Rose Oil

What is Rose Essential Oil?

Did you know that roses offer multiple significant health benefits beyond their sweet, spicy, and intoxicating fragrance? Indeed, roses contain a vast array of unique therapeutic compounds that confer the plant (or, more precisely, the essential oils found in the petals) with robust physical and psychological health benefits.

Roses have long been prized, either for their beauty and scent or for their edible fruit. In fact, records tell us that roses were first cultivated in China about 5,000 years ago, and their popularity has continued to increase since that time.

The Rosa genus comprises 140–180 species, which are divided into four subgenera. The most common rose oil typically comes from 

the damask rose (Rosa damascena) plant and, to a lesser extent, from the cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia) plant. The oil distilled from damask roses is sometimes labelled "Bulgarian rose oil" or "Bulgarian rose otto." Alternately, rose oil that is solvent-extracted is typically sold as rose absolute. This is a mix of rose oil and a carrier oil like jojoba oil, for instance. While not 100 pure, rose absolute is a lot less expensive. In general, rose otto oil is thought to be the purest.

Benefits of Rose Oil

• Anti-Aging
• Eases Pain
• Mood Booster (Anxiety, Depression, and Other Symptoms)
• Natural Remedy For Acne
• Relieves Menstrual Discomfort

Therapeutic Properties of Rose Essential Oil

Research tells us that essential oil derived from the rose plant offers many potential health benefits. It equally lends itself to emotional, spiritual, perfumery, and skin care applications. It can be used via inhalation, either directly from the bottle or added to an essential oil diffuser and diffused into a space, to help ease aches and pains throughout the body by stimulating the release of endorphins. Diffused rose oil is also said to help lift the mood and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and according to studies, it is particularly valuable for generalized anxiety disorder. Rose essential oil can alternately be diluted in a carrier oil and applied to the skin via massage or skincare to treat acne, prevent skin damage and aging, and mitigate the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Another advantage of rose oil is that it has been shown to help balance hormones and, as a result, boost libido. Of course, rose oil is also frequently used in perfumery, either by itself or in all sorts of fragrant combination blends. 

Using Rose Essential Oil

Suppose you are new to aromatherapy and essential oils in general. In that case, it's important to distinguish between rose essential oil and rosehip seed oil, which is distilled from the seeds and fruits of the rose plant, as opposed to the petals. Rosehip oil is quite different from rose oil and is definitely not as concentrated. In fact, rosehip oil is not considered an essential oil at all but rather a carrier oil (like coconut oil). It is ideally suited to cosmetic uses and dilutes more potent essential oils so they may safely be used on the skin.