Rose Otto vs. Rose Absolute Oils — Benefits & Uses

Rose has to be one of the most well-known and beloved scents. Maybe you enjoy roses in your garden or you treat yourself to a bouquet in your home. But how and when should you use rose essential oil? Is there a big difference between Rose Otto vs. Rose Absolute? What are their benefits and uses?

It’s important to know about rose essential oil. It’s a precious oil because It takes approximately 252,000 individual petals (or 8,000 rose flowers) to produce one 5ml bottle of rose oil. So it’s worthwhile becoming an educated consumer so you know the benefits of rose essential oil, how to use it wisely, and what kind to buy. There are options that are more affordable and environmentally friendly!

BENEFITS OF ROSE ESSENTIAL OIL

Hormone balance & relief

Rose essential oils can help address common discomfort associated with menstruation, PMS, and menopausal symptoms. A clinical study found that rose essential oil was helpful to patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Many find the scent of roses can boost libido — no wonder it’s a Valentine’s favorite!

Skincare

With its anti-inflammatory properties, rose essential oil is helpful for mature skin and can help address, dryness, sensitivity, inflammation, and eczema. And due to the fact that it’s highly antimicrobial, it’s also used to treat acne. No wonder it’s a skincare superstar!

Emotional & psychological support

For many, smelling rose essential oil helps tension melt away. This is why many turn to it when looking for help with mild depression, stress, anxiety, irritability, tension, emotional coolness, sleeplessness, anger, or fear. One study found that blood pressure, heart rates, breathing rates, cortisol levels, and blood oxygen levels all decreased after receiving rose essential oil treatment.

Popular aroma for fragrance

Rose is often found in fragrances and when you blend your own you can make your own signature chemical-free fragrance. Many find the aroma of roses relaxing. So don’t be surprised if you feel more loving, compassionate, or hopeful after smelling the roses!

ROSE OTTO VS. ROSE ABSOLUTE — WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

What distinguishes Rose Otto vs. Rose Absolute? There are three things to pay attention to when choosing essential oils: Country of Origin, the process for obtaining the oil, and the unique characteristics of each oil.

Rose, Bulgaria (Otto) Rosa damascena

Location:

• There are only a handful of places in the world that have the environmental conditions to grow the Rosa damascena flower in enough quantity to produce essential oil.
• The two largest producing countries are Turkey and Bulgaria.

Distillation process:

• Rose petals cannot be distilled in the usual way by directly injecting steam into the plant material as this will cause the petals to compact into a large mass that the steam can’t penetrate.
• During the distillation process, a large amount of oil is absorbed into the distillation water. To achieve a sufficient yield of essential oil, the “First Water” is redistilled in a process known as cohobation. The “Second Water” is then taken for use as a hydrosol or recycled in the still to begin distilling the next batch of rose petals.

Characteristics:

• Light red in color.
• A soft, refined aroma.
• Solidifies in cool temperatures. (This is a good sign as it shows that your essential oil has not been stretched or adulterated with chemical fillers.  It will quickly return to a liquid state if you hold the bottle between your hands to warm the essential oil.)

Since Rose Otto has a large impact on the environment and is limited in supply, it is no longer part of our standard product line. However, if that is your choice please contact us for current pricing information.

Rose Absolute Rosa damascena

Location:

Roses for absolute can be grown in various locations. e3’s Rose Absolute comes from roses grown in Bulgaria, Turkey, or Morocco.

Extraction process:

• A non-polar solvent is used to “wash” the aromatic oils out of the flowers.  After the solvent evaporates, a waxy, semisolid substance known as “concrete” is left.
• The concrete then undergoes a series of “washings” with a polar solvent such as ethanol. The polarity of the ethanol will allow extraction of the volatile aromatics from the concrete while leaving behind the non-polar plant waxes which do not dissolve in the ethanol. Finally, the ethanol is evaporated to leave behind the ABSOLUTE which will typically have 1-5% ethanol remaining in it and sometimes a trace of hexane.
• A rose blossom contains only about 0.02% essential oil. Solvent extraction gives a greater yield than distillation which is why Rose Absolute is less expensive than Rose essential oil.  About 10 pounds of the concrete can be extracted from 10,000 pounds of rose petals. The concrete is further refined to produce Rose absolute, the yield of which is about 67% from the concrete.

e3 essential oils absolutes are tested to make sure that all chemical components are in the range necessary to be considered therapeutic-quality,  free of pesticides, with no synthetics added or other adulterations. e3 testing ensures that our Rose Absolute has undergone an extraction process in which ample time is given during the evaporation phase to ensure there is zero to minimal chemical residue remaining in the absolute. 

Characteristics: 

• A thick, reddish colored highly aromatic liquid.
• A stronger, richer aroma than Rose Otto. (Absolutes often smell more like the original plant than an essential oil because the plant material has not been exposed to heat.)
• Perfumers often prefer to use Rose Absolute as it has a longer-lasting aroma.

It is a highly debated topic in the aromatherapy world whether or not Rose Otto essential oil and Rose Absolute can be used interchangeably. Here are some things to keep in mind when making your choice:

• Some say that the trace amounts of chemical residue that may be found in Rose Absolute are so insignificant you will receive more toxic risk from drinking a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
• Many aromatherapy experts feel that absolutes actually contain much more beneficial plant material than essential oils due to the way the oil is extracted.
  Others feel that the trace chemicals can lead to an increased chance of skin irritation and do not want to expose themselves to any potential chemical substance.
• Many people choose by aroma as they will like one scent and not the other.

As with everything it is a personal choice which Rose to use, choose the one you like the best because as we have seen Rose has so many wonderful uses and properties.

And the good news is that there is another, even more affordable alternative — Rose Absolute Dilute. It’s important to us to share precious essential oils with our customers in a way that’s eco-friendly, sustainable, and affordable! This option is a 5% dilution in fractionated coconut oil. (Fractionated Coconut Oil does not go rancid, has no aroma, and is non-greasy.) As an added convenience, since it’s already diluted it may be applied directly to the skin.

If you have any questions, e3’s team of clinical aromatherapists is happy to provide trustworthy answers to questions about essential oils and their safe usage. And if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget that by signing up for our newsletter you get a 20% coupon to use on your next order.

Photo by Nikita Tikhomirov on Unsplash.