Lemongrass Hydrosol

Photo From: Lemongrass Hydrosol

Instructions

Cymbopogon citratus 

Organically grown lemongrass from my Maui garden 🙂

2 oz cobalt blue bottle with a spray cap
$15.00

Lemongrass is a refreshing and uplifting hydrosol with a lemony scent. It’s effective at releasing tension, anxiety, and nervous exhaustion. It is emotionally strengthening. It is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-fungal. It aids digestions and stimulates the lymphatic system.

It’s cooling and astringent, relieves heat, and tightens connective tissues of the body which makes it healing to tendons and ligaments.

My favorite uses:

  • Pick me up spritzer
  • Toner
  • Spray on cuts, scrapes, and skin infections
  • Yoga mat spray
  • Facial masks, it strengthens and tightens skin.
  • Mosquito repellent 
  • Thai lemongrass soups and other soups
  • Household cleanser

Info on Monograph from my aromatherapy school, Aromatic Studies

 THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS: 

Antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, digestive, insect repellant, mosquito repellant, nervine, sedative, strengthens connective tissue 

KEYWORDS: Antimicrobial, cleanses the air, strengthens connective tissue17 

Circulatory system: poor or sluggish circulation, varicose veins 

Digestive system: Candida18 

Lymph/Immune system: lowered immune response, compromised immunity, lymph drainage 

Musculoskeletal system: muscular aches and pains, tired and sore muscles, sprains, bruises, weakness of connective tissue19, pain in joints, muscle weakness 

Nervous system: nervous exhaustion
Respiratory system: antiseptic, sinus congestion, lowered immune response for respiratory 

illness, respiratory infection20 

Skin: acne, oily skin, boils, athletes foot, cellulite, excessive sweating, has a special tightening effect on the elastin fibers in the corium and in the subcutis21, applicable to breast treatment (tightening)22, Ringworm.

Psyche and Emotion: fatigue, grieving process, strengthening during weak emotional period, transition, release work 

Ayurveda: Lemongrass is used to stimulate agni without aggravating pitta. Relieves gas and cramps by regulating samana and apana vayu. It is drying to avalambaka kapha and helps to expectorate excess phlegm. Clearing to hot lung infections with yellow mucus. Lemongrass has an affinity for rasa and raktadhatu helping with painful menses due to inflammation or spasm in uterus from high pitta and vata.24 **Note: Use the herb in a tea or tincture or other ayurvedic preparation.

How to use hydrosols? 

Most common:

#1 mist face and body prior to oil or moisturizer. This helps your oil to seal the moisture into your skin.

  • Need to uplift your mood? Use grapefruit hydrosol.
  • Want to brighten your skin or balance your hormones? Use rose geranium hydrosol.
  • Facial toner try lemongrass
  • Working on a big project, school, or learning and remembering something? use rosemary hydrosol.
  • Feeling a little congested? Try the red bottlebrush (eucalyptus) hydrosol.
  • Have a little cut or scrape? Use yarrow hydrosol

Use as a toner, pour a little on an organic cotton pad or ball. Or blend 2 different hydrosols and add a little aloe vera or witch hazel hydrosol and make a toner. I offer these here.

Add 1 tsp to a litre of water and enjoy.

Air spritzer – works great in the bathroom

I gargle with hydrosols! My favorite to gargle with is rose geranium.

Eye Pads – soak a cotton pad in hydrosol and lay one on each eye — this is nice when the hydrosol is chilled.

Medicinal:

Eye infections, of any type that I’ve experienced have been nipped in the bud many times by me spraying one of my hydrosols on at the first sign of any symptoms.

Poison Ivy – I have found hydrosol helpful at receiving itch from poison ivy — specifically rose, chamomile, and peppermint, used singly.

Spray on a cut or wound to aid in healing and cleaning.

Compresses – after you heat the water and wet your cloth, wring it out, then add a few spritzes of hydrosol.

Other:

Use in your clay mask recipe – after applying mask spritz your face with a hydrosol to keep your mask from drying out too quickly.

Add up to 1 tsp to your neti pot water

Use 1 cup in a foot bath or hand bath

Add 1-2 cups to your bath (not very practical for most, but if you happen to have an abundance of a certain hydrosol).

I use hydrosols in all my lotions that I make.

In the laundry you can dampen a washcloth with hydrosol and put in dryer to help freshen stale or stinky clothing.

Internal 

Freeze it in ice cube trays and use in iced tea.

You can even cook with them, they can add nice flavor when some of the water for rice is substituted with hydrosol.

Try soaking nuts in a tasty hydrosol like grapefruit

Lemongrass hydrosol is good in soups, especially Thai lemongrass soups.

 

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