The Estrogenic Effects of Lavender Oil

Lavender has long been used in aromatherapy as a stress reliever, but it is also believed to have estrogenic effects that can be beneficial for some. Derived from the beautiful flower of the same color, lavender oil is high in antioxidant content, and when combined with other essential oils can be used for many natural remedies. However, as with any medicinal chemical or herb compound, there can be drawbacks and side effects.

Common Lavender Oil Uses

• Lavender oil has been used through the ages for everything from embalming fluid in ancient Egypt to a cleansing agent in Persia and Greece to an antiseptic and sedative in other parts of Europe. Lavender is still used as a relaxant for insomnia, depression and anxiety, but additional medicinal uses have come to light with the more recent discovery of its estrogenic effects. Today, lavender oil is used in treating many conditions involving the hormone estrogen including breast cancer and alopecia.

Estrogenic Effects

• Lavender oil is a commonly used natural additive in many household products such as lotion, detergents and soaps, fabric softener, and hair and skin products. It is often combined with other ingredients such as tea tree oil and referred to as an essential oil. Because lavender oil appears to increase the production of natural estrogen, causing breast tissue enlargement, it is also used in topical natural breast enhancement creams and ointments.

Chemotherapeutic Uses

• The active ingredient in lavender oil is known as perillyl alcohol and is thought to be an estrogen receptor inhibitor. This is the ingredient that causes the estrogenic effects that not only promote breast enlargement when used topically, but also have been shown to block the transfer of affected cells in certain cancers such as colon and breast cancer. In measured doses, lavender oil can be used as a chemotherapeutic agent because it targets only cancer cells in tumors.

Gynecomastia

• Gynecomastia is a condition identified mainly in prepubescent males and has been linked to the use of lavender oil products such as soap and shampoo. In rare documented cases, young boys who used these products on a regular basis experienced an increase in estrogen effects and a decrease in androgen -- a natural steroid hormone -- activity at the same time, which is believed to have caused them to grow breasts or enter mock puberty. The gynecomastia was reversed once they discontinued use of lavender oil products.