Dear Dr. Ayoub Najem ,

the common misconception is that hydrolats are ‘just’ a by-product of the essential oil production process. This is wrong: pure hydrolats are also produced as they have their own unique purpose and are valuable therapeutic products in their own right!

Our bodies are made up of mostly water, so it makes sense that hydrolats have a great affinity for supporting us. In other natural therapies, such as homeopathy - which argues that the more diluted a substance is, the more therapeutic it can be - there is support for the idea that ‘less is more,’ which highlights just how impactful hydrolats can be! Likewise, often, the higher the dilution, the gentler the action, making hydrolats particularly suited to sensitive situations that require gentle care.

But, hydrolats aren’t just a gentler alternative to essential oils, and they don’t have to be used in isolation – the two complement each other well. Mixing hydrolats and essential oils can add flexibility to your blend and enhance its therapeutic value.

Alternatively, having a perfect pH, and because they are already diluted (unlike essential oils), you can simply use them as they come, and even apply them direct on the skin – though that’s not to say you can’t dilute them even further!

For more details, please see the interesting source:

What are hydrolats / hydrosols & how to use them by Nicole Barton – Base Formula (2018)

Available at: https://www.baseformula.com/blog/how-to-use-hydrolats-hydrosols

My best regards, Pierluigi Traverso.

Hi@ Alexander Sinko

The hydrolats being the by-product of essential oil distillation, would not have any secondary metabolites, which was experimented in my lab. The essential oil distillate had enough potentiality to inhibit the growth of bacteria, but the test by hydrolat was ineffective against the same bacteria strains. My suggestion is to carry out an LC-MS as well as an FTIR analysis of the liquid, for detection of primary metabolites if any.