Organic Spike Lavender Essential Oil

Fragrance: Penetrating, fresh-herbaceous and camphoraceous

Botanical Name: Lavandula latifolia

Emotional Effect: Calming, stress relieving and soporific

Method of Extraction: Steam Distillation of the Flowers

Country of Origin: France

Spike Lavender, fairly unsurprisingly, has an aroma very similar to true Lavender. It's grows at lower altitudes and has a stronger, camphorous smell. As soon as I inhaled it, I knew it had a powerful ability to support lung health and, indeed, research has shown this.

I first discovered Spike Lavender when my son was a baby with a cough. This was quite a while ago (certainly before I had a smartphone) and I didn't have much time to browse the internet, so I am not sure how I knew to try it, but I did. I just KNEW it was what he needed to shift his cough. Although we didn't have much money, I decided to buy a 10 ml bottle of it because I felt certain it would help my son's health; thankfully it did.

Since then, I have created a balm recipe using Spike Lavender which I find incredibly effective for coughs. I was inspired by a traditional treatment for coughs which I heard of when I lived in New Zealand. We call the treatment "Honey Chest" as you apply honey to the chest and then cover it with cloth. The honey is simply washed off the next day and,  amazingly, sometimes the cough disappears as soon as it's applied. I was impressed.

"Honey Chest" is, of course, also rather messy. I wondered what it would be like if honey was mixed with beeswax and Jojoba oil (structurally close to sebum, the skin's natural oil), and essential oils like Spike Lavender. Below is the recipe I created and, if you find you have issues with coughs and colds in winter, I recommend making a batch of this and putting it in small pots to use whenever you are feeling under the weather.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp Honey
• 25g Beeswax
• 25ml Arnica Oil
• 40ml Rosehip Oil
• 20ml Ravensara Essential Oil
• 20ml Eucalyptus Essential Oil
• 20ml Spike Lavender Essential Oil

Directions

1. Melt wax on a very low heat if you have an induction hob, or using a bain marie.
2. Add the honey and mix in until the two are fully mixed.
3. Cool to around 50°C and stir in all other ingredients.
4. Pour into glass containers and leave to cool. 
5. Once solidified, seal with a lid.

Eucalyptus and Ravensara essential oils.