The benefits of Lavender oil
The Drôme landscape is impossible to imagine without the colorful fields of lavender. The cultivation of the bright-blue plant is an old tradition in the region, where lavender has been long been used for its health-care and cosmetic properties.
Lavender essential oil has long been known for its health benefits and anti-stress effects. Skin soothing, Lavender essential oil is traditionally used to treat sensitive skin. Its natural calming and relaxing properties make it possible to use diffused lavender oil to reduce anxiety and improve sleep. A must-have in your first aid kit, it is also a powerful muscle relaxant, recommended to treat headaches and reduce pain, stress and apply for massage. Multiple studies demonstrate the health benefits of using lavender oil from sleep improvement, to pain reduction, antimicrobial benefits and skin-care.
When choosing which essential oils to use, study these various types of lavender oils:
Aspic (lavandula) with broad and spiky leaves is different from fine lavender.
Fine Lavender, or True Lavender, has the most medicinal properties and highest quality. The medical benefits of fine lavender have been recognized since Antiquity: it has calming, anti-depressant and sedative effects, as well as antimicrobial healing properties. You will recognize it by the color of its plants – light to deep blue. Fine lavender is cultivated organically, in order to preserve its natural health benefits.
Lavandin is a hybrid. It has fewer medicinal properties than fine lavender but offers a much higher yield for the production of essential oil. The lavandin essential oil can be used just as effectively for aromatherapy and massage, like fine lavender. Its health-care effects for anxiety and stress relief, skin treatment and antimicrobial benefits are not as potent.
The essential oil extracted from fine lavender is the most sought-after and of the highest quality. Products made of fine lavender have the most powerful anti-bacterial and healing effects for skin and hair, and are also natural treatment for anxiety and stress disorders. People use it widely: for aromatherapy, skin- and hair-care, to help with nervous and sleep disorders, stress, anxiety and pain. The uses of lavender oil are multiple: pour some drops in a diffuser, add it to your bath, apply it to skin for body massage, or use it orally, adding a few drops to water.
When in Drôme, treat yourself to a walk through lavender fields for body and soul
Just around the corner from Gordes, one of the most beautiful villages in France, the Abbaye de Sénanque is a functioning Cistercian monastery, where monks have been growing lavender for centuries. During summer, the abbey is surrounded by fields of lavender, lending the place its charm and filling the air with the natural calming scent. Roam the lavender fields and enjoy the calming effects of the plant’s natural scent.
The Plateau d’Albion is located in Haute-Provence. Renowned for its picturesque landscapes of blue lavender and golden wheat, the Albion plateau stretches over typical villages of Provence. At the beginning of summer, the plateau is covered with lavender in exquisite colors. Here you can also stock up on high-quality lavender products and essential oils from a family distillery in Sault.
