Which Lavender Essential Oil is safer ?

Well, let’s see !!! ... There are mainly 3 Essential Oils made from Lavender flowers, and YES some of them are not safe as they have high Toxic compounds, so it is important to buy the safe one when deciding to use Lavender Essential Oil either if used in a vaporiser, or within a carrier oil for massage, or for your skincare products.

Lavender Essential Oils are only a few of the hundreds of different Essential Oils that are produced from many different plants all around the world. Many Essential Oils are made of more than 300 different chemical compounds, which will give each single essential oil its own Aroma and Therapeutic properties. They can be quite “powerful” even if the amount of essential oil used can be very small as a “few drops”.

Unfortunately only few essential oils are considered “totally safe” as having quite none or only little percentage of unsafe/toxic chemical compounds. To understand the safety and risks associated with any essential oils that we would like to use, we need to take into consideration the chemical composition of that specific “essential oil” both as “usually” and within that specific seasonal and unique “Batch” production. This is one way to recognise highly trained Aromatherapist and attentive Essential Oils companies that can provide you with the Lab Chemical Certificate of “each” Batch production of the oil you will buy. This because every production will more or less differ from the others in their chemical composition and therefore the “good & bad” properties of the essential oil can vary, even of the “same plant”, as depending the region/country of grow, the earth soil, the sun exposer, the weather, the altitude, the pollution, the time of harvest, and even the storage and the extraction process. ... All this will create that “unique” essential oil bottle !!!

In the Wellness field Essential Oils are mainly used in Aromatherapy treatments and should only be used by professional therapist within the recommended safe guides and dose, and NEVER NEVER NEVER to be ingested as ALL will have intoxicating effects in the body, some of which can be even fatal. Therefore, always ask an Aromatherapist with approved recognised qualifications that can advice and choose the more suitable essential oils for your purpose.

Now let’s go back to the Lavender Essential Oils ...

The 3 main Essential oils distilled from the Lavender flowers are very different from each other and their difference depends on their chemical compositions which will give them different properties. All 3 are from the same “Lamiaceae/Labiatae” Botanical “Family” and they look similar but have different Botanical “Names”:

BN “Lavandula Angustifolia”, often known as Lavender (True),

BN “Lavandula Latifolia”, known as Spike Lavender ...

BN “Lavandula x Intermedia”, known as Lavandin, which is a cross between the 2 previous Lavender plants.

Of the 3, the “Lavandula Latifolia” ... as Spike Lavender, is the more toxic one, the one that has a quite high percentage of “highly toxic chemical compounds”. It has a “strong Lavender smell” and therefore used extensively as fragrance in soaps, perfumery, detergents and also as insect repellent. Even as fragrance could become quite “irritating” after a while. Better to avoid and prefer other safer essential oils.

The “Lavandula x Intermedia” ... as Lavandin, is the essential oil that has a mix of “Relaxing” and “Stimulant” properties, but also some “toxic” chemical compound even if less in percentage than the previous one. It has some “camphor” percentage that might make it suitable for some joints aches and muscular conditions treatments, but know that “camphor” is one of the toxic compounds that should be taken into account, and suitability with safety/risks evaluation should be made by a professional before considering any treatments.

As room vaporiser, this oil would be more suitable for the “day time” as it is a more “stimulant” Lavender than a relaxing one, ... and still (because by breathing essential oils aromas their chemical compounds will enter the body through the respiratory system), I would suggest to prefer safer essential oils with similar day time more stimulant desired properties.

The “Lavandula Angustifolia” ... as Lavender (True), is known to be “the safest one”, the one that has a medium/high percentage of safer chemical compounds with good “relaxing” properties that can help you deal with some “insomnia” and “stress” conditions. Despite being one of the safest known, it can still give dermatitis to some especially when overused.

Lavandula Angustifolia is an excellent aroma choice in room vaporiser for evening time to promote sleep also in children.

When buying Lavender essential oil for your aromatherapy treatments make sure you buy this “one” by checking the botanical name written in the bottle.

You see ... there is so much more to know about Lavender essential oils than you even thought !!! ... and I just wrote only few of more info on them.

As you can start to understand, due to their complexity Essential Oils are not something to play with or as DIY-Therapy, but they should be dealt by professional trained therapist that have the knowledge not only of the therapeutic actions/effects, but also the knowledge of the safety/hazard risk issue that they might come with.

On top of this, with so many companies that nowadays sell essential oils, it is not that simple to find those that are genuinely guided by ethical and quality concern, as the production of essential oils in the more natural and respectful way can be quite expensive and delicate, passion driven as surely not allowing to make big money. So choose wisely when buying essential oils, especially for therapy treatments.

... But despite all this, Essential Oils are highly charming and fascinating !!!

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Promoting Wellness ... by MMH.