Herbal Hydrosols
20 Ways to Use them
Edited by Jisselle Regis
What are Herbal hydrosols?
Herbal hydrosols are also known as flower waters, hydrolats, herbal distillate, distillate waters, plant water essence or essential waters etc, and are produced by distilling fresh leaves, fruits, flowers, and other plant materials.
To me the scent of wild things, plants and flowers is truly enchanting and brings great joy to my life. Essential oils and hydrosols capture a bit of that magic for us humans to enjoy any time by surrounding our environment with it.
“And where the marjoram once,
and sage, and rue,
And balm, and mint,
with curl’d-leaf parsley grew,
And double marigolds,
and silver thyme,
And pumpkins ‘neath the window climb…”
John Clare
With similar properties to essential oils, these aromatic waters are much less concentrated, much gentler than their essential oil counterparts and can be used directly on the skin without further dilution.
Steam Distillation Process
Low temperature and low pressure play an important part in collecting the highest quality hydrosols and essential oils. When steam goes through plant matter which is placed into a chamber, it allows the cell walls to break down. As a result, the hydrosol is imparted with the water-soluble aromatic and therapeutic properties of the plant. The steam and essential oil are carried out of the chamber and cooled. The oil and the plant water essence are then allowed to separate for collection.
20 Ways to Use Herbal Hydrosols
- Linen sprays – one of my favorite ways to use a hydrosol is as a linen spray. I love to use Lavender, Bergamot, Citrus, Rose, Spruce hydrosols on my linens and towels. Because they are oil-free, and so are less likely to leave stains or go rancid.
- Nourishing body mist – an herbal hydrosol of your choice not only will give you a nice aroma but nourish and heal your body from outside in.
- An Herbal Compress – Soak a soft cotton cloth in a bowl of an herbal hydrosol, wring it out then place it on a desired spot of your body for pains, rashes and other minor skin conditions. Repeat until you feel relief.
- Air Freshener – most commercial air fresheners contain many harmful ingredients in addition to its scent. On the other hand, all-natural lavender (for example) hydrosol is an easier and more practical option to freshen up your home, car or workspace, especially since it has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, without making the smell too intense, as most commercial air fresheners do.
- Magnesium Oil with an herbal hydrosol – its smells amazing on top of bringing so many health benefits! I use it as an after-bath sleepy-time spray. Click HERE for my recipe.
- Baby wipes – soak cotton cloths, paper towels or regular napkins in an herbal hydrosol to make your own baby wipes.
- Iron water – hydrosols can be added to the water in your steam iron to impart a delicate scent to your clothing. Most tap water contains hard minerals that will result in mineral buildup in your iron preventing it from functioning as it should. Distilled water is usually the most recommended type of water for ironing and an herbal hydrosol is particularly recommended if you want your clothes to be ironed beautifully. Since it is void of hard minerals, herbal water essence will keep your steam iron functioning correctly for much longer while also adding a nice, subtle smell to your clothes.
- Green Cleaning – herbal hydrosols make the best home cleaning solution for countertops, tiles, floors and other surfaces This is particularly effective for cleaning windows, as pure distilled water will prevent marks and spots from showing up.
- Facial toner – modern skincare products that claim to improve the structure, texture and appearance of your skin, usually end up worsening existent skin conditions, or causing new ones. This is because some are formulated using harsh chemicals including parabens, synthetic fragrance and more, which may cause damage to your skin. Try using an herbal hydrosol instead of your typical face toner. Most herbal hydrosols have antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties, like lavender, comfrey, rose, linden, celandine hydrosols, that will keep your face cleaner over the course of the day, and will also give it a fresher, more youthful appearance. If it is stored in the fridge, its coolness will tighten your pores. Once it has been absorbed by the skin, apply moisturizer as desired.
- DIY Skin Care Products – all those DIY skin care products you can make at home, such as lotions, creams, serums. You can use hydrosols in place of water for extra benefits such as natural fragrance, soothing effects, skin regeneration properties and more! Hydrosols are exquisite beauty products that have been used since ancient times to beautify facial skin. Use an herbal hydrosol to make your facial masks and more.
- Hair Rinse – an Herbal hydrosol is a much better alternative to use instead of commercial hair conditioners or even hair rinses which use beer and apple cider vinegar, when washing your hair. On top of smelling lovely, let’s not forget that it also has gentle nourishing, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, which contributes to keeping your hair clean, shiny, and healthy.
- Aromatherapy Baths – although essential oils are the most recommended when it comes to aromatherapy, hydrosols are also effective, providing a lovely aroma to your bath. Using an herbal hydrosol will certainly make the most of your bathing experience, also providing a higher level of moisture to your skin than the average bath foam.
- Sitz Baths – A sitz bath is a healing treatment where you immerse the lower part of your body below your waist into a tub of hot water, containing herbs and other medicinal ingredients. Use it to target your lower back (for pain, sciatica and other similar issues) or your genital region (for hemorrhoids, genital infections, episiotomy wounds and others). Instead of adding essential oils, you can add healing hydrosols like lavender, tea tree and frankincense to your sitz bath.
- Sunburn Relief – To heal sunburn wounds and UV damage use a cooling spray filled with frankincense, carrot seed and cucumber hydrosols with added aloe vera gel. Spray liberally on to the sun burnt areas for quick relief and recovery.
- Aftershave – Hydrosols can be used instead of harsh conventional aftershave products. Herbal antibacterial hydrosols can help heal minor cuts and abrasions on the face, and also leave behind a clean and crisp scent.
- Deodorant Spray – use a hydrosol spray under your armpits for a natural mild deodorant effect.
- Mouthwash – an all-natural mouthwash would be to swish some frankincense or peppermint hydrosol after a meal, to cleanse and deodorize your mouth. This will also help strengthen the gums, heal wounds in the mouth and kill harmful bacteria.
- Make Up remover – Hydrosols can be used for cleansing the skin. Dip a cotton ball into your hydrosol of choice, such as lavender hydrosol, and cleanse your entire face. The hydrosol will reach deep into your skin and disinfect your pores, remove dead cells and other impurities.
- Bug Repellent – Hydrosols are natural bug repellents. They can be used as a bug repellent spray to deter ants, fleas, ticks, mites, mosquitoes, silverfish, spiders, earwigs, water bugs/roaches, fruit flies, and other bugs.
- Pets – Essential oils are toxic for many pets, especially cats, which tend to lick their fur and may ingest the oils. Cats’ livers are not designed to handle and eliminate essential oils, making them toxic for them. Instead, use hydrosols to deodorize, repel fleas, for skin issues, and to calm.
Hydrosol quality
Like essential oils, buying hydrosols from a reputable source is super important. Hydrosols can be adulterated (of poorer quality due to the use of inferior substances). Furthermore some mass manufacturing brands are selling regular water simply blended with essential oils or chemical fragrances, which are improperly classified as “hydrosols”, “floral waters” etc. This means the aroma and therapeutic benefits may most likely are not the same compare to the properly processed hydrosols. Make sure to know your source well and buy high quality hydrosols. It is always smart to ask vendors for details about the hydrosols they are selling to ensure that what you are purchasing is a true hydrosol. A final word of caution is to make sure you buy organic, because the steam distillation process works with fat soluble particles which attracts toxins the most.
You can buy my Magnesium Oil made with Bergamot Hydrosol in my Shop
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Organic Kudzu root tincture (Pueraria lobata)
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Tansy & Black Walnut tincture. Organic.
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Organic Greater Celandine tincture (Chelidonium majus)
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How I make my Herbal Hydrosols:
I finally found a distiller that is large enough (70 liters – 18 gallons) and made fully out of stainless steel (no copper).
The process takes around 6 hours from setting it up, collecting the plant material, distilling process and cleaning it afterwards.
It’s very time consuming, because you have to keep the water, that is running through the cooling towers cold, so that the steam becomes liquid. And the EO I had to collect with an insulin syringe, took a long time. But it is cool!
From the 70 liter distiller full of plans material I got about a teaspoon of EO, a gallon of hydrosol and 3 quarts of tea that I used for the kids bath.
Interestingly that the goldenrod tea that came out after the distilling process, gave very thick and fun bubbles! SO COOL!!
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** Information on the traditional uses and properties of herbs that are provided on this site is for educational use only, and is not intended as medical advice. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Many traditional uses and properties of herbs have not been validated by the FDA. If you have any serious health concerns, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs. **
My secret section
https:// www.aromaweb.com/hydrosols/what-are-hydrosols.asp
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlMDt1cT_4
http:// mamarosemary.com/blog/2013/07/26/how-to-make-a-hydrosol
http:// www.thehippyhomemaker.com/save-money-making-herbal-hydrosols-flower-waters/
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-
Sale!
Organic Kudzu root tincture (Pueraria lobata)
Original price was: $42.00.$36.00Current price is: $36.00. Select options -
Sale!
Tansy & Black Walnut tincture. Organic.
Original price was: $28.00.$19.50Current price is: $19.50. Select options -
Sale!
-
Sale!
Organic Greater Celandine tincture (Chelidonium majus)
Original price was: $36.00.$24.50Current price is: $24.50. Select options