Hydrosol (hydrolat)
General description of the method; for a specific herb always check suitability, plant part and safety on its card.
Aqueous phase from steam distillation (floral water); not the same as macerated oil.
- Difficulty:
- Medium
- Preparation time (rough guide):
- Home distillation is demanding; buying finished hydrosol is faster.
- Equipment:
- Distillation setup (home or professional), sterile bottles.
- General preparation safety
Home distillation needs equipment competence. Microbial stability of hydrosols is not automatic — preservation per recipe.
More detail
A hydrosol forms alongside essential oil during distillation and contains water-soluble polar compounds plus trace volatiles. It is often used topically or as a mild cosmetic water; quality depends on plant input and equipment.
Store cool and protected from light per product type.
Related methods
Methods are often compared — links below go to the detail page with short context.
Recipes in the catalogue
These herbs have a published step-by-step procedure for this method — full instructions are on the herb card under processing.
Herbs in the catalogue
Published herbs that list this method on the card.
Showing 3 of 142 — 3 herbs in the list