The not so secret benefits of roses for beautiful, glowing skin and how to make your own rose oil + rose water
Benefits of roses for your skin:
Roses have been used for centuries for healing and beauty. They are loaded with Vitamin C and are naturally very high in antioxidants to help fight free radicals, which makes rose water or rose oil desirable for slowing down the aging process and protecting the skin from damage. Roses have hydrating and soothing abilities to ease dry skin and decrease redness. They have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Rose water is also naturally astringent, helping to tighten the pores, tone the skin and promote a flawless, glowing complexion.
There are many different ways to use roses. You can use rose water as a facial toner on it’s own or with added ingredients, you can make rose tea to drink, you can infuse vinegar with roses for a hair rinse or cleaner and you can make rose oil for a facial serum or make your own healing balm. Roses can also be used to ease razor burn and sunburn. You can also add roses to your bath, your cooking or in potpourri. The uses are really endless!
For all the DIY queens out there, here is a quick how-to for making your own rose water (2 different ways) and rose oil.
3 DIY Ways to Use Roses in Your Daily Routine
Rose water (the easy way):
Simmering your roses with water in a pot is the easiest way to make rose water, but please note that it will not last very long this way. Use your rose water within a few days to avoid it going rancid.
- Pick your fresh rose petals and rinse in cool, filtered water to remove any dirt or bugs.
- Fill a pot with fresh rose petals and cover them with distilled water. The water should just cover the rose petals to avoid your rose water being too diluted.
- Cover the pot and turn the heat to low, while slowly bringing it to a boil.
- Turn the heat off, keep the cover on and let the water come to room temperature.
- Once at room temperature, strain out the petals and pour your rose water into a clean, sanitized bottle. Use within a few days.
Distilled rose floral water:
This process will create a more stable rose water that will last a bit longer than the first one. It is a bit more tricky to do, but still feasible for a beginner! The reason that distilling is more desirable is that it leaves your with a rose water that has more natural benefits.
- Pick your fresh rose petals and rinse in cool, filtered water to remove any dirt or bugs (Note: dried flowers can also be used).
- Place a clean brick or rock in the centre of a large pot and place a small metal bowl onto of it. This bowl will collect the distilled water.
- Fill the large pot with distilled water and the rose petals. Fill the water up to the top of the brick. Now cover the pot with the lid, but place the lid upside down so that the steam will collect at the bottom of the lid and drop into the bowl. Make sure the lid is on securely in order to trap the steam.
- Next, place some ice on top of the lid to speed up the process and create more condensation inside the pot.
- Once the water inside the pot starts to boil, reduce the heat and allow the water to simmer. It’ll take about 20-25 minutes or until the color of the rose petals fade. You may need to empty the melted ice water on top of the lid and replace with fresh ice a few times.
- Turn off the heat and wait for the water to come to room temperature. Make sure that the pot and bowl are cool enough to touch. Remove the lid and take out the bowl with the collected rose distillation very carefully. Pour this liquid into a clean, sanitized bottle. Store in the fridge for up to 6 months or in the bathroom cabinet for up to a week.
Infused rose oil:
This process is used to render an oil that is infused with the healing benefits of the roses to use as a facial serum or body oil.
- Pick your fresh rose petals and rinse in cool, filtered water to remove any dirt or bugs.
- Put the rose petals in a single layer in a dehydrator and dehydrate until completely dried.
- Take the dried rose petals and place in a clean, sanitized mason jar or bottle. Cover the rose petals with a carrier oil until they are completely covered and the oil is about an inch above all the petals. Cover with a lid and place the jar in a dark, cool place for 4-6 weeks, making sure to give it a shake every few days.
- Some of our favourite carrier oils include jojoba, sweet almond, pomegranate or grape seed if you will be using it on your face. Olive oil or fractioned coconut oil are great options if you will be using it for your body.
- Strain the petals from the oil and you will be left with rose infused oil.
Not into making your own rose oil or water? Not to worry, we have you covered with our signature facial toner - Perfect Glow. It not only includes rose water and a host of other skin enhancing ingredients, but we charge each of our facial toners with the crystal, rose quartz. Rose quartz is the stone of unconditional love and romance. It is the stone associated with the heart chakra and the heart, which can open you up to all kinds of beauty. Not only does it promote love of others but love of the self. In skincare it promotes glowing skin while helping retain moisture.
The Intention behind using a facial toner:
The intention behind creating this facial toner with rose and rose quartz (aside from having flawless, glowing skin of course!) was initially selfishly for myself. I was looking for small ways to bring more mindfulness and love into my life through creating rituals to remind myself to radiate love and kindness as much as possible in order to increase my vibration. I love envisioning my heart as a rose blooming and opening as it radiates love out into the world. This facial toner was meant to be a mental reminder to do this each time I use it in the morning. After I shower, I spray my face with the toner and take a moment to breathe in the beautiful aromas of rose, geranium, lavender and chamomile while envisioning my heart blooming like a rose and radiating love out into the world. Now that we have our facial toner available to all on the website, it is my hope that others can do the same!
Key ingredients in our “Perfect Glow” facial toner:
Rose Quartz is the stone of unconditional love and romance. It is the stone associated with the heart chakra and the heart, which can open you up to all kinds of beauty. Not only does it promote love of others but love of the self. In skincare it promotes glowing skin while helping retain moisture.
Witch Hazel is a natural astringent that allows your tissues to contract, which may help to shrink pores. It helps clarify and balance your skin without drying it out. Witch hazel helps the skin retain moisture while balancing overly dry or overly oily skin types. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory.
Aloe Vera is one of the best topical skin healers. It has undergone intense scientific studies proving its ability to heal skin conditions from common sunburns to radiation burns. It will help soothe, repair and regenerate many skin conditions. Aloe stimulates the production of hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin fibres in the skin.
Rose Floral Water is a natural humectant (moisture locking and grabbing….aka helps to plump up the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles), smells divine and uplifts the mood. Topically, rose water balances the pH of the skin, hydrates dry skin, is an antiseptic, and fights injury due to aging and sun exposure. It’s a wonderful anti-aging ingredient and is gentle enough to use daily. It is full of vitamins, flavonoids and antioxidants, while being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial (great for acne) and antimicrobial.
Geranium helps with all kinds of skin irritations and speeds up the healing of cuts and scrapes. It also helps reduce appearance of scars. It improves blood circulation, inflammation and is anti-bacterial. It smells similar to roses but is a more gentile, mild scent and not overpowering.
Lavender promotes cell regeneration, treats acne, soothes skin, is antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Its powerful antioxidants fight free radicals and pollutants found on the skin.
Chamomile alleviates redness of the skin caused by inflammation, making it a great addition to those struggling with rosacea, eczema and other skin conditions. Chamomile relieves inflammation by blocking signals in the body known as prostaglandins, which are responsible for inflammation. The flavonoids and phyto-chemicals in chamomile are known to fight free radicals and therefore speed up cell regeneration, and decrease fine lines, wrinkles and scars.
Shop our “Perfect Glow” Facial Toner here.