Family: Lamiaceae

Energetics: warm, dry, relaxant

Taste: aromatic, sweet, bitter

Parts used: aerial parts, mostly flowers

Affinities: digestive and nervous systems

Actions: rubefacient, antispasmodic, antiseptic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, vulnerary, carminative, sedative, exhilarant, insect repellant

Preparations: tincture, tea, cooking, honey infusion, essential oil, hydrosol, oil infusion

Cautions: Lavender is generally considered safe for all ages. Don’t underestimate its drying nature, however.

Therapeutic Uses:

• Lavender taken either topically or internally is excellent at relieving muscle tension and headaches.
• The calming scent of lavender is extremely helpful for reducing irritability, anxiety, insomnia, nervousness, and the confused frustration of dementia. 
• Lavender is slightly bitter herb and can help with digestive issues. Our emotions are so tied up with how well our digestive system is performing that it’s no wonder lavender is so effective on both. By calming our emotions, our digestion will work better and by soothing our digestion, our emotional state will be calmer.
• It is very effective for gas, bloating, colic, and indigestion.
• The vulnerary properties of lavender make it extremely useful for skin issues such as cuts, scrapes, burns, acne, infected wounds, and eczema. I love lavender hydrosol for sunburns and lavender infused honey is absolutely amazing at healing burns. If you don’t happen to have lavender infused honey on hand, mix some lavender essential oil into the honey and gently apply to the burn.