Homemade Braid Spray and Lavendar Essential Oil - review

I shared this recipe in THIS post about taking care of box braids. I had read that it was good for using on braided hair especially, but also just in general as a daily spritz.

Here's the recipe:

* distilled water
* a natural oil (like jojoba or almond or grapeseed oil)
* an essential oil, like lavendar

Combine to your heart's content and spray away!

A mixture like this is good for your hair and your scalp. It can also be used instead of washing the scalp as a means of cleansing.

The health benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to remove nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. Lavender has the Latin name Lavare, which means “to wash”, due to its aroma that gives the feeling of a clean aroma. (source)

So we tried it! I must say I added WAY too much lavendar. Especially for someone (me) who doesn't even care for the scent - there is just simply way too much in our mix. I have a small 2oz bottle that I was using...next time I'll try a mix of maybe 1/4 or 1/2 an oz of oil and fill the rest with water...then add ONE drop of Lavendar EO!

I liked the idea of a homemade spritz, and I understand the thought behind water and an oil... but what about lavendar?  I have heard conflicting things about Lavendar Essential Oil, so I did some research of my own. :)

As you can see above, lavendar has many beneficial properties, but what else? Read Health Benefits of Lavendar Essential Oil to learn more! Wow! This article is exciting! I'll leave you with this tidbit...  in reference to hair - in that lavendar can kill lice and lice eggs, as well as stimulate blood circulation (which will stimulate hair growth!)

Here are some more positive Lavendar EO articles!
Lavendar EO information
Wikipedia - Lavendar Oil


Ok, so far so good! But what about Lavendar or Tea Tree Oil being a xenoestrogen? Did you hear about these two essential oils being blamed for causing breast growth on pre-pubescent boys? Yikes - I had to look into it. I don't want my daughter having to go through puberty any earlier than necessary! Read the news article HERE.

After reading that and doing some more searching, I also found these two links:
Lavendar and Tea Tree Estrogenic?
Gynecomastia

I have to agree. The science seems to be lacking. I don't really consider 3 cases to be an accurate study. Especially without more information on the products being used! What other ingredients were in there? What other things were those boys being exposed to in the rest of their lives at the time? There are just too many variables and not enough "cases".

For myself and my daughter - I don't think I'll worry about Lavendar causing us problems. I might not use it everyday (no sense in being cavalier about it) but I won't shun all the possible benefits of Lavendar or Tea Tree Oil completely either!


Do you use Lavendar EO or Tea Tree EO?? What are your thoughts on the subject?