Rose

The genus Rosa includes wild roses with simple, often five-petaled flowers and cultivated forms with densely layered blossoms. Their typically prickly stems, compound leaves, and prominent clusters of stamens make them recognizable, but it is the flower's varied chemistry that has made roses important in herbalism, skincare, and perfumery.

Roses and their fragrant flowers

Only a relatively small number of roses are grown commercially for natural fragrance. Damask rose (Rosa damascena) is among the most important, cultivated for its richly fragrant petals and used to make rose oil, hydrosol, and absolute. Centifolia rose (Rosa × centifolia), often called the cabbage rose, is another valued perfumery flower. The scent differs between species and cultivated varieties, as well as between preparations made from them.[2]

Why rose petals are used in skincare

Rose petals have a long history in herbal teas, syrups, facial washes, and bathing preparations. European herbalists describe red rose petals as astringent: in traditional herbal language, this refers to the tightening or toning quality associated with tannin-rich preparations. This helps explain the long-standing use of rose-petal infusions in washes for the skin.[1]

There is more to the petals than fragrance. They contain tannins, flavonoids, and other phenolic compounds, including pigments called anthocyanins in many pink and red varieties. Specific compounds identified in damask rose extracts include ellagitannins and derivatives of quercetin and kaempferol.[2,11]

This chemistry is attracting attention in cosmetic research. Laboratory studies of damask rose petal extracts have found antioxidant activity and investigated their effects on enzymes associated with skin pigmentation and the breakdown of structural proteins. These findings help explain why rose flowers remain of interest for skincare formulations, beyond their familiar floral scent.[10,11]

Several materials from the same flower

The fragrance of a rose is a complex mixture of volatile compounds, including citronellol, geraniol, nerol, and phenylethyl alcohol. Different preparations retain different proportions of these materials, resulting in distinct scents.[2,4]

Rose-petal infusions are made by steeping the flowers in water or a carrier oil. They have a place in traditional floral washes and contemporary botanical skincare, where the petals are incorporated alongside other ingredients.

Rose hydrosol is the aromatic water collected during distillation of rose petals. Traditionally called rose water, it contains a portion of the flower's volatile constituents dissolved in water. The term rose water is also used commercially for diluted distillates or waters blended with added extracts and fragrances, sometimes from other plants. Hydrosol identifies the distillation method more precisely, although the name alone cannot establish the purity of a particular product.[3]

Rose otto is the rose essential oil separated during distillation. It concentrates a different balance of aromatic constituents, especially citronellol, geraniol, and nerol, giving it an intense, characteristic rose fragrance.[4]

Rose absolute is obtained by extracting flowers with a solvent to make a fragrant, wax-containing concrete, then processing the concrete with alcohol. The resulting material is generally richer in phenylethyl alcohol, a compound associated with a soft, fresh-petal scent. That helps explain why rose absolute and rose otto can smell noticeably different, even when both come from damask roses.[4]

Rose-growing regions and the aromatics trade

The production of natural rose aromatics is concentrated in several established regions. Bulgaria's Rose Valley and Turkey's Isparta region are especially important for damask rose essential oil. Iran and Morocco also have long traditions of rose cultivation and distillation, while Grasse, France, is closely associated with centifolia rose in perfumery.[5–9]

Rose flowers yield only a very small quantity of essential oil, making genuine rose aromatics among the more costly materials used in natural perfumery.[12] Adulteration through dilution or substitution with cheaper botanical oils and synthetic fragrance compounds is a documented problem.[9] For these materials, the plant species, extraction method, and geographic origin are all meaningful parts of their identity.

At Deschampsia

We prepare rose-flower infusions for Glow Serum and Eye Serum. In Dreamy Rose Aromatic Body Oil, we use Bulgarian rose absolute for its fuller, more concentrated floral aroma.

Related Library entries: Oil Infusions, Hydrosols, Essential Oils, and Absolutes.