The Best Lavender Essential Oil, and How to Use It for a Spa Night

Lavender is the scent most people associate with a spa, and the most-used essential oil for good reason: it is soft, familiar, easy to like and blends with almost anything. A good bottle lasts months and turns up in every part of a spa night, from the diffuser to the bath to a pillow spray at bedtime.

Here is how to choose one, how to use it safely, how to make a simple lavender pillow spray, and the bottles we’d buy.

How to choose a lavender oil

Look for the botanical name. True lavender is Lavandula angustifolia. “Lavandin” (Lavandula x intermedia) is a hybrid with a sharper, more camphorous smell; it’s cheaper and fine for cleaning sprays, but softer true lavender is nicer for a spa night.

Single-ingredient. The label should list lavender oil and nothing else. “Fragrance oil” or “perfume oil” is a synthetic scent, not an essential oil.

Dark glass and a dropper. Light and air degrade oils; amber or cobalt glass and an orifice reducer or dropper keep it fresh and easy to measure.

Size for how you’ll use it. A 10 ml bottle lasts a long time in a diffuser; a 4 oz bottle makes sense if you’ll use it in baths and massage oils too.

“Therapeutic grade” and similar phrases are marketing terms, not a regulated standard.

Ways to use it

• In a diffuser: three to five drops per 100 ml of water. See our guide to the best essential oil diffusers.
• In the bath: mix five drops into a tablespoon of carrier oil or full-fat milk, then add it to the running water. Or use lavender bath salts.
• As a massage oil: a few drops in two tablespoons of sweet almond or jojoba oil.
• As a pillow or linen spray: see the recipe below.
• Blended: lavender pairs well with eucalyptus for a fresh “steam room” scent (see lavender and eucalyptus), and with chamomile, bergamot or ylang ylang for something softer.

Make a lavender pillow spray

Many people like a light mist of lavender on their pillow at bedtime. To make your own, combine in a small glass spray bottle:

• 100 ml (about half a cup) of distilled water
• 1 tablespoon of witch hazel or high-proof vodka, which helps the oil disperse
• 15 to 20 drops of lavender essential oil

Shake before each use and mist the pillow lightly from about 30 cm away a few minutes before bed, so it’s dry when you lie down. Patch-test on a hidden part of the fabric first. Keep it for a few weeks, and make a fresh batch if it smells off.

If you’d rather buy one, we’ve included a ready-made linen spray below.

Bottles worth buying

Frequently asked questions