Rose Water in Ancient Rome
Emperor Nero, who reigned in the first century, was so enamored with rose water that he spritzed his guests with it when they came for dinner. The Romans brought their roses from Persia (which is modern-day Iran) and planted public rose gardens for all to enjoy.
Real rose water was used in the famous, luxurious Roman baths. These baths were an everyday luxury open to the public. When Ancient Romans went to the bathhouses, they were first offered a massage with scented oils and then invited to soak in a warm tub of water, into which real rose water was added.
Health Benefits of Rose Water
According to a comprehensive review published by a team of Iranian researchers in 2011, over 90 peer-reviewed articles show that the rose plant is beneficial to human health. This plant has been found to have a protective effect against coughs, bacterial infections, and even diabetes. Rose water, anyone? Organic rose tea?
Another scientist, microbiologist Mohaddese Mahboubi, called rosa Damascena a “holy ancient herb with novel applications” in an article published in 2016.
According to Dr. Mahboubi, the rose plant has confirmed antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-depressant effects.
Calling it the “king of flowers,” Dr. Mahboubi points out that the rose has been a symbol of love, purity, faith, and beauty since ancient times. The Iranian people believe that it is a holy flower. I think they are right.
Holy. Healthy. Beautiful. Aromatic. Both the Ancient Egyptians and the Romans also believed that roses were seductive. I concur. There’s nothing like a beautiful person handing you a bouquet of freshly picked roses to get your juices flowing.
With Great Beauty Comes Great Responsibility (Not to Use Synthetic Rose Water)
However, in researching all of the benefits of real rose water, I found out there was a dark side to this ingredient as well. With the growing popularity of rose water in the beauty industry, someone came along and thought, “How can we exploit this century-old beauty secret and make money off it?” Their brilliant (not) idea was to make synthetic rose water in a laboratory engineered to smell like real roses.
The rose fragrance should come from real flowers! In the fight between real water vs. fake rose water, real rose water wins. Every. Single. Time. But Big Beauty will have you believe otherwise. Some articles actually claim—falsely—that fake fragrance is better. Argh. And no, I’m not providing any links to those nonsense pieces (they’re easy to find with a quick search).
Rid Your Life of Fake Rose Water
Synthetic fragrances are not naturally-occurring components of the whole plant. Artificial aromas like fake rose scents have been linked to asthma, allergies, headaches, nausea, and other even more serious health problems, like cancer, as this article shows. Moreover, synthetic rose water or rose scent added to other products acts as a cover for many other toxic (and even ill-smelling) chemicals.
Luxe Beauty’s Rose Water and Rose Products
I earned my degree in biology and chemistry. As an undergraduate, I also worked in a microbiology lab. Our lab published an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal while I was still in college. But, despite my science background, it was only after my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that I realized how important it is to only use the most natural and least toxic ingredients.
Most Organic Hydrosol is made from Rosa Demesana.
However, Alba Rose creates the highest quality Rose Hydrosol and is the rarest oil-bearing rose, which is why Alba Rose is the only type of Rose used to make the Rose Quartz Toner.
I literally traveled the world to find the highest quality, most authentic Alba rose water. The real rose water I use for my Rose Quartz Toner is from one of the oldest rose farms in Bulgaria.
The farm, which was established in 1809, is located just south of the Balkan Mountains in a region called—you guessed it—Rose Valley.
Bulgaria is one of the largest rose-growing countries in the world, so much so that some people call it the Land of Roses. The roses I use are hand-picked and carted by horse and buggy for me see the video below.
In the contest between real rose water vs. fake rose water, the winner is real rose water. Every. Single. Time.
- Anju Verma et al. “Traditional, phytochemical, and biological aspects of Rosa alba L.: a systematic review,” Future Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 6, no. 114 (2020), doi: 10.1186/s43094-020-00132-z.
- Almira Georgieva et al. “Comparative Study of Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant Properties of Hydrosols from Bulgarian Rosa Alba L. and Rosa Damascena Mill.,” Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants 5, no. 22 (2019): 1362-1371, doi: 10.1080/0972060X.2019.1699867.
