The way it's done

We come from a lifestyle belief that says “If you don’t do it right, don’t do it at all.” Our definition of “right” includes producing products of the purest and highest quality possible. All of our plants are organically grown, never using pesticides, herbicides of chemicals of any kind. Both of our farms are located next to undeveloped, natural acreage, ensuring that no inorganic substances can wash onto our land during storm events. When developing our products, we buy only natural, organic materials to mix with our lavender when making soaps, lotions and other body care products.

With Gayle’s food service background, there has always been a concern for clean and uncontaminated ingestible ingredients. When we develop our culinary lavender, we take great steps to ensure this. After separating out the pedals from the rest of the plant, they are sifted and sorted to remove all of the dust and debris particles they may have picked up in the fields during their growth. As an extra precaution, we expose all of the pedals to Ultra-Violet radiation to ensure all bacteria and other micro-organisms have been removed. The pedals are then packaged for use for sale or use in our products.
 
If it’s not, it should be widely known that almost all other commercial producers of lavender products will add synthetics, fillers and other dilutants to stretch their supply of lavender essential oils. It is not required by law that they tell you this either. We do not, and will never engage in this type of public deception. You will always get the pure, undiluted, unadulterated oil, hydrosol and our products created with it. Period.

The Distillation Process

The Lebec Oaks Lavender Farms (LOLF) team has spent exhaustive hours investigating the different ways lavender is processed, including traveling the world and visiting the farms that have been doing this for centuries. We actively choose to never use the term “good enough”. Many distilleries use the best method by using low pressure, steam distillation. But, as a means of mass production and convenience, they will distill the entire plant.

When the plants are put into the steam chamber, everything attached to it also goes in, including the string ties that hold the bundles together at harvest, weeds, insects and anything else that gets into the mix. Here at LOLF, we take very seriously the purity of our oils and byproducts and choose to distill only the pedals, after painstakingly sifting, re-sifting and hand-picking out the small leaves and stems that may fall through the sifting screens. It is tedious work, but well worth the effort. Since our plants are the purest and most medicinal grade, it only makes sense to do it this way. We may not produce as much oil as others, but what oil we produce, is of the finest purity available.