Hydrosol Question

[Guest guest]

Butch Owen <butchbsi

Wed, 03 Dec 2003 11:32:10 -0800

Hydrosol Question

 

Hi Jody,

 

> Butch,

> I have a question. As you were describing what a hydrosol is a few

> questions surfaced. Are eo's and hydrosols, when put together, more

> like a total plant essence than when used separately?

 

I want to say YES .. but based on my life's experiences I reply to what

I read and its not always what a person means. ;-) I'm toying now with

your use of the words " plant essence. "

 

If you are using them correctly .. and I believe you are .. the answer

is a resounding YES! Because what you asked is does the two together

match the indispensable and/or fundamental nature of a plant's inherent

characteristics. Or .. in terms more often used in the industry, does

combining them result in a more accurate reflection of the profile or

footprint of the chemical constituents actually found in the plant.

 

However, many folks have become accustomed to using the term " essence "

to mean odor .. and in that case, I think there is no way to respond

correctly to your question .. but I would stick my neck out by saying

the answer, within the perimeters of that definition, would be NO!

 

Twould be NO because the odor of the plant is most likely caused by one

or possibly two trace chemicals that will be non-water soluble .. and

will be found in the EO .. as well as in the Hydrosol because of those

trace amounts of EO remaining in the Hydrosol.

 

If the above confuses anyone .. its cause we're speaking the same

language but with different accents. ;-)

 

> What sort of complementarity exists between, say, a rose eo and it's

> hydrosol?

 

A physicist would probably say there is no complementary relationship

that would stand a test of science .. a normalist would say YES because

the combining of chemicals from two parts of the whole will bring us

more closely to the original whole .. it will be closer to complete than

it was prior to the combining of the two parts. Does that answer your

question or did I miss something?

 

> Are there any synergies to be gained by using both?

 

Lemme answer like this .. and most Aromatherapy Practitioners will have

to disagree because if I'm correct then the aromatherapeutical concept

of " creating synergies " is incorrect .. and both of us would be out on a

limb trying to prove either case. ;-p I think synergies are created by

Nature .. and rarely are they duplicated my man. Man might get pretty

close and might accidentally trip over a stone and get closer than s/he

had intended to .. but a true concept of synergism is when the combined

effects of the parts exceed the sum of their individual effects.

 

Following that line of thinking .. we have to consider that over a few

millions of years of evolution and natural selection Mama/Daddy Nature

has created a perfect synergy in all living things .. those that could

protect themselves from enemies and procreate continued on to even more

perfect synergistic lives. Those that couldn't fell along the wayside.

Plants that exist in nature are perfect synergies .. not necessarily the

case (methinks) with those cultivated by man .. which is probably gonna

cause some confusion but I better leave that alone for now. Then here

comes man using a very unnatural method of extraction of the oils from

that perfect synergy .. something called distillation .. that might well

destroy some of the trace chemicals we've not even been able to identify

with modern analysis equipment in the second place .. and we produce a

product from which we are gonna try to create even more synergism in

another product by combining two unrelated products. Still with me?

 

What we are doing is sorta what modern medicine is doing .. and what the

result will be is NOT what Mama/Daddy Nature intended in the first place

cause that result (if its effective at all) will most likely be far less

effective due to the absence of those trace chemicals we haven't been

able to identify .. those trace chemicals that were critical to the

proper function and survival of the plant .. and were an inherent part

of the natural synergy of that plant. We have created a customized

version of something Mama/Daddy Nature had perfected and its no longer

perfect nor is it anywhere near as effective/efficient.

 

> If you get both from the same batch is there any magic there?

 

There are too many variables in play for anyone to give an accurate

answer to that question. First .. " batches " are a combined harvest in

distillation. If we were to analyze two plants growing side by side we

would certainly find some variation in the percentages of the chemical

components of the plants .. so using the same batch gives no guarantee

of similarity .. howsomeever, using oils from the same distiller from

the same distillation of plants from the same general vicinity would

more likely (methinks) give us a far better product than would mixing

dried Lavandula angustifolia from France with the same aromatic from

Germany .. and that is often done with essential oils. I'm sorry to

report that some of the large clearing houses can't give you a batch

number of production date of an oil because they operate much like

the Koreans do when making kimchi or the Native Americans did when

they kept a stew pot on the fire for weeks at a time .. they keep on

dumping product into the same pot.

 

> Sort of a phyto-reunion of the whole?

 

Not a bad way of putting it .. its a reunion of close relatives. ;-)

 

> Or is that once they've gone through the distilling process they are

> simply two different entities with two different applications?

 

I would guess the answer is Yes and No and Yes and No. They are not two

different entities, they are one entity split into two very unequal but

fairly similar parts .. and the applications can be the same depending

on the dilution of the product used. Hydrosols can be used straight for

many applications but that's not the case when using EO. But even when

we are using Hydrosols we are using some of the EO .. that portion that

is suspended in the Hydrosol. I believe that I can get damn close to

the same results from drinking Oregano Hydrosol as I can by taking one

or two drops of the EO in my Lentil Soup. But I can't get the same

results from sniffing the Hydrosol as I can from sniffing the EO.

 

The above is NOT a recommendation to anyone .. its my position. ;-)

 

To simplify all the above .. I think what you are getting at is can we

create a more perfect botanical product by mixing the Essential Oil from

a distillation with the Hydrosol from the same distillation? I think

the answer is probably YES .. but I'm not sure how we would apply that

creation in Aromatherapy .. I can see ways to apply it in production of

cosmetics, etc., but not in Aromatherapy as we must look at dilution.

 

If we took anyone around in circles during this discussion .. and you

have specific questions on a point here and there .. lay'em out .. but

understand that this is a relatively short post and I've not tried to

give a background or justification for the facts and/or opinions I have

presented here .. but I can in most cases. So come to the table with a

smile on your face so you won't have to leave with a frown. :-)

 

> TIA as always,

> Jody

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Bulk/Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Rose Otto, Tested Hydrosols .. other

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