The Healing Properties Of Rose Petals. How To Make Rose Water And Rose Oil

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

And rose petals heal

I have a lot of rose bushes in my garden. Most of them are of a solid age - 15-18 years, so the bushes are very large. They bloom profusely every year, especially in hot summers. Faded roses shed their petals on the ground, strewn with a thick fragrant layer. You have to sweep and rake these petals so that the rose garden does not look sloppy.

Later, I did not wait for the petals to fall to the ground, and began to simply pick or cut the fading flowers into a bucket. All this was carried to the compost heap. I confess right away that I was engaged in such barbarism out of ignorance.

Of course, I knew that the most valuable rose oil is made from rose petals, which is used in perfumery and for the production of which plantations of a special fragrant rose are grown. Of course, taking another bucket of petals into the compost, I remembered the ancient Romans who bathed in baths with rose petals and showered them all around in order to breathe their fragrance, and who brought rose petals for this by whole ships from Egypt, because in Italy all roses around were plucked.

But all this is so far from us both in time and in space. Although it was clear that I was doing something wrong.

A friend who came to visit from Germany, seeing my action, was horrified. After naming the dollar amount I carry in the bucket, she added that I was throwing away (as she called my compost heap) a significant part of my health. I had to get busy replenishing my knowledge of the health benefits of rose petals, and this is what I learned.

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The healing properties of rose petals have been known since time immemorial. Ancient physicians treated nervous disorders with rose water, for diseases of the lungs, they fumigated patients and rooms with smoke from pink incense, during consumption they gave them to smell bouquets of roses, for diseases of the heart and kidneys, they gave them rose petals to drink.

Rose petals were applied to the face to give it a youthful freshness. There is a legend that the famous beauty and courtesan of Greece Aspazia cured the ugly growth that had been on her face since childhood, only with the help of an ointment made from rose petals.

Rose petals were used in the treatment of all kinds of inflammations: in combination with vinegar - in the treatment of inflamed wounds; infused with wine - for gastrointestinal disorders; mixed with honey water - as an antipyretic agent.

In ancient China, evil spirits were expelled with the scent of rose petals, and in Turkey they showered pink petals on newborn babies in the seraglio. In Russia, petals were used as a hemostatic agent. Inflamed ulcers were sprinkled with finely crushed petals.

Of course, in those ancient times, they used the petals of the then most common roses - Damask rose, Gallica rose, alba rose and just rose hips.

The medicinal properties of different types of roses are slightly different. For example, the petals of a white rose (alba) contain mucous substances. They are used for hypertension and atherosclerosis. The petals of the Damascus rose and its varieties, in particular, the famous Kazanlak rose, are used more often for inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, for dysentery and liver diseases, etc.

Currently, rose petals have been studied quite well by doctors. It has now been established that essential oil is the main medicinal component of roses. It has a stimulating effect on the immune and nervous systems of the body, improves the functioning of the endocrine glands. Eliminates sclerotic changes in organs, restores and rejuvenates cells. Normalizes the digestive tract by healing mucous membranes. Eliminates the phenomena of dysbiosis and enzymatic insufficiency of the stomach and intestines. Relieves spasms of blood vessels in the brain, strengthens the heart muscle.

The rose petals contain vitamin C, carotene, B vitamins, and vitamin K, which is involved in hematopoiesis. When the composition of mineral substances was investigated, it turned out that the entire Periodic Table of Mendeleev is present in the rose petals. They contain potassium and calcium, copper and iodine, a lot of iron, there is magnesium and even selenium, which is so necessary for the body. Thus, rose petals are, as they say, a real pharmacy, which has taken the form of a rose flower.

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Rose petals are highly bactericidal. Microorganisms die very quickly on contact with them. Therefore, petals are used to treat many skin conditions. Water extracts from rose petals and creams with the addition of rose oil eliminate minor skin inflammation, irritation, flaking. Dried flower powder mixed with honey is an effective remedy for any inflammation in the oral cavity, especially for stomatitis and periodontitis. The honey-pink mixture should be rubbed into the inflamed gums or applied to the gums with cotton flagella lubricated with it.

Inhalation of the scent of fresh flowers or rose oil relieves migraine attacks, dizziness, nausea, weakness. Intracranial pressure is normalized.

An excellent remedy for the treatment of nervous diseases is a rose petal bath. It tones, relieves fatigue, anxiety, supports the heart, cleanses the skin. Half a glass of petals is brewed with boiling water and insisted in a sealed container so that the valuable essential oil does not evaporate. The infusion along with the petals is poured into the bath.

With conjunctivitis, the eyelids are washed with an infusion of petals. Rose petals are said to promote sound sleep. Abroad, cushions for sleeping are made from dried petals. I also made such a pillow. It turned out to be difficult to sleep on it, because, firstly, it exuded a divine, but very strong aroma, which excited and interfered with sleep; secondly, she rustled under my ear, and woke me up in the middle of the night when I had to somehow move in my sleep. Subsequently, the pillow had to be placed not under the ear, but next to it so that it would not rustle. Dreamed pink dreams. Soon, however, the petals in the pillow turned to dust, pink dust streaming through the pillowcase. I had to give up this luxury. Now, for the scent, I lay out linen bags with rose petals among linen and clothes.

Rose tea (a teaspoon of dry petals in a glass of boiling water) is drunk for colds, pharyngitis, bronchitis, as well as for various neuroses and with an agitated state. This tea is also an excellent vitamin remedy. I usually add rose petals to plain black tea. It becomes not only vitamin, but also much tastier, acquires a noble tart note and light acidity.

A decoction of rose petals is used to gargle with acute respiratory diseases of the upper respiratory tract and with tonsillitis. Helps with these diseases and infusion of petals in vinegar: 50 g of petals are poured with half a liter of vinegar, insisted for 8 days. For rinsing, 1 teaspoon of the infusion is diluted in a glass of water.

The rose petals are harvested in the early dry morning from the blossoming buds. Dry them in the shade. Store in a sealed container.

How to make rose water

In folk medicine, rose water is often used for medicinal purposes. For example, warm foot baths with rose water help many patients with rheumatism. With radiculitis, a compress with hot rose water is applied to the lumbosacral zone. For colds, they wear socks soaked in warm rose water and dried overnight. For severe dizziness, apply a towel with cool pink water to the forehead area.

You can make rose water at home. To do this, you need to get up early in the morning, until the sun warms the flowers and the essential oil evaporates from them. Collect petals from blossoming roses. Put them in a moonshine still, pour water over them, and, while boiling slowly, drive off the evaporating liquid saturated with rose essential oil, i.e. rose water. If there is no such apparatus, you will have to make a home-made system, for example, from an enamel teapot, on the spout of which a rubber or plastic tube is tightly put on. The end of the tube is dipped into a glass bottle, where rose water is collected. Along the way, the tube must pass through a basin of cold water so that valuable vapors condense. Store rose water in tightly closed bottles.

How to make rose oil

In medicine, folk and official, rose oil is widely used. Taken internally, it eliminates insomnia, has anti-inflammatory effects, soothes inflammation of the stomach, helps with intestinal ulcers, as well as chronic inflammation of the biliary tract. Has a laxative effect. It can even help with stomach ulcers.

In case of a heart attack, a lump of sugar is placed under the tongue with a drop of rose oil on it. Even myocardial infarction is treated with rose oil.

Earache is calmed down: a cotton wick soaked in rose oil is put into the ear. You can put a compress with rose oil on your ear.

Rose oil inhibits pathogenic microbes, so if it is applied to deep wounds, they heal quickly. It is brought into the cavity of caries on the teeth, while all bacteria die there, the toothache immediately subsides. Oil is used to regulate cell metabolism in tumors, impotence is treated.

To obtain real rose oil, special essential oil roses are grown, in which petals are used on an industrial scale only from the first flowering of roses. There is a plantation of such roses (or was there?) In Livadia. From 1 hectare of plantation, and this is 4-5 tons of petals, about 1 kilogram of natural rose oil is obtained using special technologies.

At home, you can get oil, which is also called pink. Rose petals are poured into olive oil, heated to 50-700C, as much as will fit. They are kept in a warm place for two days. Then the petals are squeezed out, a new portion of the petals is poured. And this is repeated 10-15 times. The resulting oil is stored in a tightly sealed container.

To prepare rose oil, take petals from red scented roses. This oil is used mainly for perfumery purposes - for the preparation of perfumes, eau de toilette, massage creams and oils. There are many recipes, but we will not talk about them today.

If you have a lot of roses growing in your garden, you can prepare your own rose oil and your own rose water. It should be noted that our northern roses contain significantly less essential oils. The most fragrant roses should be used. For example, varieties of such roses: Duftwolke, Bella Rosa, Ave Maria, Charles de Gaulle, Rosarium Utersen, Spielwork, Berolina, Libeszaubnr, Password, Westerland, Rose de Rasht, Caprice de Meilland, Philip Noir, Blue River, Botero, Mister Lincoln, Sutters Gold, Tiffany, Talisman, Michelle Meilland, Pink Cloud, Red Perfume, Senator Burda, New Down, Frisia, Fashion, Marion. And many others.