drops to a bowl of hot water. Place a towel over your head, and inhale the vapor slowly and deeply.

29. A Woodworker’s Friend. Do you work with wood or handle wood?Rather than dig a hole in your finger trying to catch that splinter, add a few drops of lavender, let the splinter swell and slip out.

30. Allergies, Sinuses & Congestion Oh My! Lavender can calm down unruly sinus issues, defiant allergies and other respiratory issues. Just apply on the back of your neck, chest, and between your eyes.

31. Fortify Your First-Aid Kit. There are many dōTERRA products that would be tres glam additions to your First-Aid kit, but if you could only pick one, lavender should be it. Why? Basic First-Aid kits are often geared toward minor skin irritation, scrapes, rashes, and so forth. Lavender is great for all those, not to mention its calming properties!

32. Rub a Dub Dub. Rather than using regular soap and warm water at baby’s bath time, add about five drops of lavender oil to the warm water. Your tot’s skin will be pampered and smell great!

33. Soak Away Stress. Your muscles are tight. Anxiety and deadlines are eating at you. Your heart is racing. Where’s the pressure release valve? Right here, with lavender. Add to a warm bath, soak it in, soothe.

34. Let Vapor Talk. Wet your hair in the shower. Add 4 drops of lavender to a handful of water and work it into your hands and hair.Tilt your head down, under the water and capture the aroma instilled vapor as it melts off your hands and hair. You’ll love how it smells, and how your hair feels!

Learn more about the Intro Kit here. Item #3218.

intro kit

*These statements have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. dōTERRA products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Pregnant or lactating women and persons with known medical conditions should consult a physician prior to the use of any dōTERRA product.

Last updated January 09, 2015