Lavender Oil

If you have ever taken a course in organic chemistry, you might recall the distinct smell of an ester. It smells a bit like a banana. Lavender oil contains a high number of chemicals called esters. Those esters give to lavender oil a smell that seems to “clean” the nasal passages.

Because lavender oil contains many esters, pure lavender oil has an unquestionable chemical “fingerprint.” Chemists can obtain that “fingerprint” by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). An NMR machine looks for signs that a molecule has resonating atoms. When analyzed using NMR, pure lavender oil produces a tell-tale peek.

The esters in the oil have a special molecular structure. The carbon atoms in the molecule have formed a ring. It is that ring that creates the peek, the distinguishing feature of the ester’s chemical fingerprint. Pure lavender oil should produce such a peek, following analysis on an NMR machine.

Still, not every drop of lavender oil with the desired chemical footprint is sure to please the aromatherapy practitioner. Not every drop of lavender oil has the same smell. Some less expensive oils smell a bit like camphor.

The most expensive lavender oils have passed two different tests. An NMR analysis has shown the oil to have the desired chemical footprint. The oil has also passed a “smell test”; it has been found to have a pleasing scent.

Aromatherapy practitioners respect the healing powers of the lavender oils. A client who inhales the scent of diffused lavender oil can experience a calming of the nerves. That smell can also speed the disappearance of migraines and other headaches.

Lavender oil has proven to be a useful tool for the management of stress. When applied to the skin, the oil penetrates quickly to the cells below the skin’s surface. Lavender oil has been used to ease tense muscles.

Lavender oils can improve the functionality of skin. They also improve the ability of the circulatory system to keep blood flowing to all the cells in the body. Lavender oil also has another use, one that bears less directly on the maintenance of overall health.

Both lavender and citronella oils produce a smell that fleas and mosquitoes find highly objectionable. Thus a device that emits the aroma of lavender oil can be used to keep mosquitoes and fleas away from any given area. The lavender oil offers gardeners a natural and pleasant-smelling way to put a “Stop” sign in front of annoying mosquitoes.