Rose Essential Oil
Rose essential oil is based from the rose itself, which is considered the world’s most beautiful flower by many and the symbol for romance all over the world. With so many different colors and varieties that roses come in and so many different pleasing fragrances that you get from them, everyone loves this flower. But there is a lot more to this essential oil than just the fragrance of love and romance. There are number of health benefits that most people don’t even know about; if they did, they would probably look at this love flower in an entirely new light.
How is Rose Essential Oil Manufactured?
The botanical name of the Rose that essential oil is made from is called Rosa Damascena. Sometimes this flower will go by the nickname Damascus rose instead, but either way, the essential oil is made mostly through the steam distillation process from the plant itself. This is a very common way to make plant-based essential oils. It takes approximately 4000 kg of flowers just to make a single kilogram of essential oil.
Types of Rose Essential Oil
There are actually a couple different types of rose essential oil although they are both made from the same plant. Rose Otto is one of those species types and it is known as true rose essential oil. This essential oil is made through the process of steam distillation as described above from the parts of the plant itself. There is also another process where the essential oil is made through the process of solvent extraction, with the solvent been removed completely from the resulting oil, known as Rose Absolute.
How to Use Rose Essential Oil
You can use rose essential oil many of the same ways that you can use other essential oils but the exception here is with ingestion. You should probably not ingest rose essential oil at all. However, you can put it in a diffuser and let the fragrance be in the air for inhalation or you can inhale it directly using a handkerchief or washcloth. You can also use rose essential oil topically but you should dilute it first.
Composition of Rose Essential Oil
It is the chemical components of rose essential oil that make it so effective for all of the different health problems. Although there are essential oils that are some has made out of other species, Damascus oils are by far the preferred variety. Here the chemical components that make up the Damascus rose
- Citral
- Carvone
- Citronellyl Acetate
- Eugenol, Ethanol
- Farnesol
- Stearpoten
- Methyl Eugenol
- Nerol, Nonanol
- Nonanal
- Phenyl Acetaldehyde
- Phenylmenthyl Acetate
- Phenyl Geraniol
Aromatic Description of Rose Essential Oil
When it comes to the aroma of this essential oil, the Damascus rose is by far the most fragrant and it is usually used to create oils. It has a very floral fragrance that is typical of roses and it can be very intoxicating in sort of a mental aphrodisiac because roses are so typically associated with romance. It is a stimulating and uplifting fragrance that makes people happy.
Precautions & Side Effects of Rose Essential Oil
There are definitely some things that you need to keep in mind when it comes to using rose essential oil. First of all, make sure that you don’t ingested because it will probably make you sick. Even a few drops may be too much for ingestion. You can use it topically however, but it is a very strong essential oil. Keep this in mind because a little bit of the fragrance may help a headache but too much of it can cause headaches. As with other essential oils should not be used by women who are pregnant or nursing, or given to children and it should be kept away from pets because it may be toxic.
Attributes of Rose Essential Oil
| Attribute | X | Definition |
| analgesic | Reduces pain in muscles and joints | |
| anti-arthritic | Reduces arthritis symptoms | |
| anti-infectious | Prevents infection | |
| anti-inflammatory | Reduces inflammation | |
| antibiotic | Keeps biotic infections from developing | |
| antidepressant | X | Helps to alleviate depression |
| antiemetic | Prevents nausea and vomiting | |
| anti-galactogogue | Reduces milk supply in the body | |
| antifungal | Kills harmful fungal life forms | |
| antimicrobial | Kills microbial life forms that cause disease | |
| anti-neuralgic | Counteracts nerve pain | |
| anti-rheumatic | Counteracts pain from rheumatism | |
| antiseborrhoeic | Keeps the body from making an unhealthy amount of sebum | |
| antiseptic | X | Prevents growth of organisms which cause disease |
| antispasmodic | X | Prevents spasms from occurring |
| antiviral | X | Kills viral agents |
| aperient | Relieves constipation | |
| aphrodisiac | X | Increases sexual desires |
| astringent | X | Causes skin tissue to contract – to counter lines and wrinkles |
| bactericidal | X | Kills bacterial agents |
| carminative | Prevents formation of gas in the GI tract | |
| cholagogue | Assists with the discharge of bile | |
| cicatrisant | X | Assists in the formation of healthy scar tissue |
| circulatory | Promotes healthy circulatory system function | |
| diaphoretic | Induces perspiration | |
| decongestant | Reduces or eliminates congestions of nasal cavities | |
| deodorant | Eliminates and prevents body odor | |
| depurative | Helps to detoxify the body | |
| Digestive | Helps with the digestion of food | |
| diuretic | Removes excess water from the body | |
| expectorant | Loosens mucous and helps clear it from the body | |
| emenagogue | X | Promotes healthy menstrual discharge |
| febrifuge | Aids in the reduction of fever | |
| hepatic | X | Promotes healthy liver function |
| hypotensive | Helps to lower blood pressure | |
| Insecticide | Kills certain types of insects or pests | |
| muscle relaxant | Relaxes tight muscles and prevents muscle spasms | |
| nervine | X | Reduces anxiety and calms the nerves |
| sedative | Aids in calming or induces sleepiness | |
| stimulant | Increases physiological or nervous system activity | |
| stomachic | X | Aids in a healthy appetite or digestion |
| sudorific | Promotes or aids in activation of sweat glands | |
| tonic | Tones the skin or muscles | |
| vermifuge | Kills parasitic worms | |
| vulnerary | Promotes rapid healing of wounds |
What is Rose Essential Oil Used For?
There are a lot things that rose essential oil can be used for. Like many other essential oils, rose oil is a very effective antidepressant. It helps to calm the mind and reduce anxiety as well as promoting feelings of happiness and relaxation. Because of this particular quality, it is one of the top choices by aromatherapists who are treating depression. Rose essential oil also has the important quality of being antiphlogistic, which means that it can help to reduce inflammation and even treat fever. That means that rose essential oil can be an effective treatment for gout, rheumatoid arthritis, fever and more.
Rose essential oils also an antiseptic. The great thing about this is that you get the smell of rose essential oil at the same time of getting the health benefits of being able to clean wounds and kill harmful bacteria. Rose essential oil also has an antispasmodic quality that helps to prevent nausea and vomiting and treat all sorts of spasm related conditions such as tight muscles and muscle spasms.
Rose essential oil is also an effective astringent and is antiviral. You can never have too much protection against viral infections that are out there and so a boost from rose essential oil is very helpful. In addition, Rose oil is astringent, which means that it can even treat signs of aging and other problems by lifting skin and contracting blood vessels. Rose essential oil is also effective aphrodisiac, which means that it can help with a certain number of sexual dysfunctions. This is not only due to the fact that rose oil is associated with romance and the floral scent makes people think of romance, it is also because of physical interactions between rose oil and the libido.
Finally, some of the other properties of rose oil include helping to fade scars and marks, removing toxins from the body, stimulating the secretion of hormones that are associated with menstruation and menopause, laxative properties and protecting nerves and helping to treat nerve damage and pain.
Recommended Combinations Involving Rose Essential Oil
The Final Word on Rose Essential Oil
There are a lot of reasons to use rose essential oil. With all of the health benefits that come with it, this is reason enough to have rose oil on hand. However, Rose oil is also a wonderful fragrance to have around the house in the case of aromatherapy. Because this oil in the plant that is based upon is so associated with romance, aromatherapy for sexual dysfunction is extremely effective, and the scent is heavenly besides. There is every reason to make sure that you add rose oil to the ones that you keep on hand.
