10 Smart Uses For Lavender And Peppermint Essential Oil – Tree To Tub

Essential oils are organic compounds with great healing properties. They are extracted from plants and are often used for aromatherapy, a holistic treatment that seeks to improve physical, mental and emotional health.

These highly concentrated oils tend to have a strong aroma. This is because they are extracted directly from the bark, flower, fruit, leaf, seed or root of a plant or tree. Concentrating the oils of these plants lets you are literally harness the most powerful healing compounds of a plant in a single oil. Pretty impressive, huh?

Lavender and peppermint are two great essential oils that can be used in so many ways. Here we’ve included 10 ways in which you can use each.

Lavender essential oil is great for helping calm and relax you. It also can be used as an analgesic, antihistamine, antiseptic, plus it is antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. Here’s a few ways you can use it around the house, and on yourself:

1. Air Freshener. Mix in lavender and water in a spray bottle. It’s antibacterial properties  help disinfect your home and remove bad odors.
2. Insect Bite Relief. Apply it onto your skin and you will feel relief almost instantly. It also works on bee stings, scars, and burns.
3. A Good Night’s Sleep. The smell of lavender helps alleviate insomnia. Sprinkle a few drops on your pillow to help relax and fall asleep.
4. Move Over Vanilla. Use it as a substitute for vanilla extract (in baking, sugars, creams, etc.), add it to honey or maple syrup for an extra kick.
5. Fun In the Tub. Add 5 drops (or more if you’d like) to warm water in the tub. Relax, and enjoy softer skin.
6. Help Treat Acne. Bacteria thrive in sebaceous glands that over-produce sebum. With its antibacterial properties, lavender helps balance sebum and control breakouts.
7. Bye Bye Sinusitis! Lavender can calm and decongest your sinus issues, pesky allergies and other respiratory issues. Rub some lavender essential oil on the back of your neck, chest, and between your eyes.
8. Treat a Cold. Whenever you have a cold or the flu, try out a lavender steam hood. Add 4-6 drops to a bowl of hot water and place a towel over your head. Inhale the vapor slowly and deeply.
9. Reduce Anxiety. Diffuse lavender essential oil around your home to reduce feelings of stress and tension.
10. Add It to Vinegar When Cleaning. If you clean with vinegar, but the smell is way too strong for you, try adding a few drops of lavender essential oil. Mix in the lavender and vinegar together in the spray bottle and you’re ready to go!

Peppermint essential oil is great for so many reasons. It supports digestion, improves focus, boosts energy, reduces fevers, headaches and relieve muscle pain, just to name a few. Here are some ways you can use peppermint essential oil:

1. Perk Up. Peppermint essential oil is great for perking up when you need to focus and feel more alert. I’ve used it plenty of times to feel more focused while working!
2. Stomach Relief. Just one drop of peppermint oil rubbed on the stomach or taken internally can calm indigestion, an upset stomach or other internal digestive commotion. A must-have when traveling!
3. Joint relief. Let’s face it, time is not kind on our joints. When you’re feeling a bit achy, try massaging your joints with a few drops of lavender essential oil and peppermint essential oil. The cooling relief of peppermint will help with the pain.
4. Relieve a headache. Try rubbing a little peppermint essential oil on the temples, forehead, back of the neck or wherever your pain is. It will help lower the body temperature quickly, making it ideal for fevers. Rub some along the spine and bottoms of feet as often as needed.
5. Relieve a sunburn. Fun in the sun can leave our skin burnt and stinging. Peppermint essential oil is very soothing mixed with lavender and water in a spray bottle to relieve that pesky sunburn and cool you off.
6. Relieve sore muscles. Just massage some peppermint essential oil wherever it hurts!
7. Energize Your Lather. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil to your shampoo or conditioner to stimulate the scalp, energize and wake you up! The oil is antiseptic in nature, which can also help with dandruff.
8. Minty, Mint Tea. Add 1 or 2 drops of peppermint essential oil in your favorite tea for a nice hint of mint.
9. Cool off in the tub. After a long day, add some peppermint essential oil to a warm bath. The vapors will make you feel cool, relaxed and energized.
10. Clean Naturally. Peppermint essential oil is a great natural cleaning agent because of its antifungal and antibacterial properties. Add some to a spray bottle with water and spray on countertops and bathroom surfaces, scrub, and enjoy.

How do you use your lavender and peppermint essential oils? Let us know in the comments below.