I’m a certifiable skin snob, and I talk about plants the way other people talk about their sourdough starter. Think of me like a foodie, except instead of being obsessed with food, I’m obsessed with skincare. And I really believe the more you know about plants, the more refined your taste becomes.

When most people think about lavender, they think aromatherapy. And yes, I love the smell. But that’s actually not the reason I’m so obsessed with this plant.

I’m obsessed with how lavender grows.

Lavender is a sun-loving shrub. It thrives in dry, rocky soil, with very little water and a whole lot of sun.

When I look at a plant, one of the first things I ask is: What did this plant have to survive to become what it is? Lavender has spent its whole evolutionary life responding to sun, heat, drought, and environmental stress. To me, that makes it an incredibly useful plant for summer skin.

Lavender + inflammation

There’s some really interesting science beginning to explain what herbalists have understood about lavender for a very long time.

Research on Lavandula angustifolia essential oil has demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity, including reductions in markers associated with acute inflammation.

Most of the published research is on lavender essential oil rather than lavender hydrosol, so I don’t want to pretend those two things are interchangeable. But I do think the research gives us such an interesting look at the chemistry of this plant and helps explain why lavender has such a long history of being used to soothe and comfort the skin.

You can read the study on lavender’s anti-inflammatory activity here.

Lavender + the nervous system

This is where lavender gets even more interesting to me.

There’s research looking at what actually happens in our bodies when we smell lavender.

In one human study, researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, mood, and brain-wave activity before and after lavender oil inhalation. They found decreases in blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature, along with changes in alpha and theta brain-wave activity associated with a more relaxed state.

You can read the study on lavender, the autonomic nervous system, and brain activity here.

Another clinical study looked at the autonomic nervous system using heart-rate variability and PET brain imaging. Researchers saw increased activity associated with the parasympathetic nervous system, the side of our nervous system connected to rest, recovery, and regulation.

You can read that study here.

There’s also a 2023 systematic review of clinical trials looking at lavender essential-oil inhalation and anxiety. Most of the included studies reported a significant reduction in anxiety after lavender inhalation.

And an even larger systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated dozens of randomized controlled trials and also found evidence that lavender may help reduce anxiety, while noting that the quality and methods of the studies varied.

I love this because skin doesn’t exist separately from the rest of us. Our nervous system, inflammation, temperature, circulation, stress, and skin are constantly talking to each other.

Again, these studies are on lavender essential oil and lavender aroma, not lavender hydrosol. But they give us this really fascinating window into the plant itself and into the relationship humans have had with lavender for a very, very long time.

Why I love Lavender Hydrosol in the summer

When we distill fresh lavender, the hydrosol captures the water-soluble compounds and tiny amounts of aromatic compounds that come across during steam distillation. It’s incredibly gentle, which is exactly what I want when skin is already dealing with summer.

Even when you’re wearing sunscreen, your skin is still navigating heat, wind, dryness, sweat, salt water, travel, and just more time outside.

SPF is incredibly important, but sunscreen and caring for your skin barrier are two different jobs.

I think of sunscreen as the shield.

Lavender Hydrosol is part of how I care for the skin underneath it.

I love it for skin that feels hot, flushed, dry, or just a little overwhelmed.

Keep it cold. Throw it in your beach bag. Mist it after a hike, after being outside, or anytime your skin feels like it needs a drink and a little cooling down.

And part of what I love is the whole experience. The water hitting your skin. The cooling sensation. That unmistakable smell of fresh lavender.

There’s skincare, and then there’s caring for the human inside the skin.

To me, lavender sits beautifully between the two.

When summer skin craves more nourishment

Lavender Hydrosol is one of my favorite summer plants, but it’s definitely not the only thing I reach for when skin has been spending more time in the sun.

Summer skin is dealing with a lot.

UV exposure. Heat. Wind. Salt water. Sweat. Travel. Dry air. More time outdoors.

So alongside sunscreen, I love layering in hydration, oils, and antioxidant-rich plants that help support the skin through all of it.

Wisdom Oil is one of my favorite things to reach for when skin feels dry, depleted, or just like it needs more nourishment.

I especially love it at night after a long day outside. To me, it feels like feeding the skin after everything it’s been asked to navigate that day.

Hydrating Serum is another summer staple for me.

It combines hyaluronic acid with rose geranium hydrosol to bring water back into thirsty skin.

And rose geranium is another plant I find fascinating because, like lavender, it’s incredibly resilient and adapted to hot, dry conditions. I come back to this idea all the time: What did this plant need to learn how to survive?

These drought-tolerant plants have developed their own chemistry in response to their environment. And that relationship between plants and the environments they evolved in is endlessly interesting to me.

Then there’s Well Serum, which is one of my favorite formulas for summer.

It contains sea buckthorn, rosehip, raspberry seed oil, and Haematococcus pluvialis, a microalgae that produces astaxanthin.

Astaxanthin is that incredible red-orange antioxidant that algae produce in response to environmental stress.

Basically, it’s a serum full of plants and algae that know a thing or two about living with the sun.

I love Well Serum because it gives us a retinoid-like approach without asking summer skin to do more than it needs to.

For me, that’s always the goal.

Not pushing.

Not stripping.

Not constantly correcting.

Supporting the skin so it can keep doing the work it already knows how to do.

And then there’s the lavender itself.

I’m as picky about plants as a great chef is about produce.

Where something is grown matters. How it’s grown matters. When it’s harvested matters. And how quickly we can get it into the lab matters.

Our lavender comes from a family farm that pours an enormous amount of care into growing it.

And you can tell.

There’s something really special about getting close enough to a plant that you start understanding why it behaves the way it does. That’s the part I never get tired of.

And if summer skin had a formula for me, it would be pretty simple:

Protect it with SPF. Give it water. Give it antioxidants. Give it nourishment. And then leave it alone enough to do what it already knows how to do.

Lavender might just be your gateway plant.

Welcome to the club.