Most commonly found as Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender or Bulgarian lavender), is an evergreen shrub that blooms elegant purple flowers with an extraordinary scent.
The lavender plant grows in dry and hardy conditions and as such, is excellent as an all-year-round plant for your garden or landscaping. Lavender is generally planted in the spring to flower in the summer and can grow up to three feet in height. The lavender plant can survive for ten years if well-tended.
THE VERSATILITY OF LAVENDER BENEFITS FOR SKIN
The versatility of lavender makes it a favored ingredient to add to topical solutions. Products using lavender as an ingredient to neutralize the skin, control dryness, and plump-up the skin stretch across every step of a skin care routine from cleansers, to toners and serums, and finally, creams for the body and face.
The natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in lavender refresh and neutralize the skin, helping to clear bacteria and excess oil.
Lavender improves the circulation by adding oxygen to the skin cells. With the much-needed oxygen, the skin cells are granted a boost of energy and kick-started into growing new cells. The regeneration of new skin cells gives your skin that healthy glow.
Better circulation through your bloodstream brings amazing anti-aging effects to skin. Wrinkles, the telltale signs of aging, are plumped up and therefore minimized. Lavender added as an ingredient to skin care products is beneficial for the skin, helping to give a youthful glow.
Lavender in your skincare products can help to equalize the skin’s pH balance. Lavender oil moisturizes and controls the oils in your skin. Your skin will be more supple and healthy-looking without dry or flaky patches.
You might even see lavender oil marketed for spot-treating, but essential oils dabbed onto skin in their pure form (without a carrier oil) can be too concentrated and skin may react, so this is not usually recommended.
ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES
The antibacterial properties of lavender fight bacteria and hep to clean out your pores. With the aid of anti-inflammatory properties, lavender will help to calm skin and reduce the swelling that can accompany acne and other irritations. Lavender is reported to be good for minimizing the appearance of scars, thus being useful for healing skin after a blemish.
When used in skincare products the effect of lavender’s amazing compounds minimize redness with its natural anti-inflammatory properties. When the skin isn’t inflamed with infection it is better capable of forming new skin cells.
And there are even studies looking at the discomfort associated with surgical wounds that show the plant's amazing abilities to calm troubled skin.
ANTIOXIDANTS IN LAVENDER
Lavender contains antioxidants that nourish your skin. Added to skincare products the antioxidants improve the look of your skin by scavenging the free radicals that cause your skin to look dull and dehydrated. Dead skin cells are removed, and new skin cells are produced to form a healthy barrier against pollutants.
Lavender is also being looked at as a possible natural preservative for skin care products due to it's antimicrobial activity.
AROMATHERAPY AND STRESS RELIEF
The scent of the lavender plant is used in many nighttime skincare products to give a calming effect and to induce quality sleep. Throughout the years lavender has become famous for helping you to achieve a calm state and better sleep (by relaxing your body).
A great deal of sleep-promoting products use lavender as a base ingredient to promote that lavender helps to relax muscles, calm your nerves, and get started on a good night’s sleep.
But is this actually true? According to studies, lavender promotes sleep by up to 20% more than if you never used lavender products!