Rose essential oil has some wonderful healing and wellness benefits. It can help relieve the effects of stress and anxiety, reduce menstrual cramps, it’s wonderful for a wide range of skin applications, and has a lovely aroma.
If you’ve been browsing for some rose essential oil however you will have noticed a few different products on the market. It can get a little confusing because there are oils labeled as essential oils, fragrance oils, and absolute oils.
There are some subtle differences between the different types of oils as I will explain.
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What Is the Difference between Rose Oil and Rose Absolute
Rose Essential Oil
Rose oil, rose otto oil, or rose essential oil as it’s called is actually quite rare and one of the most expensive essential oils on the market.
The main reason for this is the process and amount of roses that are required to make just a tiny bottle of rose oil. In fact, it takes tens of thousands of rose blossoms to make just a single ounce of rose oil.
It’s a powerful concentrated oil however, just a 10 ml bottle will last you a long, long time. This oil contains a lot of healing properties, particularly for skin care, and is used in aromatherapy for its relaxing and balancing effects.
You can make topical blends to help reduce rosacea, dry skin, and reduce the effects of aging. It’s actually found in a lot of cosmetic products if you take a look at the ingredients on some well-known products.
It’s also very effective at relieving anxiety, stress, depression, and helps to balance hormones. So a useful oil to use in your diffuser while you’re relaxing to help improve your mood and mental state.
Rose Absolute Oil
Rose absolute oil is made through a different process to the otto essential oil. While essential oils typically use a steam distillation process and retain the plant’s healing properties. Absolutes use a solvent extraction and lose some, or all of the healing and wellness properties.
Rose absolute oil is still used for wellness applications, but it’s not as powerful as otto oil. The problem with absolute oils is that the oils vary in dilution and quality from brand to brand and contain a lot of synthetic ingredients.
The best applications for absolute oils is as a fragrance oil. They often smell a lot more like the plant than the essential oil. This is because the manufacturer can add synthetic smells to the product to mimic the plant, like a sweet smelling rose.
Should I Use an Absolute Oil or Essential Oil?
I would always advise using essential oils over absolute oils. As explained above, essential oils have the healing and wellness properties from the plants and herbs they have been extracted from.
If you’re buying from a good brand they should be 100% pure therapeutic grade. This means there are no added chemicals, which can often cause allergic reactions or skin sensitivity.
Absolute oils still need to be handled with care and can offer some health benefits. They should never be ingested however.
I’m a MA, (CMT) Certified Massage Therapist, Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), and Reiki Master — I’m a licensed massage therapist with over 10 years of experience in the industry.