Combining Rose and Honey for Skincare

Sometimes it takes a while for the obvious to present itself but then, we are talking about an experiment that may or may not prove successful.

I am showing this to you 'mid-process' to give you an idea of what kind of shenanigans I get up to when I start exploring an idea.

Tried and True

Two of my absolute favorite skincare ingredients are rose and honey. Both are well documented and have a history of use for health and beauty that not only goes back centuries, but spans much of the world.

The fact that I have not previously considered combining them in this particular way is a bit of a puzzle to be quite honest. (read: why the heck did I never think of this before?)

Raw Honey is a Natural Cleanser

Raw honey - straight up - has been my morning cleanser for years. My small Nordic country has numerous passionate beekeepers and well organized beekeepers associations. Because of this, I am fortunate enough to have a rich variety of choices of high quality honey available everywhere: supermarkets, specialty shops, and even directly from beekeepers. It is quite common to find the name and address of the beekeeper right on the jar.

Here's an example (from a post I did in 2013):

In short, Denmark is little slice of honey-producing heaven. In my experience, raw honey is a treat for skin regardless of viscosity, color and which plants have been gathered from.

As long as it's real raw honey, it's all good!

Rose

Rose has been a staple in my skincare for even longer than I have been using honey.

Happily, rose is available in numerous forms, and I have worked with it in as many ways as I have been able to source it.

• Hydrosol 
• Flower water
• Essential Oil
• Absolute
• Wax
• Powder
• Dried Roses

In my experience, rose is fabulous for skin regardless of form. It has never failed me.

Rose has a natural content of phenethyl alcohol which is part of the reason the hydrosol has a longer shelf life than many other hydrosols.

True life story: several years ago, I presented a client of mine with a small sample of pure (unpreserved) rose hydrosol in a mist bottle as a gift with her order. She confessed later to me that she loved it so much, she mostly just sniffed the bottle and only very sparingly used it to mist over her face. About 3 years later she happened to mention how much she still loved the hydrosol as there was still a small amount left in the bottle. It had not gone bad.

I hardly believed it myself at the time,  but have since come across producers of unpreserved natural rose distillate that guarantee 5 years of shelf life.

The key to success working with rose is to use quality and buy materials as freshly produced as possible.

These dried roses are from the 2018 harvest and were sourced directly from a Bulgarian producer of rose essential oil, distillate and dried rose.

The Experiment

The object of this experiment is to infuse honey with roses to become part of a skin cleanser (or perhaps the entire skin cleanser).

Just exactly how the next process will take place is a bit uncertain at this point. The thought of discarding the roses after straining is too painful to consider so I am thinking of other options.

Do Tell

Have you ever infused honey with rose? How did it turn out and what did you use it for? Please feel free to share in a comment below.

Previous Posts about Rose and Honey on this Blog

Honey + skin - a matchmakers dream come true
2-minute Honey mask
Marvelous Manuka honey - part 1
Marvelous Manuka Honey - part 2
DIY Honey cleanser - packaging method
Self-preserving rosemary and honey cleanser
Honey, glucose oxidase and preservative power
Milk and Honey Mask with pink clay
Rose, the Queen of skincare, part 1
Rose, the Queen of skincare - part 2
How to make Rose Exfoliating Paste
Rose exfoliating hand and body scrub
Rose cleansing putty how to
Rose and Milk facial Cleanser how to
Fresh strawberry mask with rose how to
Rose and White Clay cleansing bar how to
Rose skin tonic with strawberry glycerite

More about Phenethyl Alcohol and its Preservative Powers

As an untraditional preservative, Reserachgate
As a fragrance component and preservative, PubMed
Essential Oils in Food Preservation; Rosa Damascena