Hydrolats (also called Hydrosols, Flower Waters or Floral Waters) are the waters collected when plants are steam-distilled to extract essential oils. They have similar therapeutic powers to essential oils and are widely used for natural skincare. They can also be used in place of essential oils for people who need more gentle aromatic care i.e. for the elderly, children, the highly sensitive or for people suffering from debilitating illness.
Our Hydrolats are 100% pure and contain no additives, colour or preservatives. They are highly fragile and as they don’t contain the same concentration of antibacterial properties as their essential oil counterparts, they are subject to far more rapid deterioration, especially when they are not stored correctly.
We’ve produced the following guidelines to help keep your Hydrolats in tip top condition:-
- Store them away from any direct sunlight – ideally in a cool, dark place (our aluminium bottles are ideal for this – or if you’re buying them in our larger plastic bottles then transfer into smaller aluminium bottles or our amber or blue glass bottles).
- Try not to leave your bottles partially full as this can cause oxidization – once your bottle is only half full consider transferring your hydrolat into a smaller bottle.
- Hydrolats can be kept in the fridge and this may help maximise their shelf-life.
- Don’t allow unsterilized items like your fingers, cotton wool or other items to come into direct contact with the hydrolat in the bottle. Instead, pour off the quantity that you need into a separate container and then work with that, leaving the integrity of the remaining hydrolat intact.
- Make a note of when you opened your hydrolats and then you’ll know when the shelf-life has expired.
