About Lavender Oil

I get asked so much about lavender and lavender oil that I started putting together some information - and ended up with an essay!

Lavender Oil Producing Plants

“Lavender” is part of the broad botanical genus - Lavandula. This is thought to be made up of 50 different species.

For the purposes of lavender oil we are mainly concerned with two species – lavandula angustifolia (sometimes called English lavender or true lavender), and lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin).

An oil is also produced from lavandula latifolia (Spike or Spanish lavender), but not at Jersey Lavender. Other species such as lavandula stoechas (French lavender, butterfly lavender) or Lavandula dentata (Toothed lavender) might also be used to produce an oil in small quantities somewhere in the world.

Within each of the species there are many varieties. Lavender farmers around the world will argue about which ones produce the best oil. At Jersey Lavender we grow five varieties of angustifolia and one of lavandin.

Although the oil of lavandula angustifolia (I’ll refer to this as just "lavender" from now on) is more highly prized and expensive than that of lavandin, in fact far more of the lavandin oil is produced in the world. The main reason is because lavendin has a much higher oil yield and flowers profusely so that, even with lower prices, farmers make more money per field area. The other reason is that the demand for lavandin oil is much greater as it is used commercially in cheaper, high volume fragrances (laundry detergents, soaps etc.) Lavender oil, on the other hand, is used in higher-priced, lower volume fragrances for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, skin creams and top quality bath products - including our own!

The Difference Between Lavender and Lavandin Oils

If you compare the smell of lavender and lavandin the difference is very noticeable. Most of the different chemicals (up to 120 of them) are pretty similar, however, one key difference is a chemical called Camphor. Camphor has a harsh, sharp, strongly pungent fragrance (almost reminiscent of a cold remedy!). In lavender the camphor should be between zero and 0.6%; in lavandin it is between 6% and 8%.

Within each species of lavender there are many different varieties. So it is no surprise that the oils derived from each of these varieties are different. Which oil is “best” is largely a matter of personal opinion, but each particular variety does seem to produce consistent patterns of different chemical components which lead to a consistency in their odour and therefore make them distinguishable from other varieties.

Added to the oil differences that the species and varieties produce, there are other variables such as soil type, nutrition, water, sunlight, temperature, age of plant, time of harvesting in the flowering season etc. – all of which affect the oil, some to a greater extent than others.

Where in the World?

Most lavender species used for oil production are indigenous to the Mediterranean region. Provence in the south of France is the “home” of lavender oil production, but now it is grown (and the oil extracted) in many areas further afield. The are bigger farms producing oil for the commodity essential oil markets in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Czech Republic, southern Russia, Australia, and China. Smaller farms such as Jersey Lavender are found, with new ones starting up all the time, in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, South Africa and South America.

Harvesting

The lavender is closely monitored and around the middle of June we judge our earliest -flowering variety of angustifolia (called “No.9”) to be at its optimum level and the harvest begins.

Harvesting is done by laying fine-mesh nets either side of the row of lavender and cutting the flower stems off with powered hedge trimmers. The lavender falls neatly onto the nets, which, once full can be bundled up and put into a trailer. In larger commercial enterprises harvesting is carried out with a tractor-mounted or specialist mechanical harvesters.

From the fields the lavender is taken to our distillery, where it is loaded into steam stills. The harvesting of the angustifolia species of lavender is usually completed by the end of July and then we move onto the later flowering lavandin, until that is complete towards the end of August. 

The Distillation Process

All our lavender oil is distilled from plants grown on the farm in Jersey. The process is a fairly straightforward one and in many respects hasn’t changed for many centuries.

At the peak of our lavender harvest we usually do 4 or 5 distillations each day in our two stills. Our biggest still takes about 85kg of fresh weight lavender, and it takes about an hour and a half to distil the oil.

The lavender is packed into a steel mesh basket, weighed and winched into the stainless steel still. A lid is put on and bolted down. Steam is then introduced under pressure into the bottom of the still from our oil-fired boiler. The steam at 100°C rapidly rises into the lavender, heating it up.

All the different chemical components that make up the lavender oil (which is stored in tiny vesicles along the sides of each flower bud) have a boiling point less than the temperature of the steam. When subjected to the steam the lavender oil chemical components boil - turn to a vapour and rise with the steam to the top of the still.

The steam and oil vapours pass through a short pipe to a water-cooled condenser. Here it is cooled back to water and minute lavender oil droplets, and this mixture flows into a special glass flask. The flask allows the liquid to settle and separate out into a water layer and a lavender oil layer – the lavender oil is lighter than water and being an oil does not mix with water so it floats on the top as a beautiful, golden coloured layer. From the flask the oil is drawn off and stored away carefully.

Storage and Maturing

If plant oils are not stored correctly the oils can deteriorate quite fast through various chemical reactions. The principal enemies are water and oxygen in the presence of excess heat and light. Our essential oil is first dried using a special drying agent (a powder that is mixed in that absorbs moisture), and then filtered and weighed into large glass bottles. The bottles are filled to the top to minimize the air pocket (with oxygen in the air), and the lid tightly sealed on which stops both air getting in and the oil evaporating. To further minimize any damaging reactions, the containers we use are made from darkened glass, and once filled they are stored in a cool cupboard.

Initially, after distillation the lavender oil has a “rough” odour to it – some people have described it as an intense, sharp hay smell – and it isn’t very pleasant. The oil, once stored away goes through a maturing process which takes about six months. After six months we continue to leave the oil stored away safely until we need it, which is generally between one and two years after distillation.

Oil Yield

The angustifolia seems to produce a yield of about 0.4% to 0.7% by weight. The actual yield depends on the variety of lavender, the dryness of the flowers, growing conditions and the overall quality of the summer season. Depending on the hours of sunshine, average temperatures and other factors yields will vary. During hot summers on the farm our oil yields have been 50% greater than those during dull, wet, cool summers.

To put these yields into perspective, if we fill the still with 80kg (12.5 stone and a pretty big pile) of lavender stems we will extract out approx. 450g of lavender oil – that’s about three coffee cups! You can see that the oil obtained is small compared to the weight and work that goes to growing and harvesting the plants!

For the lavandin the oil yield is much higher – about 1.5% - and again is equally dependent on the variety of lavandin and the conditions that it is grown in.

Uses of Lavender and Lavandin Oils in Perfumery

The main use for lavender oils is in the bulk production of perfumes for a multitude of scented products – industrial cleaners, toilet cleaners, laundry detergents, soaps, air fresheners, candles, cat-litter, dish washer detergent, shampoos, bath/shower products, lotions, cosmetics, and perfumes.

It will surprise many people that, in the field of fine fragrances and perfumes, lavender is used much more in masculine fragrances than women’s.  The lavender doesn’t actually have to be that noticeable in the fragrance, as it is usually blended with many other perfume ingredients, but it does plays its part in creating the fresh, clean smell.

In fact one of the most successful categories of men’s fragrances is built on lavender – the Fougere category. This is based around the interplay of lavender and mossy ingredients such as oakmoss, coumarin, patchouli and labdanum. The Fougere theme began in the 1880s with Fougere Royal and its influence continues through hundreds of famous fragrances such as Brut (1964), Hai Karate (1967, do you remember that!), Paco Rabanne (1973), Drakkar Noir (1982), Cool Water (1985) and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Uses of Lavender and Lavandin Oils in Aromatherapy

A much smaller use for lavender oil is in aromatherapy. Although lavender and other plant remedies have been used from many centuries, the term aromatherapy only goes back to 1937 when French perfumer, René-Maurice Gattefossé published his work on the medical use of essential oils. Recently aromatherapy has undergone a resurgence in popularity and lavender oil, quite rightly, is at the forefront of this revival. 

The main oil used for aromatherapy is that from Lavandula angustifolia. Open any aromatherapy book and you will find more written about Lavandula angustifolia oil than any other – it is often referred to as “nature’s medicine chest”. (Please see our Top Uses of Lavender Oil page for more). Lavender has calming, soothing, sedative, relaxing and balancing properties. Because of these it can also help with stress, stress headaches, nervous tension, anxiety, convulsions, hyperventilation and depression. 

Less is known about the specific use of lavendin. Based our experience, we advise people to use lavendin for respiratory therapies as the higher camphor content in the oil makes it more effective. Equally, it is more effective for oil burners and baths as the smell is stronger. (Also you can use it more liberally as it is cheaper!)

A serious word of warning: Whilst many people enjoy using lavender oil at home to help with a variety of ailments or conditions, I strongly recommend that it be used with caution, as it can potentially cause harm if used inappropriately and indiscriminately. If you do not have experience of essential oils or their use, please read up carefully on the subject or consult a qualified aromatherapist or doctor. An excellent home-use guide called “Aromatherapy” which covers the basic use of 42 common oils is available from the Books section of our shop.

I often get asked, "Can lavender oil be used neat on the skin". My answer is that whilst I believe that lavender oil is one of the safest essential oils and many people do use it neat, I strongly recommend that those who do not know about essential oils are cautious. You should apply one drop on the inside of the elbow and leave for half an hour. If there is any redness or irritation whatsoever, discontinue use and seek professional advice.

Buying Lavender Oils

You can buy “lavender” oil from many sources with huge price variations. However, quite often, all is not what it seems - the essential oil business is fraught with pitfalls for the unwary. Some "lavender oil" is of very poor quality, even bordering on being a fraudulent product. 

In bulk commercial trading of essential oils a lot of ''cutting'', adulteration, stretching, blending (call it what you like) with other materials takes place. This is fine where buyer and seller know the game, and when the buyer is often looking for a “standardised” fragrance quality year after year, which can only be achieved through these practices.

The problems occur when unaware member of the public, looking for a pure, good quality oil find fall into
Unethical practises that occur are:

• Lavandin oil sold as lavender angustifolia oil (or just vaguely labelled as "lavender oil") or even lavandin blended with the lavender angustifolia - the lavandin is much cheaper. This practise is often not difficult to detect, as you can pick out the stronger camphor odour. Even cheaper than lavandin, oil from Lavandula latifolia (Spike lavender) is sometimes used instead. Such methods of "stretching" lavender occur frequently. You still have a natural product, but if you had read an aromatherapy book and wanted to buy the real angustifolia oil you would not be getting the right quality.

• Pure natural lavender oil diluted with an odourless solvent. This is difficult to detect without specialist analytical equipment.

• Cheap synthetic chemicals blended with the lavender oil. This happens a lot in the bulk commodity trade to "standardise" an oil to particular percentages of the key components. The natural versions of the synthetic chemicals are in the oil anyway, so this type of blending is difficult to detect without specialist equipment.

A cheap lavender oil may employ any of or all of the three “con” tricks above. The most common situation is the first one and the worst-case scenario is where an entirely synthetic lavender fragrance is sold as an essential oil. Modern analytical chemistry has got us to the point where this is possible – a really cheap, "reconstituted" lavender oil might not have a single component that has been derived from a plant source.

To avoid any of the above, my advice is:

- Buy only direct from a lavender growing and distilling source – a lavender farm such as Jersey Lavender. If not, the very least that you should aim for is to buy from a major, reputable high-street brand.

- Only buy oils in metal or dark glass bottles. Never clear glass.

- Look for a clear botanical name on the bottle. For example "lavandula angustifolia" or "lavandula x intermedia". Good, ethical producers and marketers of lavender oil will always label with the botanical source.

- Do not buy the cheapest. You get what you pay for, and good quality oils cost money.

- When you buy your oils only purchase what you might use within six months. Referring back to the section on the storage of the oil, it is better to buy a few smaller bottles than one big one as opening and using a small amount of oil each time allows exposure with fresh air (oxygen) which will hasten the degradation of the oil.


I hope my comments have been helpful, but if you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them. Please use the Contact Us form.

Alastair Christie – 11th November 2006