Lavender Products for Aromatherapy, Beauty, Gifts, Health, Cleaning and Cooking.

Australian Lavender Essentials manufacturers fine handmade Lavender products. Jenny Baker in Brisbane supplies clients throughout Australia with over 90 products and online shopping.

The product range has been developed through much research, particularly through books, recipes and journals dating back over 200 years. The Lavender used in all of our products is farmed in Australia by Members of the Australian Lavender Growers Association.

A bout Lavender

Lavender is commonly recognised as an English and French plant but is in fact grown worldwide. Medieval and Renaissance women were known as “Lavenders” because they used Lavender sprigs in their stored linen and dried clothing draped over Lavender bushes.

For centuries Lavender has been used for bathing, healing and calming. It is renowned for pain relief of headaches, dizziness and digestive problems.

The purchase and use of Lavender, the growing of Lavender in the garden, follows a tradition over many cultures and spans millennia.  Popular medicine in Provence describes its soothing, antiseptic, healing and gastric properties. Lavender has also traditionally been used to kill worms in children, and to fight against lice and insect bites.

Today, lavender's many constituent parts have been analysed and their wide therapeutic properties have been recognised. Essential oil of lavender enters into the composition of several pharmaceutical preparations including antiseptic, healing and anti-inflammatory products.

Lavender is indeed the basic component of any first aid kit or home pharmacy - the "Swiss army knife" of aromatherapy! You will be surprised at its secrets.

Daily household use of lavender in all its forms is a long standing tradition which perpetuates the image of a warm and comfortable family home.

These uses, such as bouquets or sachets in the closets to keep moths away and scent the linens, in pots pourri or diffusers to perfume the rooms in the house, or lavender water in the iron to scent the clothes being ironed, all benefit from the disinfecting and perfuming qualities of lavender.

Images of a Tasmanian Lavender Farm

Lavender in Myth and Lore

Recorded use of Lavender dates back at least 2,500 years, being used in ancient times in Middle East, on the Continent, throughout Europe and the UK and arriving in Australia with the first settlers.  The ancient Greeks called the lavender herb nardus, after the Syrian city of Naarda. It was also commonly called nard.

During Roman times, flowers were sold for 100 denarii per pound, which was about the same as a month's wages for a farm labourer, or fifty haircuts from the local barber. Lavender was commonly used in Roman baths to scent the water, and it was thought to restore the skin. When the Roman Empire conquered southern Britain, the Romans introduced lavender.

During the height of the Plague, glove makers at Grasse would scent their leathers with lavender oil, and this was claimed to ward off the Plague. This story could have some validity as the Plague was transmitted by fleas, which lavender is known to repel.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy, a football player for Real Madrid, advocates the use of Lavender, and has been said to coat his boots in it prior to sleep.

Tip of the Day

Stuff a pillow with lavender
for a relaxing sleep.

Lavender in Herbal Medicine

Lavender has been extensively used in herbalism.

English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, yields a highly effective essential oil with very sweet overtones, and can be used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics, and topical applications. French lavender, Lavandula x intermedia, yields a similar essential oil, with higher contents of turpin, which adds a harsher overtone to the fragrance. Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas is not used medicinally, but mainly for landscaping purposes.

Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was used in hospitals during WWI to disinfect floors, walls and other surfaces.

An infusion of lavender is claimed to soothe and heal insect bites. Bunches of lavender are also said to ward off insects. If applied to the temples, lavender oil is said to soothe headaches. Lavender is frequently used as an aid to sleep and relaxation: Seeds and flowers of the plant are added to pillows, and an infusion of three flowerheads added to a cup of boiling water are recommended as a soothing and relaxing bedtime drink. Lavender oil (or extract of Lavender) is claimed to heal acne when used diluted 1:10 with water, rosewater, or witch hazel; it is also used in the treatment of skin burns and inflammatory conditions (it is a traditional treatment for these in Iran).

Health precautions: There is scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of some of these remedies, especially the anti-inflammatory effects, but they should be used with caution since lavender oil can also be a powerful allergen. Ingesting lavender should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Fun with Lavender on Video