What Are Hydrosols?
In essence, Hydrosols are botanical waters. They carry gentle herbal benefits and aromas from that plant that was used during its distillation. These properties are often similar in nature to essential oils and extracts made from the same plant.
However, Hydrosols contain a much lower dose of active components than extracts or essential oil. This makes them quite mild and amazingly versatile. The properties of Hydrosol are so gentle that the ingredient can be used as-is directly on skin or hair, unlike essential oils or extracts that must be diluted prior to use.
How Are Hydrosols Made?
When an essential oil is steam-distilled, large quantities of water are used in the process. The essential oils are harvested after distillation, leaving water that has been infused with the residual and water-soluble components of the plant that was used.
What Do Hydrosols Smell Like?
Hydrosols can vary in aroma quite a bit. While certain Hydrosols, like Rose or Neroli, carry scents that are highly characteristic and recognizable, other types of Hydrosol smell entirely different from what you may expect. Hydrosols often smell more earthy, green, or herbacious than essential oils produced from the same plant.
Popular Types of Hydrosol
Hydrosols are becoming more and more popular as the interest in natural beauty and skin care continues to grow. As a result, more varieties of Hydrosol become available all the time. Still, there are some varieties that remain the most popular, useful, and interesting. Some of our favorites include:
Click on the title of any variety to learn more about it’s unique properties.
- Angelica Root
- Calendula
- Carrot Seed
- Cistus (Labdanum), Spain
- Clary Sage
- Cornflower
- Cucumber
- Douglas Fir
- Elderflower
- Geranium Bourbon, Madagascar
- German Chamomile, Bulgaria
- Helichrysum Italicum
- Labrador Tea
- Lavandula Angustifolia, Bulgaria
- Lemon Balm
- Lemon Balm, Bulgaria
- Lime
- Neroli (Orange Blossom)
- Roman Chamomile
- Rose Damascena, Bulgaria
- Rosehip
- Rosemary Verbenone
- Sage
- White Sage
- Witch Hazel
- Yarrow
How to Use Hydrosols
The gentle properties of Hydrosol make it an extremely versatile ingredient for skin and hair care. Here are some of the most popular uses for Hydrosol.
- Facial Toner: Hydrosols may be used as-is or blended with other ingredients, like Apple Cider Vinegar, Dead Sea Salt, or herbal teas to make facial toners.
- Creams and Lotions: Hydrosols make an excellent substitute for water in emulsion formulas such as lotions and creams. Try replacing all or a portion of the water in your formula with your favorite Hydrosol.
- Skin Care Masks: Use your favorite Hydrosol as a wetting agent in your next fresh mask recipe. A simple clay facial can be made with just two ingredients, Cosmetic Clay and Hydrosol.
- Cleansers: Hydrosols can be used to wet dry or powdered cleansers such as washing grains. They can also be used in place of water for making cream or foaming cleansers.
- Hair Spritzers & Sprays: Sweet and floral scented Hydrosols, such as Neroli or Rose, make excellent bases for water-based hair care products like curl gel, hair spray, and leave-in conditioner.
- Foaming Soaps: Liquid soaps, like Castile Soap, often need to be diluted before use in a foaming dispenser. Using Hydrosol for dilution is a wonderful way to incorporate gentle herbal properties into liquid soap.
- Body Spray: Try starting your body spray blends off with a base of Hydrosol instead of water. The natural aroma and gentle herbal benefits of Hydrosol are a great way to enhance an otherwise simple product.
How do you like to use Hydrosols in your own handmade products? Share your tips and suggestions in the comments below.
Thanks a lot for the piece, I will try using hydrosol in my next production.
You are most welcome, Solima. Please let us know if we can be of any assistance to you.
Hi, I have bottled many hydrosols Neat such as rose, rose geranium and wild carrot to spritz before applying moisturizing and have found them to be drying to my skin. I want to make a hydrating moisture mis with Hydrosols as the key ingredient, would you have a recommendation? Thank you for imparting your knowledge!
Hi Mary Helen,
I am truly enjoyed reading this article. However, being a non-expert in formulating products, may I get your opinion or suggestion on how much of the hydrosol should I put in my cream formulation if I DO NOT use water at all? As you mentioned earlier that hydrosols could be a good substitute for WATER in emulsion formulas such as lotions and creams. Say, the base of my formulation is only olive oil or coconut oil and vaseline only.
Your kindness response will be greatly appreciated and valued.
Thanks.
Hello Ika, We love to hear when our followers are enjoying our blog posts! If you were to add hydrosol (or any water-based product) to your all oil-based formulations, you will need an emulsifier, such as emulsifying wax, to bind the two phases. Otherwise, the finished product will separate and require stirring before each use. We hope that helps!
Can I use Hydrosols in melt and pour soap?
Hello Patricia,
We do not recommend adding hydrosols (or any water-based product) to a melt and pour base because it can shorten your product’s shelf life by introducing microbials.
This was a wonderful article on hydrosol. Can you please enlighten me on substituting water with hydrosol in cold pressed soap. Since hydrosol are concentrated, what water hydrosol ratio do you recommend to avoid skin irritation. Thanks in advance.
Hello Gaurav, You can substitute up to 100% of your water with hydrosols in cold process soap. A couple of important factors to consider, however, are neither the hydrosol’s scent nor beneficial properties may remain after the saponification process.