What is a hydrosol?

 Hydrosol meaning as the name explains is a water solution that is prepared using plant material like stems, leaves, fruits and their peels, roots, bark, flower/petals, etc.

Making of Hydrosol

Making of Hydrosol is not a newly devised technique, It is an ancient practice called steam distillation (deg bhapka method). It is the same process that is used to extract essential oils. This environment-friendly practice produces pure hydrosols that are rich with water-soluble nutrients of the herb (Plant material).

This water solution called hydrosol was used in Food, Skincare, Medicine/Pharma, Religious rituals, and much more in earlier times.

But with different industrial revolutions, cheap and alcohol & paraffin-based fragrances and scented waters have made their way to each of these areas pushing the traditional distilleries to closure.

Hence, the true real hydrosol and essential oil have almost disappeared from the market.

And the natural market nowadays is majorly flourished with deceiving products with names like floral mist, flower water, plant water, herbal mist, herb water, botanical water, aromatic water, for example – rose water, lavender water, green tea, green apple, etc. It is quite common to see an expensive hydrosol adulterated with distilled water & synthetic/preservative.

You may often come across fake hydrosols in the form of face toner or face mist.

At SNAANA, we only make rose water and do not make the rose oil.

The steam distillation technique of making essential oil & hydrosol is similar to our rain process where steam passes through the plant material stored in a closed deg/pot. The steam, when rises up – carries along with it the volatile and water-soluble nutrients. On rising up and coming in contact with the condenser (cool tank)- the oil & water vapor turns to water drops which are collected in a sterile jar. The oil and water, despite being collected in one beaker, are naturally separated due to different specific gravity. The oil floats on top of the hydrosol.

Pure hydrosols are skillfully produced with artistic precision as an important product rather than a side product of distillation. Many plants –herbs do not contain essential oil and are steam distilled only for hydrosols.

Hydrosols do not need preservatives for about a year and more when collected & stored in a clean & sterile preferably amber colored glass container. And this simply is because – all the debris, the matter is left behind and the water collected in the beaker is free of any contamination making it easily stay for more than a year when stored properly.

The hydrosol is potent complex mixtures that contain water-soluble nutrients plus needle-like essential oil dispersed in the water somewhere about less than 0.2% which lends hydrosol their aroma.

And this makes hydrosols super nutrient-rich tonic water.

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