What are hydrolats?
The hydrolats we know today are by-products that are most often obtained by steam distillation of a certain type of plant, during which the essential oil is extracted as the primary product. An incomparably larger amount of distillate is the hydrolate, a liquid in which small particles of an essential oil float (so-called micelles), and so hydrolats are also known as micellar water.
However, in ancient times, during plant distillation, they did not extract essential oils, so the distillate itself, i.e. hydrolate, was of much higher quality, with a “full” composition.
Hydrolate history
In old times, hydrolats were widely used in people’s daily lives and were the primary tool in herbal medicine.
Due to numerous factors, especially financial ones, their popularity and use dropped to zero in the twentieth century. The centuries-old use of hydrolats, the treatment of many diseases and ailments, has completely fallen into oblivion.
How are hydrolats obtained?
Just how water is turned into water vapor by heating it, and how by cooling the steam we get distilled water, we also get hydrolats that way – the only difference is that the heated water vapor passes through multiple layers of a plant and takes all its useful, medicinal ingredients, essential oils with it, and by cooling it, it turns into liquid, into a hydrolate. Depending on which plant we used, we will get its hydrolate, which is how we distinguish hydrolats from mint, lemon balm, chamomile, yarrow, lavender and many others.
Use of hydrolats
There is an unfathomably long series of health, aesthetic, cosmetic problems in which hydrolats were once used as a means of treatment, healing or at least as first aid in removing the resulting problems.
Hydrolats are completely safe, versatile herbal remedies. They are a unique, powerful and safe tool that nature has given us. They are easy to use and invaluable in terms of cosmetic and health effects on the human body. Unlike essential oils, which have a strong concentration and strength, where a great deal of caution is necessary in terms of dosage, hydrolats are completely harmless to use, in everyday life and over a long period of time. They are safe for children, for newborns, pregnant women and the elderly, for applying to the skin, for psoriasis or rosacea, for the mucous membrane, for rinsing the oral cavity or for a sore throat, in baths. They are used for relaxation, emotional therapy, wounds, injuries or insect bites, for burns, infections, acne, eczema, for the treatment of problematic feet, for hair care, for nail care or as a compress on tired eyelids. They have no contraindications and can be combined with other medicine. They are useful on every occasion.
The use of hydrolats in Lavina Cosmetics
“Miracles do happen in life and one of those miracles is the gradual renaissance of hydrolats. A quiet revolution in herbal cosmetics and medicine has begun.”
Perhaps in the most difficult times, at the very beginning of these changes, Lavina, natural and healthy cosmetics, joined this revolution and can proudly present its two hydrolats: made from rose and immortelle.
Lavina cosmetics’ hydrolats are enriched with drops of their essential oils and vitamin E, and it is easy to see, when the hydrolat is near a source of light, how the miraculous essences of medicinal plants float in it. They can be used in any of the ailments listed above.
The mentioned hydrolats by Lavina Natural Cosmetics are intended for the care and hydration of the skin of the face and neck. With each application of a hydrolat on the skin, you will help your face to feel better and more rested, and encourage it to look more beautiful. Hydrolats are also used as part of morning care, in the form of a tonic for cleaning and toning the skin of the face, before applying a cream and make-up.
Hydrolats are especially recommended to be an integral part of every woman’s handbag during the summer. Whether you are at work, walking or at the beach, when the skin suffers from extreme heat and dehydration, reach for the hydrolate you chose from your purse, and spray your face several times a day with it, refresh your face, hydrate it.
Be a part of the quiet revolution and renaissance of miracles given by nature.
Up next… Sunbathing cosmetics of “modern times.”