Everything you need to know about hydrosols

Wanting to know more about hydrosols?

Hydrosols are amazing products with many benefits. They can be used alone as part of your beauty routine, and they can also be incorporated into recipes for creams, shampoo, eyeliner, and more.

Hydrosols—also called floral waters, essential waters, or herbal distillates—have been around for a long time. As far back as Ancient Egypt, they were used for their skin benefits and properties. It’s said that Cleopatra was particularly fond of rose hydrosol!

We get a lot of questions about them: how to use hydrosols, how they’re made, what their benefits are… So we decided to dedicate a special feature just to hydrosols. Now you can get to know them better and take full advantage of them!

A word of warning: if you’re not already using hydrosols, this article may very well change that!  

What exactly is a hydrosol?

Hydrosols are aqueous distillates made from the steam distillation of plants and herbs. In fact, the hydrosol is the aqueous vapour recovered through the distillation process used to extract essential oils! Because distillation separates out most of the oil from the water, a hydrosol contains a very small proportion of its companion essential oil, and its scent will be much subtler. As such, hydrosols shouldn’t be confused with infusions or macerations, in which the plant is infused in water (or another liquid) for a given length of time. 

 Hydrosols are aqueous products, which means that they don’t mix with lipids (oils and butters). They are also very hydrating and gentle on skin. If you’re a little confused about the difference between hydrating and moisturizing, we encourage you to read our article on the topic. 

How are hydrosols made?

Many people believe that to make a hydrosol, you just put plants in boiling water and then filter them. But as we’ve just seen, that’s far from the truth! Making hydrosol requires proper equipment and special skills. Learn more about how hydrosols are made.

What are hydrosols used for? How should they be stored?

We get a lot of questions about how to use hydrosols and how to keep them from going bad. These cosmetic ingredients are rather fragile but also very interesting… so long as you know how to use them! Our article on how to use and store hydrosols tells you everything you need to know!

Which hydrosol is right for my skin type?

It’s not always easy to know which products are suitable for your skin type and its specific needs. Unfortunately, hydrosols are no exception! But don’t panic: this article on how to choose a hydrosol is here to help you!