When essential oils are made through steam distillation it involves a process of steaming the plant material, cooling the steam, then eventually extracting the oil from the condensed steam. Hydrosol is the left over steam (distilled water).
Hydrosols are like essential oils but in far less of a concentration. Hydrosols can be used externally in skin care products, taken as a tonic or combined in a drink. They also make lovely additions to food such as Rose water.
What’s the difference between a hydrosol and infused water?
Hydrosol is produced from the steam that forms when distilling plant materials such as flowers and herbs. Hydrosols are not as concentrated as essential oils, so they tend to be more gentle on the skin. Infused water is simply soaking leaves, fruit, or flowers of a plant or herb in water. It becomes more tea-like if you boil the material in water.
How to make Rose Water (Hydrosol)
What you’ll need:
Roses from the yard are preferable, but since it’s winter and I don’t know anyone with winter roses, I bought mine from Flora & Flames
Distilled water
A pot with a lid
A bowl
Ice
Step One:
Make sure your roses are nice and clean. Add them to the pot and cover with distilled water. I used approximately 100 grams of rose petals (around 30 roses) and 1 litre of water. These measurements don’t have to be exact, just make sure you have enough water to cover the roses.
Step Two:
Clear a space in the middle of the pot and place your bowl inside, this will catch all the hydrosol as it condenses.
Step Three:
Place the lid on the pot upside down and turn the heat on medium to low. You don’t want to boil the roses, just get a gentle simmer.
Step Four:
As the water starts to warm up, you will begin to see steam on the lid. Once you see steam, place a sealed bag about half full of ice onto the lid. This will cool the steam as it hits the pot lid making the hydrosol drip into the bowl below. The ice will begin to melt in the bag, so you will need to replace the ice periodically. A steady production of condensation should be collecting on the lid and dripping into the bowl in the pot. However long you decide to allow it to distill, will determine how much hydrosol you’ll collect. I allowed my batch to cook for about an hour, draining melted ice and replacing with new, as needed. You’ll know you’re done when the hydrosol no longer smells strongly of roses. If you continue collecting steam after this point you’re just diluting your existing hydrosol with plain water.
Step Five:
Pour the hydrosol into a bottle and keep in the fridge. It will last up to three months if kept properly in the fridge.
I used my rose water in a face mist. Just pour it into a bottle with a mister cap and spritz onto your face for a nice refreshing pick me up!