Hydrosols Explained

What are Hydrosols?

Hydrosols (also known as floral waters, hydrolats and aromatic waters) are distilled plant waters. They contain a wealth of hugely powerful natural plant products known as volatile compounds; these include microparticles of essential oils as well as dissolved water-soluble compounds. They also contain cellular water which some describe as the essence or spirit of the plant. Potent energetic and therapeutic properties of the plant are therefore concentrated in hydrosols, making them wonderful for use in skincare products (see individual plant species we work with for their properties).

How are they made?

Hydrosols have been made and used by man for thousands of years (the oldest known still being around 4000 years old).

At Seilich we distil our hydrosols in small batches using plants that we grow ourselves within our meadow. This means that we are able to 1/ grow our plants in the most gentle way, following organic principles, 2/ harvest at the optimum time (for some species this may be the first dawn sunrise after they come into bloom, for others it may be at midday after a period of dry sunny weather) and 3/ work with the freshest plant material, with plants going from the meadow into the still within minutes. By taking frequent wanderings through the meadow we are able to tend to and check on all our plants, ensuring we are in tune with their rhythms.

We distil in a very mindful way, some species requiring a long slow distillation, others preferring a fiery hot shock! The hydrosols we produce are made in sterile conditions and double filtered before being tested for microbes to ensure absolute purity.

Hydrosols form the basis of many of our skincare products, however at certain times of year we also sell individual hydrosols as standalone products (which may be used as face mists and toners). To see which hydrosols are currently on sale click here.