Lavender

If it is a pure essential oil, then I would only add a few drops to an entire bottle of baby oil or lotion. A really easy, and safe way to use the oil is to use a diffuser. There are many different types (some go around a light bulb and use it's heat to diffuse the aroma, and others plug into the wall, or use a candle). If you grow lavender, than you have a great source of free potpourri ingredients! You can also sew simple sachets (or use the toe end of some old pantyhose) and stuff them with dried lavender. Use them in drawers and closets to keep them smelling fresh. If you like the smell, you can also dry the flowers,keep them in an airtight glass jar (like a mason jar) and add them to a bath (adults only, kids may try to eat them!). Crush the flowers right before adding them to the water to help release their natural oils. Hope this helps!

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Jae's caution is worth noting. Lavender oil does have the potential for mimicking estrogen in young children when applied directly to the child, as would happen in bath water or baby oil, for example. It's less likely, but not clear at this point whether other exposures, such as to the scent, would be a problem.

Some cases of breast enlargement in boys have been linked to both lavender and tea tree oils. While this isn't believed by researchers to be an irreversible problem, some are concerned that other common chemicals that kids are exposed to that also mimic hormones could act together with these oils and be a much bigger problem to a child's normal sexual development, especially in boys. A health care professional I respect also worries about the future breast health of girls exposed to too many hormone-mimicking chemicals.

It's worth considering the possible risks. Here's one informational link:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm

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You can buy a linen and room spray base and use it to spray the room and linens. It really does work to calm. wholesale supplies has this.

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Ooohhh....I love lavender oil. Add a few drops to their bath water for a calming night time bath. Add some to grapeseed or olive oil for an afterbath massage. Use it to refresh the scent on sachets. Put some on a washcloth between the towels in your linen closet or in your bed and under your pillow.

You should definitely dilute it, but it has a low risk of allergic reactions and it will be calming for everyone.

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I put rosewater or lavendar in a mist bottle with water and spritz shirts etc. with it before I iron them for a nice scent.
Some insects don't like the smell of lavender so a sachet of your dried flowers in your sweater drawers and closets may reduce unwanted critters.
I mop my floors with lavender frangrance in the bucket and I've never had ants in my house. I bet if you look up lavender uses on Martha Stewart's site you'll find a ton of stuff!
Chicken is good with a little lavender and rosemary!

I love lavendar. Use it everywhere to relax me. A trick that my massage lady gave me was to fill up a sink with warm water and put a few drops of the oil in it and it acts like a difuser and makes the whole house smell great. I tried it before a party and it worked like a charm. I also put a few drops in my bath.

Just one thing I wanted to mention. A friend of mine with a 12 month old girl noticed that her daughter had what appeared to be a lump in her breast. She took her to the doctor, and one of the things they mentioned was that using products with lavender oil has sometimes been shown to stimulate the growth of breast tissue in babies. After a series of terrifying tests, it was determined that the baby was ok, but I thought I should mention the lavender oil thing. I had never heard of it before.

Hi,
Lavender is one of the safest essential oils. You can add a few drops to distilled water, shake, and mist your pillow. Ad a few drops to almond, olive, grapeseed, safflower oils and run under bath water or massage with.
Good luck!
C.
http://cindyflesher.tripod.com
____@____.com

I have lavender growing in my back yard too - I love it. After it blooms, I strip the stems of the flowers (run my fingers up each step to remove the flowers) and place the blooms/leaves in a pillow case (or other sachet). Then I place it in the dryer to make our clothes smell good

I put ten or so drops in a small mister with water and keep it in my nightstand drawer. I spray it on myself at bedtime if I have had a hard day or on my pillowcase and it is soooo soothing (not to mention cooling in the summer). I have also put it on those absorbent coasters that you get in bars and hung them up like air fresheners. If you hang them near a heat source like the vent when the heater is on, they really fill the room with scent. They are also great in the car when the sun heats them up.

I used lavender Essential Oil in my daughter's wipe solution and may have used too much. After a few months, she started breaking out in her diaper area severly. We thought it was the cloth diapers we were using and finally went back to disposables. Later, I put a lavender lotion on her and she had severe welts all over her body. It was then that I realized she was allergic to lavender. She now is also very sensitive to other strong scents and chemicals (I wonder if it was because of the lavender being so strong so early).

Just a word of warning....dilute it and keep an eye out for allergic reactions!