How To Make RoseWater
Before we find how to make rosewater, let’s take a look at the plant. Rosewater is a byproduct of the rose plant Rosa damascene (Botanical name) or the Damask Rose. The name is derived from the plant origins in Iran, though it is now highly cultivated in Turkey, India, Bulgaria and other parts of Europe.
Due to the plant’s healthy constituents, the benefits cannot be overemphasized. We have been able to compile the benefits of rose water, uses, and how to go about the making process.
There are basically two methods of making homemade rose water. They are;
The Simmering method:
This method involves simmering rose petals either fresh or dried in water. The result is rose-colored water. This method is best for recipes and uses that only cover for a short period of time as it has a limited shelf life.
Ingredients:
¼ cups dried rose petals or ½ – ¾ cup fresh rose petals
1½ cup of water
Procedure:
- Combine rose petals and water in a saucepan
- Cover and boil
- Use the lowest temperature setting that still allows the water to simmer
- Simmer until the color of rose petals fade. This could take about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Allow cooling completely
- Strain out water into a measuring bowl and pour into a dark clean bottle
- Store in the refrigerator for a few weeks, without refrigeration; store for a week on a counter.
Distillation Method:
This method involves making a hydrosol. It’s a little bit more time consuming than the first method and also lasts longer
Ingredients:
1½ cup dried rose petals (3- 5 fresh cup)
1½ cup of water
Procedure
- Place an average size clean brick in the center of a large pot.
- Place a metal bowl on top of the brick
- Sprinkle the rose petals around the brick ensuring none gets into the bowl
- Pour water into the pot till it attains almost the same height as the brick
- Invert the lid and place it over the pot. This allows the steam to drip down to the center of the lid and eventually enter into the metal bowl
- Place a block of ice on top of the lid as this will help the steam condense and drop into the bowl. It is advisable to put the ice into saziplock bag so you can easily pull it out when it melts and replace another ice.
You must try to keep in as much steam as possible as it is your actual rose water
- Bring the water in the pot to a boil using the lowest temperature that still allows the water simmer.
- Simmer for 30 minutes while replacing the ice whenever it melts
- Bring the pot down from the heat and allow to cool completely
- Pour the rosewater carefully into a dark bottle. It’s important you avoid the ice from entering the rose water when trying to remove the lid from the pot.
- Store at room temperature or store in the refrigerator.
Uses of Rosewater
- Makeup Remover: Adding a few drops of rosewater to your makeup wipes helps exfoliate the skin
- Redolence sprays: Unlike some artificial body spray, soaps, and shampoos that may contain dangerous substances; rose water gives a very natural and harmless scent. You can dab rose water on your wrist and neck for a redolence smell.
- Hair Perfume: Using rose water on your hair prevents dryness and still keeps your hair smelling nice. Mix a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract with essential oils into a spray bottle and fill it with rose water. Spritz on your hair after washing and leave to dry.
- Flavors Enhancer: You can add some drops of rose water into your herbal tea, yogurt, lemonade for better taste and flavor.
- Acne treatment: Add rose water with lemon juice at an equal ratio to fight acne outbreaks.
- Facial Toner: Rosewater keeps the skin shinning, smooth, healthier, and also contains anti-aging properties. For this reason, it makes a perfect facial toner. Add 1- 2 drops of rose essential oil or lavender to rosewater and apply to your face with cotton wool after washing your face or having a bath.
- Tann Remover: Mix two tablespoons of groom flour with rose water plus lemon juice to make a smooth paste. Apply for 15 minutes to get rid of tanning.
It is important you note that there has been no research stating that rose water has any side effects. It is a natural product having so many benefits because of its rich composition.
Benefits of Rosewater
- Maintains the PH of the skin: The average ph of the human skin is 4.7. Some water sources like tap water contain high Ph ranging from 6.7 to 8.8 which is capable of lowering the ph of the skin. Rosewater with an average ph of 5.0 has the ability to alleviate this change. Spraying the skin with rose water using a spritzer helps lower the average ph of the outermost skin layer. This in turn keeps the skin looking healthier, smoother, and keeps it shining. Rosewater also serves as a natural savor to the skin and has anti-aging properties.
- Gives Anti- Inflammatory effects: Rose water can be sued to calm inflammation and soothe the eyes. The high phenolic compound content makes it worthy of comforting and calming irritated skin. Phenolic compounds are a very important and common component of most herbs and dietary plants and are thought to have cancer-preventing properties. Therefore, phenolic compounds are a very important part of beauty routines.
- Hydrates the skin: Rosewater has been used for centuries in beautifying and strengthening the skin. Applying rose water directly to the skin or consuming it orally provides healthy hydration to the skin.
- Removes excess oil from the skin: Rosewater contains a large proportion of hydrosol or distilled plant water. Benefits of this hydrosol content range from reducing excess oil from the skin to keeping the skin hydrated. Because of this, the plant-based mixture containing a high level of hydrosol like rose water is spreading through the beauty market.
- Subdues inflamed throats: Rosewater possesses soothing effects that subdue inflammation, particularly in the throat. It was originally used by Native American tribes to ease sore throats in young children and teens. Mixing rose water and rose syrup into your hot tea can go a long way in alleviating the pain of an inflamed throat while waiting to get prescriptions by a doctor on the appropriate medication to take.
- Mitigates Digestive Discomfort: The major uses of rose water discovered by researchers were to mitigate digestive discomfort and menstrual pain. Because of the amino acid antioxidant content of the flower, rose water can relieve stomach pains and cramps.
These are very uncomfortable situations that can disrupt your daily activities, although rose water is no a cure-all when it comes to these illnesses, it goes a long way in relieving most of the pains and also acts as a mild purgative.
If a particular meal you eat frequently causes bloating or indigestion for you, putting rose water into your drink will help inhibit the stomach pain.
How To Make Rosewater For Hair
Procedure:
- Put rose petals into a bowl
- Rinse with lukewarm water
- Transfer rose petals into a big pot and add distilled water just enough to cover the top of the petals
- Cover the pot and boil with low heat for 30 – 45 minutes
- When you discover a change in the color of the petals, turn off the heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes
- Pour mixture over a strainer to separate rose petals from the liquid
- Your rose water for the hair is ready.
- Pour into a spray bottle and apply on the hair after washing for a nice smell and to avoid dryness
How To Make Rosewater Toner At Home
Ingredients: large pot, glass lid, small saucer, small bowl, 2- 3 organic roses, distilled water
Procedure:
- Separate organic rose petals from the stem and rinse
- Place a heat- save saucer upside down and place a heat- save bowl on top of the saucer
- Arrange rose petals around the saucer and bowl (the bowl should be left empty)
- Add some distilled water just enough to cover the top of the petals
- Cover by placing lid upside down so that you can place some ice of the lid. These help to speed up the distillation process.
- You will be having 2 forms of rose water
- The first one will be found in the small bowl placed inside the pot. It is the purest form of rose water. It is acquired during the heating process when the rose water simmers, steam collates on the lid and drips into the small bowl.
- The second form is the one inside the pot with the roses. Although it’s not as pure as the first one, it still has many benefits and uses. It is acquired when the rose water simmers until the rose petals change color completely. This process usually takes 30-45 minutes. One this is done, take the bowl out of the pot and the saucer and turn off the heat
- Pour the hydrosol (first form of rose water) into a spray bottle
- Strain the second form through a strainer and also put it in a spray bottle.
- Use them as a toner as it aids in cleansing the skin thoroughly while maintaining its delicate ph balance and also because it contains anti-inflammatory properties that reduce redness in the skin.
Rosewater For Drinking
A very rampant question people tend to ask is; can you drink rose water?
The answer is this: They have been no research that says drinking rose water is dangerous or unhealthy because nutritionally, rose water contains vitamin A, B, C and E as well as flavonoids and other antioxidants. If you are also looking for a good fragrance and a healthy way to stay hydrated, opt for a bottle of rose water but its important you ask your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about it.
How To Make Rose Essential Oil
- Separate organic roses from the stem,
- Put some quantity into a glass jar and dry the rest under sunrise for one day
- Add essential oil (like Olive oil or avocado oil) and cover with the lid
- Place the glass jar into a pot containing distilled water and bring to a boil using low heat for one hour
- Allow cooling for 10- 20 minutes
- Bring to a boil again for an hour and allow to cool
- Repeat this process 6 times
- The 6th time, using a spatula, try to mix the roses with the oil for a few minutes
- Boil again using low heat for one hour
- Strain the oil using a strainer
- Put oil into a glass jar and add the dried roses. Mix with a spatula for a few minutes
- Place into a pot of water and boil for one hour, Repeat the process for the second time
- Strain the oil out using a strainer or thin cloth
- Your rose essential oil is ready. Turn into a transparent bottle.
Benefits of Rose Essential Oil
- When applied on the skin hydrates the skin clears acne, reduces the sign of aging, minimizes the appearance of scars and helps with conditions such as eczema.
- Rose oil also eases pain, relieves menstrual discomfort, decreases anxiety, stress, has antibacterial & antifungal properties, eases depressive symptoms.
- Aromatherapy property: Rose essential oil can be inhaled after sprinkling drops on a cloth or tissues using an aroma vaporizer as practitioners have discovered that inhaling this oil can transmit messages to the limbic system, a brain region responsible for controlling emotions by reducing stress and anxiety and influencing the nervous system.
How long can you preserve rosewater?
Rosewater can last a week without refrigeration and a month or more when stored in the refrigerator.
