Essential Oils Guide: Lavender Aromatherapy Oils 1

Lavender aromatherapy oil is one of the first essential oils you should get when you’re starting to use aromatherapy. Nobody who practises aromatherapy seriously should be without a bottle of lavender essential oil.

Having said that, when you check out the options available from most suppliers of 100% pure essential oil, you will almost certainly find that there are at least 2 different types of lavender oil on offer, plus another oil called “lavandin” which is in fact a type of lavender as well. So let’s look at what’s available and talk about the differences first of all.

Lavandin, Lavandula x intermedia

Lavandin is a hybrid lavender, a cross between true lavender and spike lavender. It is available as a regular essential oil, and you may also find that concrete and absolute are offered. These are all from the same plant, but the difference is that the concrete and absolute oil are extracted by solvent extraction, whereas the essential oil is created by means of steam distillation.
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Even though it’s usually cultivated, lavandin can be found growing wild in areas where its parents both grow, principally southern France.
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Lavandin has a sharper and more penetrating scent than true lavender, making it especially useful for respiratory and muscular conditions or those affecting the circulation. 

Spike Lavender, Lavandula latifolia

Spike Lavender is a mountain lavender, found across Europe and the Western Mediterranean. It is usually offered as an essential oil, extracted by water or steam distillation.
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Culpeper, the 17th century herbalist, said of this plant: “the oil of spike is of a fierce and piercing quality, and ought to be carefully used, a very few drops being sufficient” (the oil he was referring to bore little resemblance to our modern preparations, however, being mixed 1:3 with turpentine). 

True Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia

True Lavender is the plant most of us are familiar with from the garden as English lavender. You might also find it labelled Lavandula officinalis. Like spike lavender, it’s also found growing in the Mediterranean, but in lower parts. You should find this essential oil very easily, and may also be offered a true lavender concrete or absolute.
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It’s difficult to describe the scent, but it’s almost certain you already know what it smells like in any case! 

Which one you buy is up to you. All three are used for similar purposes, though as mentioned lavandin is particularly good for circulatory, muscular and respiratory conditions. There is really no need to worry, I would go either by price or by your preferred fragrance. True lavender may not be popular with some men due to the connotations that go with it, so that may also be a factor for some.

Lavender is one of the most useful essential oils, but it is also extremely volatile, meaning that it will not keep for a long time. So it’s best not to buy more than you need for about 6 months, and once it arrives, keep it somewhere cool and out of the sun to ensure that it stays fresh for as long as possible.

Look how long this post is, and I haven’t even covered the uses of these oils yet! Not to worry. In my next post I will give you chapter and verse. Watch out for the next instalment.

For recommended suppliers, please see the third lavender aromatherapy post.

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