As the freshness of spring surrounds us with bright colors and sweet smells, we begin to crave the freedom of airy clothing and light, luminous beauty products. Rosewater has been widely used as part of a natural skin regimen since ancient times. Cleopatra is thought to have bathed her face and body in rosewater to keep her skin dewy and supple and used the aphrodisiac qualities of the perfumed mist to entice lovers. In Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra orders her sails to be drenched in the perfume and as her ships make their way into Rome he writes that the sails were “so perfumed that the winds were lovesick with them.” Antony is supposed to have had to make his way onboard through a layer of rose petals a foot and a half high to reach the opulent pharaoh.
Pure and naturally distilled rosewater is as vastly useful for beauty today. Here we take a look at some of the many uses of this miraculous aromatic water.
1. Rosewater is a wonderful toner for almost all types of skin and can help balance skin's PH and tighten pores. Especially useful for those with acne, rosacea, or red and irritated skin because it has natural anti-inflammatory properties and reduces bacteria on the skin. Simply moisten a cotton ball with rosewater and apply to face. These same properties also make rosewater an amazing after shave treatment to reduce redness and irritation.
2. Rosewater can be combined with vegetable glycerin to make a freshly scented, all-natural makeup setting spray and lightly fragrant skin refresher. Combine four parts rose water with one part vegetable glycerin in a clean spray bottle, shake vigorously, and mist over the face. Spray the face immediately after applying makeup for a long-lasting, dewy finish or use as a cooling skin refresher throughout the day. Store in the refrigerator for freshness.
3. As a makeup remover rosewater is especially useful in removing eye makeup and helping to release oil and dirt accumulated in clogged pores.
4. Spray rosewater on the body as a light perfume or spritz on sheets as a soft aphrodisiac. The scent can also be calming so adding it to a bath will help to relax and rejuvenate a tired, stressed mind.
5. One cup of rosewater can be rinsed through the hair after shampooing to add softness and shine, or rosewater can be added directly into shampoo for beautifully soft, scented locks. Rosewater can also be blended into your daily face cream to soothe, refresh and hydrate skin.
6. Dampen a cotton pad with rosewater and place over closed eyes for 5 minutes to refresh tired and puffy eyes.
7. The use of rosewater is recommended to women of all ages for balancing hormones and helping to alleviate PMS and moodiness.
Kindred Black Organic Rosewater is a fresh, natural and fragrant rosewater from some of the highest quality organic roses in the world. Made by the leading distiller of organic Damask roses, Zahra Rosewater products bear the British Soil Association organic seal of approval. The roses are grown on the slopes of the Lalehzar Mountains in the province Kerman in Southern Iran. Before the company was founded in 1978 by Homayoun Sanati, farmers in the valley were growing subsistence crops and supplementing their too meagre income with the illegal growth of opium poppies. Sanati experimented with growing hybrid roses to strict biodynamic standards and determined that a superior rose could be cultivated in the dry highlands of Kerman. Twenty years later, Zahra Rosewater Company had turned around the entire valley from growing opium to harvesting roses. It is now a collective of hundreds of small farmers who work for Zahra Rosewater as independent entrepreneurs. They sign contracts that they will not use chemical fertilizers and in turn Zahra provides education, training and free natural fertilizers from compost, helping farmers to convert their conventional farms into organic agricultural.