Why We Use French Lavender in Our Topicals — and Why It Still Works So Well
Let’s be honest: lavender gets underestimated.
It’s been boxed into bath bombs, baby lotions, and air fresheners for so long that people forget what it actually is — a deeply respected botanical with over 2,500 years of medicinal, spiritual, and therapeutic use.
At Blunt Botanicals, we work with lavender like the plant medicine it is — because our products aren’t made to smell pretty. They’re made to support nervous systems, skin health, and the real human bodies we all live in.
So let’s break it down.
🌿 Where Lavender Really Comes From
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is native to the Mediterranean basin, growing wild in what we now know as Spain, Italy, France, and parts of North Africa and the Middle East. It also spread naturally into regions of Persia and Asia Minor.
Despite what Instagram suggests, it didn’t start in Provence — though France later became one of its most iconic exporters (we’ll get there in a minute).
Its Latin name, lavare, means “to wash” — because the Romans used it in everything from bathhouses to wound care. And they weren’t alone.
📜 Who Used Lavender — and Why?
Lavender shows up in nearly every ancient wellness system:
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Egyptians used it in embalming oils and purification rituals.
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Greeks burned it as incense in temples.
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Romans used it for healing cuts, calming the mind, and flavouring food and wine.
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Medieval herbalists grew it in monastery gardens and used it to treat insomnia, anxiety, and skin conditions.
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Mothers across generations have used it to soothe everything from colic to burns.
This isn’t new-age fluff. This is time-tested plant care.
🇫🇷 Why French Lavender?
Today, Provence is globally known for producing some of the highest-quality lavender essential oil in the world — and we source ours from Eco-Cert farms in the region for a reason.
The dry climate, mineral-rich soil, and high elevation produce lavender that’s high in linalool and linalyl acetate — the compounds responsible for lavender’s most studied benefits:
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Easing stress and anxiety
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Calming the nervous system
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Supporting deeper rest and sleep
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Reducing skin inflammation
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Aiding wound healing and barrier repair
We’re not chasing trends. We’re using plants where they grow best, and choosing suppliers who grow them with integrity.
🧠 What the Science Says
Modern research has caught up with what herbalists have always known:
Lavender isn’t just calming — it’s chemically active and biologically supportive.
Its primary compounds have been shown to:
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Reduce cortisol (your stress hormone)
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Improve sleep quality
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Calm nervous system hyperactivity
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Ease muscle tension and spasms
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Support skin regeneration
Linalool interacts with GABA receptors in the brain — which helps regulate mood and stress response.
Linalyl acetate works to reduce inflammation and support skin healing.
And when used topically? Lavender doesn’t just scent the product — it participates in the therapeutic effect.
💜 How We Use Lavender at Blunt Botanicals
At Blunt, we use lavender the way it’s meant to be used — as a functional plant ally, not a scent gimmick.
Our lavender is grown in France and Eco-Cert certified, meaning it meets the highest environmental and purity standards. It’s included in formulations where calm, recovery, and skin support are the goals — and only where it makes botanical sense.
We don’t do “lavender-scented.”
We do plant-powered relief, backed by thousands of years of use and modern evidence.
🛁 Lavender in Our Zero Waste Bath Bombs
Lavender’s calming compounds, especially linalool, play a starring role in both our Alaskan TF and Pineapple Express Zero Waste Bath Bombs.
In Alaskan TF, lavender is part of a terpene blend designed to mimic the grounding, earthy air of wild northern forests — with essential oils like cedarwood, patchouli, and Siberian fir bringing it all together. This one’s for the folks who need their nervous system to drop into the earth and stay there for a while.
In Pineapple Express, lavender balances brighter top notes — citrus, tropical, uplifting — with its calming base. It’s that rare combo of soothe and spark that hits just right after a chaotic day.
Both bath bombs:
✔️ Are plastic-free and water-soluble
✔️ Include 50 mg CBD for topical support
✔️ Use only real essential oils and terpene isolates — no artificial fragrances, no weird dyes, no residue
This is what a true recovery soak should feel like.
🛀 Lavender Terpenes in Jointment CBD/CBN Bath Salts
Our Jointment CBD/CBN Bath Salts are built for people who live in bodies that do too much — veterans, caregivers, shift workers, parents, athletes, overachievers, overthinkers.
While not directly scented with lavender oil, this formula carries the same terpene signatures found in lavender:
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Linalool (calming, muscle easing)
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Beta-caryophyllene (anti-inflammatory, cannabinoid-supporting)
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Marjoram, birch, and eucalyptus — herbs traditionally blended with lavender in European folk medicine
Together, they make this soak deeply calming — not just physically, but emotionally. Because sleep isn’t just about rest. It’s about regulation.
✋ No Fluff. No Fillers. Just Function.
When we formulate, we ask:
What does this plant actually do?
What system does it support?
What traditions and science back it up?
Lavender passed the test — and earned its place in our lineup.
🟢 No “fragrance” masking synthetic fillers
🟢 No fake lavender blends with none of the active compounds
🟢 No compromise on the sourcing — always grown where the plant thrives
💚 Why It Matters
You’re applying these products to your largest organ — your skin.
And your skin absorbs everything you put on it.
Whether you’re recovering from a shift on your feet, winding down after a day with kids, or trying to fall asleep without your brain listing off tomorrow’s to-dos — lavender has your back.
We don’t formulate for trends. We formulate for people.
For nervous systems that are tired.
For bodies that carry more than they show.
For anyone who needs their wellness ritual to actually help.
📖 Want to Learn More?
We wrote this blog because education is part of care — and because people deserve to know what’s in their products and why it matters.
🧴 Explore Calm Balm and our other lavender-forward topicals at a store near you