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Lavender essential oil is one of the most amazing gifts mother nature has given us to treat burns, wounds and bites. It has an amazing ability to help skin regenerate itself and high quality essential oil of lavender is mild enough to use on baby skin undiluted.

Burns
Lavender essential oil is extraordinarily effective when it comes to healing burns. Discovered by the French scientist Rene Gattefosse when he burnt himself in a laboratory accident, the medicinal qualities of lavender essential oil are today recognised throughout the world.

How to Use: Cool burn immediately with cold water then apply generous amounts of undiluted lavender essential oil directly on burnt area. Do not cover with bandages (as these can stick to the wound). Depending on severity of the burn seek emergency medical assistance.

Wounds
Lavender essential oil has strong antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. This makes it a fantastic first aid product to have at home. Applied directly to the wound, Lavender essential oil can stop bleeding and will clean the wound. Keep it handy if you are prone to cutting or burning yourself in the kitchen.

Lavender essential oil is also great to have around if you have little kids running around as it cleans little cuts and stops bleeding without the burning sensation that you would get with iodine.

Often teething babies will develop a diaper rash. With my daughter, I use a few drops of lavender essential oil neat directly on the rash. It soothes the rash and helps to calm her down from the discomfort of teething. (Do be careful to use a high quality, therapeutic grade essential oil. See below for more details.)

Insect bites
Lavender essential oil is great for soothing those little bites we often get in the tropics. Apply a few drops neat directly on the bite to soothe inflammation and itching.

Tip: Insects hate lavender. Diffuse a few drops before you go to bed to avoid insect bites and encourage restful sleep.

Buyer Beware
Unfortunately not all essential oils were created equal. Low grade lavender oil is fine for diffusing, but often contains "filler ingredients" that make it unsafe to apply to directly to the skin .     

To see whether the product you have at home is a good quality essential oil check the label. If it says "for external use only" you might as well throw it out as it is unlikely to harness much of the flower's healing properties and will contain other ingredients that irritate rather than heal the skin.

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