20 Practical Uses for Lavender Oil

April 4, 2016 · 10 Comments

If you only ever use one essential oil, make it lavender!

It’s one oil I always have in my handbag and I make sure I take on holidays. Lavender essential oil is a multipurpose oil and it smells amazing too. Make sure you use a pure 100% oil (like Thursday Plantation) to make sure it’s free from synthetics and fillers.

Lavender oil is made from steam-distilling the flowering tops of the lavender shrub.

Lavender has a wide variety of properties which make it so versatile around the home and for first aid. It is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and a relaxant.

Lavender is one of the few oils that is safe to use directly on the skin – however always use in small amounts and for children under 12 it is recommended to dilute with a carrier oil.

Here are 20 practical uses for lavender oil around your house:

♥ Bug bites. Instantly soothe insect bites with a drop of neat lavender oil straight on the bite.

♥ Sore muscles. Add a few drops to a bath with epsom salts or add a carrier oil and massage in to the affected area to soothe.

♥ Ouchies. Put the lavender oil neat on minor burns and minor cuts and scrapes – it will kill off any bugs, allowing the wound to heal.

♥ Spotty skin. You can dab neat on spots or mix a drop with a carrier oil like jojoba and massage into the affected area. As well as inhibiting the bacteria that grow on the skin, it also helps reduce the sebum production.

♥ So stressed. Inhale a drop of lavender oil on a tissue for any sort of upset, stress or mild anxiety. You can also diffuse it a room or pop it in a bath.

♥ Repel moths. Keep a few cotton balls with drops of lavender in your cupboard to repel moths and silverfish.

♥ Pongy underarms. Just add one drop to a tablespoon of coconut oil and rub into your armpits for a super easy, natural deodorant. As well as smelling nice, it will help kill off the bugs that cause body odour.

♥ Zzzzzz. For trouble sleeping, pop a drop on your pillow or pyjama front or diffuse in your bedroom for a restful sleep. But go easy you only need one or two drops – too much lavender can have a stimulating effect.

♥ Lavender Laundry. I like to add a drop or two to my laundry rinse cycle to freshen clothes and bedding. You can also pop a drop onto a wet clean cloth and pop into your dryer or put the oil straight on to wool dryer balls.

♥ Rub on your lightbulbs. Just one drop rubbed on your lightbulbs (when they are off and cool) will give you lovely scents when you turn them on and also repel insects.

♥ An ache in the head. Massage into your temples and behind your head for headache relief.

♥ Chilled-out playdough. Add a few drops to your homemade play dough for restful and calm playtime for the kids!

♥ Fabric refresher. Add a few drops to a spray bottle and use to refresh carpets, lounges, mattresses and your car upholstery. Just a light misting, not a drenching!

♥ Itchy Eczema. Pop 5 drops of lavender oil into 10ml of carrier oil and gently massage into the affected areas.

♥ Zen Loo. Pop a drop of lavender oil on the cardboard tube of your toilet roll – every time someone uses the roll, it will deodorise the loo and leave you feeling zen too!

♥ Wash your hands! I love to make my own lavender hand wash – I just use castile soap and a few drop of oil in a reusable foaming bottle.

♥ Too much sun? Lavender oil can help soothe sunburns.

♥ Instead of ironing. Okay, this could be my favourite tip ever!! Shannon Lush says to use one teaspoon in a litre of water and spray your clothes after washing. It will relax the fabric and ease out wrinkles!

♥ Shower power. After a hard day at work or running around with the kids, a few drops of lavender oil on your shower base will relax and calm you. Special self nurturing time!

♥ Aroma–Cleaning. As lavender oil is a disinfectant, you can use it to wipe down benches, clean toilets and bathrooms and mop the floors.

If you would like some more tips on how to use lavender oil around the house or for first aid, head over to the Thursday Plantation website and check out their 100+ uses. You may even like to submit your own tip of how you use lavender oil.

Sources:

The Aromatherapy Bible, Gill Farrer-Halls

Natural Remedies, Mim Beim

Like Chocolate for Women, Kim Morrison and Fleur Whelligan

Shannon Lush

1001 Natural Remedies, Laurel Vukovic

(this post is sponsored by Thursday Plantation)

Love List ~ March 2016

March 31, 2016 · 6 Comments

Well it has been a little while since I have done a love list!

In between moving to Brisbane and settling my kids in at new schools and uni and working on my charity project and updating the website (do you like the new design and logo??), it’s all been a little crazy around here at NNAM.

Here are some things that I have been loving the last few months….

♥ 4 My Earth Bamboo Bags

I am in love with these new bamboo bags! They are so soft and light weight and perfect for replacing plastic bags when buying produce. I have also been using them damp to keep veggies nice and fresh in the crisper. Such a great way to reduce your plastic usage. Get them here.

♥ Erica Brooke Skin Care

Made by a Brisbane natural new age mum, this range is equal to any of the big name natural skin care brands on the market. Erica’s deodorant is already one of my all time favourite products and I think I am also going to add the Honey Cream Cleanser to that list as well. It’s so incredibly beautiful to use and of course, free of nasty toxins and weird stuff! Check it out here.

♥ The Wholesome Cook by Martyna Angell

I was lucky enough to meet Martyna a few weeks ago at a cooking demo and I grabbed a copy of her cookbook while I was there. I really love Martyna’s food philosophy (probably because it is so similar to my own) of eating whole foods for your own bio-individuality. So many delicious whole food recipes to inspire. Check it out here.

♥ Small Steps to Fermenting

I am about to embark on some fermenting. I find it to be all quite overwhelming and I am worried I am going to get it wrong and make us all sick! Luckily the gorgeous Lisa Corduff (guru from Small Steps to Wholefoods) has teamed up with her husband to break it all down step by step in their online course, Small Steps to Fermenting. Check it out here.

♥ Crystal Singing Bowls

I was lucky enough to attend a crystal singing bowl healing workshop last month. I felt incredibly relaxed and in balance afterwards. It was a very magical, spiritual experience. You can check out crystal singing bowls at some new age stores or look for a healing session near you!

What have you discovered lately that you love??

My experience with ‘Energy Essence Coaching’

July 17, 2012 · 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, I had one of the most amazing hours of my life!

I had an energy essence coaching session with a wonderful lady called Soli Goodes.

Soli

I have been undergoing some challenges in my life lately, in lots of different areas. Sometimes when these things in life challenge us, we don’t know what to do. All we know is we feel bad and want to feel better. Some people resort to drinking, drugs, food and other ways to cope.

As I get older and wiser, I am learning new ways to help me cope with life’s challenges. My lovely yoga teacher calls them ‘tools in your toolbox’!

Some things I use include yoga, meditation, walking, counselling, EFT, aromatherapy, homeopathy and herbal remedies.

Energy essence coaching is one new tool I was happy to discover. Soli offered me a session to try it out and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

How it works:

First Soli connected with me energetically and then asked what area I wanted to focus on. My health was my prime focus area. Soli explains what she does next like this:

“To begin I read the energy of the pattern that you’re ready to make a shift in, sharing any useful information or insights that are present.

From there I guide you in a closed eye guided relaxation / visualisation energy exercise, personally tailored to assist you in releasing any old energy that’s ready and waiting to move. I’ll also guide you to connect to your own natural energy essence which will help you feel energised and expansive.”

I found I was really able to do the visualizations quite well as I have done guided meditations and visualizations in the past. I experienced such an overwhelming feeling of lightness after the session and throughout the rest of the day, episodes of pure joy and happiness.

Soli was able to give me her interpretation of what was happening with my health and it immediately resonated with me. Now that I know why my health was compromised, I can use various visualization tools to prevent future problems.I have been continuing with the beautiful cleansing visualization that Soli gave me, whenever I feel like I need it.

What a wonderful, empowering experience and another tool to add to my toolbox! I loved it. Soli has a beautiful energy and kindness about her that made me feel instantly comfortable. All I can say is that she has a special gift.

If you are interested in finding out more, then you can click here. Soli’s personal blog page is here.

What tools do you have in your toolbox for coping with life?