Lavender essential oil
- Type
- Essential oil
- Botanical name
- Lavandula angustifolia
- Other names
- true lavender oil
The plant
True lavender, Lavandula angustifolia (also called Lavandula officinalis),[2] is an evergreen shrub of the mint family native to the Mediterranean. It blooms in summer, and its leaves, flowers and dry seed heads are all aromatic; it is the source of the true oil of lavender.[4]
How the oil is made
The oil is steam-distilled from the freshly cut flowering tops and stalks. Distilling at high altitude gives an oil richer in esters, because water boils there at a lower temperature, so the natural linalyl esters break down more slowly.[3]
Composition
The main components of Bulgarian lavender oil, for example, include linalyl acetate and linalool, with smaller amounts of ocimene, lavandulyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol and beta-caryophyllene.[2] English lavender oil, distilled from a different variety and almost only from the flowers, is rich in linalool but poor in linalyl esters.[3]
Related materials
- Lavandin oil comes from a hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender. Its scent is strongly herbaceous, with a very fresh, cineole-like top note.[3]
- Lavender absolute is made by solvent extraction. Its scent is deeper and more complex than that of the essential oil, probably because solvent extraction captures more of the heavier molecules.[2]
Scent and uses
The oil smells floral, fresh, sweet and herbaceous, sometimes slightly fruity and slightly camphorous, and it is a top to middle note of medium strength.[2] French lavender oil has a sweet, floral-herbaceous, refreshing scent with a balsamic-woody undertone, and its scent is not especially lasting.[3]
In perfumery it is used extensively in colognes and lavender waters, and in countless other perfumes, and it blends well with bergamot and other citrus oils, clove, oakmoss, patchouli, rosemary, clary sage and pine needle oils.[3] In aromatherapy it is well known for helping to calm stress and anxiety and to promote sleep; used in excess, it can act as a stimulant instead.[2]
Herbal medicine
Lavender oil, taken by mouth or added to a bath, is traditionally used by adults and children over 12 to relieve mild symptoms of mental stress and exhaustion and to aid sleep. This rests on long use: studies suggested a possible effect on anxiety, stress and insomnia, but had too few patients to establish one.[1]
Studies of a lavender oil product taken by mouth likewise suggest a possible benefit for anxiety, but they were small and had other limitations. Whether aromatherapy with lavender oil helps anxiety, stress, sleep or other conditions is unclear, although some people report a better quality of life from it.[5]
Quality and adulteration
In the 1960s lavender oil was often cut or adulterated, for example with acetylated lavandin oil, synthetic linalool and linalyl acetate, or fractions left over from making linalyl acetate from ho leaf or rosewood oil.[3]
Safety
No special precautions are described for lavender oil. Lavender absolute carries a moderate risk of skin allergy, and at most 0.1% is recommended on the skin.[2]
Few and mild side effects have been reported with lavender oil medicines, including very rare allergic reactions. People with open wounds, skin disease, high fever, a severe infection or severe heart or circulation problems should not take full baths with lavender oil.[1]
Products containing lavender put on the skin can cause allergic skin reactions in some people, and aromatherapy with the oil may cause headache or coughing. A few cases of breast swelling have been reported in children who used skin products containing lavender; whether lavender was the cause is unclear. Little is known about its safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding.[5]
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 European Medicines Agency, Lavandulae aetheroleum: herbal medicinal product. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 AromaWeb, Lavender Essential Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Elizabeth, NJ, 1960: Lavandin Oil; Lavender Oil.
- ↑ North Carolina State University Extension, Lavandula angustifolia. Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Lavender. Retrieved 8 November 2026.