Hydrosols (Botanical Waters): What They Are & Why I Create Them

My love for hydrosols first began many years back when I was introduced to rose water and orange blossom water.  Hydrosols are not perfumes, but they really are the ancestors of what are perfumes today.  Hydrosols are botanical waters, often called floral waters, and they are created from steam distilling different flowers and/or herbs.  The hydrosol is the actual condensed water from the steam distillation of the botanicals.  So it is a distilled water that is infused with the natural oils of the botanicals that were distilled.  

Hydrosols are very different from essential oils, which are created from a different process.  Unlike essential oils, hydrosols are mild and are safe to spray directly onto the skin.  I have two hydrosols out at the moment, which are Lemon & Hyssop Hydrosol and Spearmint & Aloe Vera Leaf Hydrosol.  It is a fun process to formulate these recipes and see which botanicals work best together.  When I am formulating, I not only focus on the benefits that the botanicals have on the skin, but also their fragrance and how they can uplift the spirit and even living spaces.  

The fragrance of hydrosols don’t last long, but that is the beauty of them. Scents today, such as perfumes, can be so overpowering and inauthentic, due to the fixatives and the chemicals that are put in them.  It is unfortunate that our noses have become accustomed to manufactured scents through such things as mass marketed perfumes, body creams and air fresheners.  That is why I have made it a point to really explore the art of creating hydrosols.  They are true embodiments of the fragrance of nature.