How to Make Rose Water

Katie Wells Avatar

Reading Time: 6 minutes

This post contains affiliate links.

Read my affiliate policy.

How to make rose water for perfumes cooking and skin care
Wellness Mama » Blog » Beauty » How to Make Rose Water

Rose water is not only beautifully fragrant but extremely versatile. It has an extensive range of uses including facial toner, hair perfume, cooling mist, and linen freshener. Rose petals are edible and rosewater has a place in the culinary world as well.

I use rose water to replace some or all of the water in recipes for like soap, hair rinse, and hair detangling spray. (As a side note, it will have little impact on the final color of your soap and will definitely not turn it pink!)

How to Make Your Own Rose Water From Scratch

If you like making DIY beauty products or exotic food recipes and have access to garden-grown roses, you have to try this recipe!

There are two relatively easy ways to make rose water at home:

Simmering vs. Distilling

The easiest and quickest way is by simmering rose petals (dried or fresh) in water. The result is a fragrant, rose-colored water. This method is suited best for recipes and uses that will not sit around very long as it has a limited shelf life.

The distilling method technically makes a hydrosol. It is also quite easy to make, albeit slightly more time-consuming. A rose hydrosol is clear and much more shelf-stable.

Choosing Rose Petals

There are over a hundred different varieties of roses. If you are lucky enough to have roses growing in your garden you can use them to make rose water. If you will be picking your own roses, do so in the early morning when the blossoms are the most fragrant.

You can also purchase roses but they should be from an organic source. It is important to use pesticide-free rose petals so your finished rose water is not full of chemicals.

It’s possible to use dried petals. I like these. They are from the Damask Rose and are very fragrant, as well as edible.

Another option is to use lavender flowers. Follow the directions below for the dried petals and use the lavender water in place of the rose water in the following recipes.

Uses for Rose Water

There are so many ways to use rosewater. Here are some of my favorites.

Perfumed Sprays

One thing many people miss after they have made the switch to healthy options in beauty care is the scented aspect of commercial products. Often times those artificial fragrances are the selling point for perfumes, soaps, and shampoos, but they are also one of the more dangerous ingredients used in these products.

Rose water makes a wonderful base for making substitutes for perfumed sprays. Natural shampoo, for example, leaves your hair clean and protects the natural balance of oils in your scalp, but doesn’t leave a lasting perfumed scent. You can make a simple hair perfume to add a touch of a floral scent to your hair. You can also just dab rose water on your wrists and neck for a light hint of perfume.

Hair Perfume: Mix 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract with essential oils in a 4 oz glass spray bottle and fill to the top with rose water. Spritz on your hair as it is drying and style as usual. This is also great for second (or third) day hair. Spritz a bit on to freshen up. Store in the refrigerator. My current favorite combination is:

  • 3 drops Patchouli
  • 4 drops Ylang Ylang
  • 3 drops Rosemary
  • 4 drops Cedarwood
  • 5 drops Lavender
  • 4 drops Grapefruit
  • 4 drops Bergamot

Linen Freshener: Make a linen freshener by putting rosewater in a spray bottle. You can also add a couple drops of rose or lavender essential oil. Mist on your sheets before going to bed in the evening.

Skin Care

Another excellent use for rose water is in your skin care routine. Rose water helps balance the skin’s PH, reduces redness and irritation, tightens pores, and helps cool and soothe hot skin.

  • Facial Toner: Store rose water in a dark colored glass bottle. Add a drop or 2 of lavender or rose essential oil and apply to your face with a cotton ball after you shower or wash your face.
  • Cooling Mist: Store rose water in a dark colored bottle with a fine mist spray top. You can keep it in your purse for on-the-go use or keep it in the refrigerator for extra cooling. Mist on face to cool skin and freshen up.
  • Sunburn Relief: Mix equal parts rose water and apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spray onto sunburned skin for relief.

Mood Improvement

Rose water is also a wonderful mood enhancer. You can mist it on yourself in the same way you use the cooling spray and breathe in the scent to lift your mood. For a calming bath, add 1-2 cups to your bath water.

Culinary Uses

  • In Tea: Add rose water to taste to your herbal tea.
  • Flavor Yogurt: Start with a teaspoon of rose water for 1 cup of yogurt and add more to taste.
  • Lemonade: Add a splash to your lemonade for a complex flavor enhancer.
How to make rose water for perfumes cooking and skin care
Print
3.89 from 17 votes

How to Make Rose Water Recipe

Learn how to make rose water as a fragrant natural ingredient for beauty recipes like perfume, soap and hair products and for cooking and cleaning. Use the simmering or distillation method.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cooling Time45 minutes
Author: Katie Wells

Materials

Simmering Method

Distillation Method

Instructions

Simmering Method

  • In a small saucepan, combine the rose petals and water.
  • Cover and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce the temperature to the lowest setting that still allows the water to simmer.
  • Simmer until the color of the rose petals has faded. Mine became almost colorless. This only took about 5-10 minutes.
  • Leave the lid on and cool completely.
  • Pour the water and petals through a cheesecloth into a dark, clean bottle. You can use a funnel or strain into a measuring bowl with a pour spout and then pour into your dark bottle if needed.
  • Store in the refrigerator for several weeks or on the counter for up to one week.

Distillation Method

  • Place a clean brick (a real brick from a house) in the center of a large stock pot. I used an 8 quart stock pot and an average sized brick.
  • Put a metal bowl or heat-safe glass bowl on top of the brick.
  • Sprinkle the rose petals around the brick making sure not to get any into the bowl.
  • Pour water into the pot over the petals until it comes almost to the top of the brick.
  • Invert the lid and place it over the stock pot. This will allow the steam to collect and drip down to the center of the lid and eventually drip into the bowl.
  • Put ice on the top of the lid to encourage the steam to condense and subsequently drop into the bowl. You can put it directly on the lid and suck the water off with a turkey baster as the ice melts or you can put the ice in a ziplock bag so it is easy to pull off and replace. You want to keep in as much steam as possible because the steam is actually your rosewater.
  • Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to the lowest heat possible that still allows the water to simmer.
  • Simmer for at least 30 minutes, replacing the ice as it melts.
  • Remove the pot from heat and let it cool completely.
  • Very carefully lift the lid so that none of your melted ice water falls into the pot.
  • Carefully pour the rosewater that has collected in the bowl into your dark bottle.
  • This will last much longer at room temperature (up to 6 months, although it doesn’t stick around that long in my house), but you could always store it in the refrigerator to be sure it keeps well.

Notes

After using the distillation method I had some water left in the bottom of the pot when I was done. I strained out the petals and used this in a batch of soap. It didn’t have as strong of a smell but I couldn’t stand the thought of throwing it out.

Make your own natural rose water for skin care - perfume- culinary uses

Have you ever made rose water? What is our favorite way to use it?

Learn how to make rose water is a fragrant natural ingredient for beauty recipes like perfume, soap and hair products and for cooking and cleaning.

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

97 responses to “How to Make Rose Water”

  1. Sindhuja Avatar

    Hi.. I’m looking to mainly use the rosewater for skin care. In that case, will distillery method have the nutrients in it?

  2. Bernice Baptista Avatar
    Bernice Baptista

    Hi Katie, Great Recipes. Thanks! I’m going to try the Rose Water first and want to know if I have to use long stem roses or is it okay to use the petals from mini rose bushes? Also, does Miracle Gro ruin the organic purity of my roses? I’m a newbie. Please have patient with me. Aloha!

  3. Dora Avatar

    Hello! When the rose water cools down ,can i put it into ice cubes for longer lasting? THANK U

  4. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I really like the vegetable steamer idea if making the hydrsol . If you make it the simmering way (with the shorter shelf life), once it is cool, you pour into ice cube trays. Once frozen store in an air tight freezer bag in the freezer. Simply take a cube or two as you need, thaw and pour into your dark mister bottle and store in the fridge. I love misting it on after my oil cleanse….I follow with a mist of rosehip seed oil . My face loves this routine. I also think making a lavender mist would be awesome to spritz on body before bed…

  5. Bernita Avatar
    Bernita

    Hi I made rose water with light pink roses and the rose water turned green what happened

  6. Amanda Avatar

    If I wanted to make a rose water glycerin toner what should my measurements be? I don’t want it to be too sticky and so many people say different measurements. Thank you!

  7. Sophie Avatar

    About how much rose water does this end up making? I am planning on using the distilling method, and I am out of dark bottles but not sure what size I should buy for storing this. Thanks!

  8. Angela Avatar

    Hello Wellness Mama,
    Can the achieved floral water later be used to make lotions, etc that are capable of being preserved after the final product is done?

  9. Ryn Avatar

    A real quick suggestion for anyone who can’t find or doesn’t want to use the brick. I like to use one of those stainless steel veggie steamers when making hydrosols. It opens up like a flower and fits many pot sizes. The bowl collecting your hydrosol won’t move around and is raised out of the water.

    1. Zia Avatar

      I’m so happy to read this. I didn’t want to use the brick. I’ll have to go dig out that steamer basket, because of course we never use it but just can’t seem to throw it away. Now it has a purpose!
      Are you able to set it up so the bowl doesn’t touch the water?

  10. Denise Avatar

    I just mad rose water with red roses and the water turned a very dark almost purplish red color. Vey Beautiful! I added some to my home made shower gel made with soap flakes and it turned a very undesirable shade of green! Any suggestions as to why or what went wrong? Thanks!

  11. Jill Avatar

    Hello, I was introduced to rosewater a bit ago by a friend. She buys a bottle of rosewater from the store and uses it as a facial moisturizer. I may go ahead and try using this recipe to make my own, but I am also curious if there is a product that you recommend if I am to purchase rosewater. I see that the brand Heritage Store is a popular one. I have located the Heritage Store rosewater within the store and on Amazon. Do you find this product to be of good quality? Also, what would you say is the main difference between rosewater and rosewater with glycerin?

  12. Didi Avatar

    Hi! I was wondering can I use rosewater in the first trimester of a pregnancy? I’m having a hard time finding a scent that’s safe to use. Thank you so much!

  13. Lily Avatar

    An excellent recipe for preparing Rose Water along with ways to use Rose Water.

    I tried this out and the Rose Water turned out perfect. I use a combination of Rose Water and Witch Hazel as astringent to curb acne outbreak, so this recipe was handy.

    Lily

  14. Karole Avatar

    Hi I use rosewater or other homemade waters with stronger sents, lemongrass ect. I wait till it drys then powder myself with diatomaceious earth which is very light. Glycerin is fine in moderatation can get sticky.

  15. Desiree Avatar
    Desiree

    Hey there! Can you use rose water & glycerin (or witch hazel) as an alternate deodorant? I’m still trying to figure this deodorant thing out w/o using baking soda, corn starch, or clays…

  16. Yolanda Avatar
    Yolanda

    Oh boy, I just made this Rose Water with my Pink Roses Petal and also made the Hair Perfume and it smells too much like Patchouli. My husband hates Patchouli but I thought it would just smell like that. What can I do?

    Thanks so much,

    Yoli

  17. Linda Avatar

    Hi, I collected very fragrant rose petals that are treated only once in the very beginning of the season (on the ground only). I hope they are still good for making my rose water/oil. Do you think they would be ok?

    1. Janet Avatar

      Treated with what? I wouldn’t use anything treated with chemicals. Organic standards require a 3-year waiting period before soils are can be deemed organic.

  18. Penny Avatar

    You mentioned you could use the rose water in your natural shampoo. How do you do that? How much do you add? etc… Thanks so much!

    1. Penny Avatar

      Oops. I reread it and saw I had misunderstood. You mentioned making a hair perfume with it. My mistake!!

  19. Emmelyn Avatar
    Emmelyn

    Thanks for this article! Just got a slight sunburn yesterday (yay!) and I’m going to try this!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating