Lavender has been used in perfumery and personal care for centuries. SPC investigates the properties and uses of this ancient plant
Lavender derives its name from the Latin lavare (to wash). It is thought the first bushes to appear in Britain were brought over by the Romans who used it to scent their baths as well as their freshly washed laundry
In the Middle Ages monks are known to have grown a wide range of herbs and spices in their physic gardens, and among them was lavender, which appears in many of their remedies. Lavender sellers became a constant feature of street life, especially during the plague years when lavender was burned to cleanse the air. According to the 1889 Century Unabridged Dictionary, in Middle English (12th to 15th centuries), washer women were known as lavanders or lavenders; to lavender meant to launder, and lavatories were originally stone floored rooms for washing clothes. Lavender, the plant, was used to keep fabrics fresh smelling and to this day its scent is associated with clean washing.
The lavender genus Lavandula (family Lamiaceae syn. Labiatæ) has over 20 species, mostly of Mediterranean origin. There are three main species within the genus producing lavender, lavandin and spike lavender that are essential oils for the fragrance and perfume industry. True lavender oil is derived from Lavandula angustifolia (syn. L. officinalis), while lavandin oil is considered a hybrid of L. angustifolia L. latifolia. Meanwhile, spike lavender oil is derived from L. latifolia (syn. L. spica). Lavender remains the most highly prized of these three oils.
Production history
The cultivation of lavender started as early a 1371 in Burgundy with harvesting appearing in 14th century texts relating to herbalism (Les Herboristes de Lure). The faculties of Marseille and Montpellier in the 18th century contributed to the knowledge of its beneficial properties.
The town of Grasse played a decisive role in the history of lavender. The establishment of the company Chiris in 1768 increased the demand for aromatic plants, in particular lavender. Its production would be a major factor in retaining the rural population in that area of Provence.
Lavender oil is produced by steam distillation of the freshly cut flowering tops and stalks of the shrub. Local distillation occurred either in the fields with mobile distillation units which were gradually replaced with fixed distillation by around 1882 in Sault, and in 1900 by St André les Alpes. Industrial distillation units were available in Grasse as early as 1907, namely the Schimmel distillation in Barême.
The 1900s were the golden years of production in France. In the 1920s, 70 tonnes of essential lavender oil were being produced, of which 90% was derived from wild plants, with the remaining 10% from cultivated lavender. During the early 1930s much research was conducted into finding plants with the best yield and also into various processes of mechanical harvesting. Specially designed machinery was introduced by 1959, by which time the supply ratio had been completely reversed with 90% sourced from cultivated plants and just 10% from wild plants. As a result of these developments, 130 tonnes of essential lavender oil was produced locally
in France just before the dawn of
the 1960s.
As mechanical harvesting became the norm, there was a shift in the growing requirements, with flat machine-friendly plateau areas becoming more desirable. However, at the same time the widespread availability of synthetic products saw the decrease of cultivated areas in general. Fine lavender, however, remains indispensable to fine perfumery, phytotherapy and aromatherapy.
Mediterranean living
Lavender is a native of the western Mediterranean and the eastern coast of Spain, France, Switzerland, North Italy, Corsica and North Africa. Lavender and lavandin oil have long been the major essential oils produced on the southern slopes of the French Alps, contributing to the 200 tonnes of high quality lavender oil produced globally each year.
Lavandin is native to Spain, France, Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. Over recent years Bulgaria has also become a major producer. Even more recently the changes in the economies of countries like Bulgaria and the former USSR have seen the price of lavender and lavandin oils fluctuate markedly.
The ratio of lavender to lavandin production worldwide is about
1:5 with the prices for lavandin
correspondingly lower. Lavandin plants produce more oil and are hardier than lavender plants. World production of lavandin oil amounts to about 1000 tonnes per year and lavandin oils have been progressively replacing lavender oils for all but the most expensive products.
Meanwhile, spike lavender has its main production area in Spain but grows wild over a large part of the Mediterranean area, flourishing in warmer and lower regions than lavender and lavandin. Worldwide production of spike lavender oil is 150-200 tonne per year but this figure is set to increase with the emergence of new growing areas such as Australia and Brazil onto the world market.
The oils from lavender, lavandin and spike lavender have long been used separately and in combination with other essential oils in the fragrance and perfumery industry. Minor uses, in terms of quantity, include aromatherapy, which relies on the sedative effects of lavender oil vapours. The most likely component to be active in this regard is linalool.
Lavender oil is produced by steam distillation of the freshly cut flowering tops and stalks of the shrub.The typical constituents of lavender oil usually fall into the range indicated in Table 1.
The content of linalyl acetate increases with the altitude at which the plants are grown.
Production yield for lavender oil is 1.4 - 1.6% of fresh plant material, depending on production method and origin, and for lavandin oil 1 - 2.5%.
Generally, wild growing, high altitude lavender plants produce the finest, most expensive quality oil, largely due to the fact that the flowering tops of these plants cannot be harvested by machine. The yield of oil varies considerably from season to season as the age of the bushes and weather affects both the quality and quantity of the oil produced. Approximately 50kg of fresh flowers with 15cm stalks will yield about 30g of oil. One hectare of lavender in its prime could yield, in a favourable year, 35 - 45kg oil, but an average of 11kg would be a more reliable estimate.
Lavender in perfumery
“The distilled water of Lavender smelt unto, or the temples and forehead bathed therewith, is refreshing to them that have the Catalepsie, a light migram, and to them that have the failing sickness and that us to swoune much.” Herball, John Gerard (1597).
Written records of the use of lavender for medicinal purposes date back as far as 60AD to the writings of Dioscorides. At one time lavender was virtually essential to the home medicine cabinet, used to relieve, among other things: headaches, fainting, hysteria, stress, insomnia, muscle aches, bug bites, rashes, colds, chest infections, rheumatism and flatulence.
Many of the purported medicinal uses for lavender have, upon modern scientific testing, proven to be legitimate. Lavender oil does have an antibiotic activity, effectively killing many common bacteria, and was used extensively during the two world wars on the battlefield and whenever medical supplies became scarce to prevent infection and as a pain reliever. In the 1920s, French scientist René Gatefossé, who coined the term aromatherapy in connection with the use of essential oils, also discovered lavender’s healing properties when he burned his arm severely in a laboratory accident. Lavender is included in lotions and oils placed on burns and bee stings to relieve the pain and it is used in massage oils to help relax muscles.
The sedative effects of lavender are well documented in medical tests, demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing caffeine induced hyperactivity, and increasing length of sleep by ingestion or inhalation. Victorian ladies particularly enjoyed the benefits of lavender, frequently carrying specially prepared muslin bags filled with it, in order to inhale the sweet lavender scent and calm their fluttering hearts.
While many of the medicinal properties of lavender involve the use of lavender oil or dried lavender flowers, the stems or ‘straw’ left after stripping the flowers can be burned like incense and have often been used as a means of deodorising and disinfecting sick rooms.
Lavender is also reportedly helpful in controlling dandruff and even hair loss when included in shampoos. Many of these claims have yet to be tested scientifically but it is evident many of the old uses for lavender add up to more than simply old wives tales.
Lavender in perfumery
The scent of Lavender is described as floral, herbaceous, balsamic, woody and camphoraceous.
The recognised aroma of lavender varies from country to country. It is however often most people’s first
scent memory. England’s tradition is
associated with Yardley’s lavender, associated with our grandmother’s generation, whereas France, Italy and Spain still use lavender colognes and many products such as soaps, air fresheners, fabric softeners and washing products fragranced with lavender.
Since 1770, Yardley has produced English Lavender made with only the purest natural lavender oils produced in the English countryside.
At the end of the 19th century, the industrial cultivation of lavender in France led to single floral lavender scents being created such as English Lavender by Atkinsons and Pour un Homme by Caron in 1934.
Lavender is also the cornerstone for many men’s fragrances such as fougères, which feature coumarin, oak moss, lavender and sometimes geranium oil. An early modern perfume Fougère Royale (translated as Royal Fern) was created by Houbigant’s perfumer Paul Parquet in 1882, and set a trend for men’s fragrances that would never quite disappear. The fougère family is by far the most extensive in the men’s category; launched in 1973, Paco Rabanne pour Homme, frequently referred to simply as R, was to become one of the most significant fougères with an aromatic twist. Another popular cologne featuring lavender appeared in 1982 with the launch of Drakkar Noir
by Guy Laroche. Lavenders and fougères are some of the most popular men’s notes with a vast number of fragrances in each category so only a few landmark fragrances are mentioned here.
More recently Azzaro celebrated lavender in its Pure Collection introducing Pure Lavender in 2001. With its impressive survival through the ages – at least from Roman times to the present day – it seems certain that the fresh scent of lavender will be with us for years yet to come.