Monarda Hydrosol

Monarda (also known as bee balm) has a scent that is bright, enlivening, full-hearted, uplifting, and courageous.

Wild Origins' aromatic hydrosols are made in-house with a handcrafted copper alembic still. They are meant for aromatherapy and skincare use. We use spring or distilled water and plants that are harvested minutes before we begin the distillation process.

The distillation process takes between 4-7 hours. The resulting hydrosol looks like tea but it is more like an essential oil. Unlike a tea, a hydrosol lasts for years if it's properly stored. 

The monarda hydrosol can be used as a post-shower body spray, a pre-meditation spritz, a phenomenal facial toner, a cooling mist on a hot day, an inflammation soother, face wash (on its own or mixed with the face wash powder), an emulsified cream when mixed in your hands with a body oil, or an aromatherapeutic pick-me-up or calm-me-down.

If you're interested in learning more about the process, I describe it as coaxing the purest phytochemicals out of the plant with fire, water, and time. The slow heat creates steam that travels through an herb-packed still column, picking up 1. the water soluble components out of the plants, 2. water from within the plant's cells, and 3. tiny amount of essential oils. When the steam cools in the condenser coil it becomes liquid again but this time vibrant, and alive, a captured essence of the plant. I bottle that hydrosol and keep it in a cool place away from sunlight for about a year.