What are hydrosols you may have asked? Good question! You’ve probably heard of floral waters and aren’t aware of how changes in the distillation process between essential oils and hydrosols can impact the product outcome.
Hydrosols are aromatic waters and another tool to add to your home aromatherapy arsenal. They are a low-risk option for those with sensitive skin to use, have therapeutic benefits to take advantage of, and are easy for the whole family to work with.
As a matter of fact, we can eliminate some of the extra steps for essential oil DIYs and risks of irritated skin when it comes to these wondrously aromatic waters! You may have been told hydrosols are the leftover waters from the essential oil distillation process. But what if we told you this wasn’t the whole truth?
Just like with essential oils, there’s a bit more to aromatic hydrosols than meets the eye.
Table of Contents
What are Hydrosols?
Aromatic hydrosols, as touched on above, are the condensate water collected from the steam distillation of aromatic plant matter. They contain the water-soluble components of the plant material used and minute amounts of the more water-soluble essential oil constituents. (See Harvest to Hydrosol by Ann Harmon.) Very little essential oil is actually present in the floral waters, and there is still much being discovered today about hydrosols’ properties.
When distilled, the hydrosol remains separate from the essential oil as its aromatic compounds are hydrophilic (water-loving) rather than hydrophobic (water-repelling). While much of the hydrosol on the market is the byproduct of essential oil distillations, you will also find quality products specifically distilled for the sake of the refreshing hydrosol itself.
What Are Hydrosols Safety Concerns?
There really aren’t any glaring contraindications with hydrosols the way there sometimes is with their essential oil counterparts. Part of this may be because we are still discovering more about these substances, so this information may change as the industry gains more experience with their aromatherapeutic benefits. But in general, there is currently not much reason to expect problems with their external applications.
It’s also worth noting when exploring what hydrosols are, that they are overall less concentrated than essential oils. This along with their water solubility makes them an excellent choice for kids and even babies. As well, they are extremely easy to use in hydrous applications such as children’s and adult bath water, hand and foot soaks, sitz baths, and compresses. Unlike essential oils, which require the use of a surfactant to make the above options safe, hydrosols can be added directly to the water.
That all being said, there are a couple of notable things to keep and mind in regard to hydrosol safety in natural health applications: one’s own personal allergies and the vessel used during the hydrosol distillation.
Allergies: If you are allergic to any of the plants used to create a hydrosol, you do want to make sure to avoid that one. It’s just not worth the risk.
Distillation vessel: Sometimes, hydrosol distillation takes place in copper stills. While the copper stills do appear to enhance the antimicrobial properties of the end product, some of the copper matter does end up in the distillate. This could pose a risk to those with copper sensitivities or allergies, as well as medical conditions that react negatively to too much metal. If this is you and you intend to use hydrosols internally, be sure to ask questions. Choose companies that do the distillation of plant material for their hydrosols in glass or stainless steel instead. (See Aromatic Waters by Amy Kreydin.)
What are Hydrosols Used for?
What are hydrosols used for? The aromatic water of hydrosols is typically used to treat topical issues for skin conditions, or via internal applications, though sometimes people do use them for inhaled applications as well (though this is much less common). Unlike essential oils, you can use them directly on the skin without the need for dilution in most cases. Hydrosol expert Suzanne Catty does recommend diluting hydrosols with small children, such as babies, but she also notes that the undiluted product can be used cautiously as well.
While they are a more gentle option, hydrosols are stronger than your typical herbal infusions. So you’ll want to exercise diligence in oral dosing of herbal waters. In most cases, a one-half to one teaspoon of hydrosol diluted into a quart of filtered cool water, sparkling water, or juice is going to be reasonably safe. Likewise, if your hydrosol is in a spritzer bottle, a few spritzes directly into your glass of water would not be excessive.
Hydrosols vs. Essential Oils One really important thing to note is that hydrosols are not necessarily direct replacements for their essential oil counterparts. Remember that they are comprised of the water-soluble components of the plant material, and essential oils are not. There may be some application crossovers, but you will want to be sure before assuming!
How to Source Quality Hydrosols
You may find different aqueous products on the shelf may be a cheap, popular choice but you want to make sure you know what you are looking at before purchasing. As a rule, you don’t want to be purchasing “hydrosols” from room-temperature store shelves. These natural health substances are easily prone to contamination, so it is best to avoid anything that is not kept in a refrigerated environment or has been put in a position where it could have potentially been tampered with. Hydrosols for therapeutic use should be unpreserved, so you absolutely do not want to risk the introduction of any outside nasties to the natural waters.
Some of what you find labeled as hydrosol on store shelves may actually even be an emulsion of water and essential oil. Such poor-quality hydrosol products will contain water, essential oil (or even fragrance oil), a surfactant, and preservatives. It is in no way, shape, or form actual hydrosol, and you want to avoid this.
Avoid it even more if you are considering any internal applications. If you are at all familiar with true hydrosols, these store-shelf fakes will smell noticeably “off” and be more reminiscent of conventional body products. Without the impact of scent and high-quality contents of the hydrosols, you miss out on the aromatherapeutic benefits.
Hydrosols will always be distilled with the real deal being distilled for the sake of the hydrosol rather than simply being a byproduct of the essential oil extraction process. It may be easier to find the distillation byproduct, but you will benefit from obtaining the distillate that has been made with fresh plant matter, a quality water source, and has no additional materials added to it.
How the plant is distilled can be what makes or breaks the quality of what you find to use with yourself and your family. Just as when you are buying your essential oils, don’t be afraid to be picky about where you source from!
Hydrosols will always be distilled with the real deal being distilled for the sake of the hydrosol rather than simply being a byproduct of essential oil distillation. It may be easier to find the distillation byproduct, but you will benefit from obtaining the distillate that has been made with fresh plant matter, a quality water source, and has no additional materials added to them.
How the plant is distilled can be what makes or breaks the quality of what you find to use with yourself and your family. Just as when you are buying your essential oils, don’t be afraid to be picky about where you source from!
How to Care for Hydrosols
Hydrosols belong in the fridge. Keep them in bottles that have been appropriately sterilized and select tightly closed containers that you open as little as possible to reduce exposure to microbes. It’s important to even reduce the air exposure they get. This makes spray-top bottles or flip-top bottles good options for storage to keep the effects of hydrosols their most beneficial.
It’s ideal as well to keep hydrosols in clear containers rather than the colored options typically used for essential oils. Bloom (or unsightly bacterial growth) is something that must be watched for frequently and carefully. It will be much harder to do so if you are trying to see particulate matter through colored containers meant to help reduce light exposure.
Hydrosols will typically last 1-2 years if distilled under the appropriate conditions and cared for well. Where each hydrosol falls in that range will depend on things such the individual hydrosol, the pH of the hydrosol, storage conditions, and cleanliness. Changes to the pH of the hydrosol can actually be a sign that it is starting to go off. You can get pH testing strips to help you keep track of changes.
What are Hydrosols DIY Uses?
Using organic hydrosols in skin care products and aromatherapy sprays can hugely increase your ability to decrease the amount of synthetic chemicals you are exposed to on a daily basis. Organic, natural cosmetic ingredients can shorten the shelf life of DIY products. You should treat the shelf life of such things like you would if it was water in body care added. Keep things in cold storage and make just enough homemade lotion or other products to last a week.
Skin-Toning Mist: Add ½ oz frankincense hydrosol, ½ oz lemon hydrosol, and 1 oz of distilled water to a 2 oz flip-top bottle to address oil skin conditions. Add to a cotton pad and swipe over the face morning and night for a refreshing facial toner to encourage a balanced glow.
Summer Cooling Mist: Spritz peppermint hydrosol over your face and arms after a day of working in the yard for its soothing properties as a part of your cool-down after exercising. Cucumber hydrosol would also soothe sunburn, itchy skin, hot flashes, or other irritating skin conditions. Any of these flower water options would have anti-inflammatory and cooling properties.
Relaxing Foot Bath: Add 2-4 tablespoons of lavender hydrosol or neroli hydrosol (or a blend of the two!) to a basin of water to soak your feet in after a long day.
Air Freshener: Give a quick spritz of neroli hydrosol, lemon balm, or other aromatic herb hydrosols, which can blend with rose hydrosol to fill the room with a sweet scent instead of toxic, synthetic air fresheners.
Consider organic hydrosols a beneficial, if more subtle aromatherapy form that allows you to enjoy the softer scents of floral waters when concentrated essential oils would need more dilution to utilize.
