Tulsi (Holy Basil) Hydrosol

Hydrosols are often referred to as "floral waters" but they’re actually made from many different parts of a plant, including flowers, leaves, stems, roots, etc. They are crafted by distilling fresh plants on an alembic copper still. Hydrosols are the water portion of the essential oil distillation process. We distill fresh herbs on an alembic copper still, which results in a good amount of hydrosol and sometimes a very tiny amount of essential oil. The distillation process when distilling for hydrosols has some differences from an essential oil distillation, but it uses the same equipment. All of the herbs used in our hydrosols are grown organically by Emilie in her gardens.

Copper acts as a natural preservative and sweetens the final product in a way that stainless steel does not. While most stainless steel stills are huge in size for mass production, copper stills are small because they are handmade by artisans in Portugal, as they have been for many years. This means a distiller works in smaller batches, which typically ensures a higher quality product than one that is mass-produced. Emilie produces all of Mama Apothecary's hydrosols on her 20 liter copper still, called Estella.

Essential oils certainly have their place in aromatherapy and natural cosmetics, but there are several important advantages to selecting a hydrosol to use instead of an essential oil:

1. Hydrosols are more sustainable. You get a much greater yield of product with considerably less plant material. So not only is it more sustainable to the natural world, but it's also a product I can grow and produce locally, rather than having it shipped from overseas, which is where most essential oils are produced.

2. They are safer than essential oils because you can apply hydrosols directly on your skin, whereas essential oils must be diluted for safety.

3. Essential oils are only one component of a plant, whereas hydrosols contain more healing constituents of the whole plant.

Hydrosols have so many uses!  The most basic use is as a face or skin spritz. They can be used as mild facial toners or cleansers, to cool hot skin (hello hot flashes!), a hair scalp or tonic, an aromatic mist, a pick me up, or for meditation. Plus, each herb has specific indications that it is good for. For example, lemon balm is an anti-viral that is great for treating and preventing cold sores! Click on an individual hydrosol to learn more about the healing powers of these amazing plants.

All of the plants for our hydrosols are grown in Emilie's gardens in Atlanta GA. All of our plants are grown using beyond organic methods. We aren’t certified organic because certification is an expensive process and we are a tiny operation.