What’s a lavender water?
A Lavender water (or for even that matter Kama Ayurveda’s rose water) are flower waters produced in a process of steam distillation. Lavender (or rose) essential oil tends to be extracted from plant matter (lavender flower) by a process of steam distillation. The hydrophilic and more volatile components of the plant extract find their way into the distilled water. Heavier compounds distil into the oil component (which forms the essential oil).
Therefore, the lavender water itself shares many benefits of the essential oil (albeit in a less concentrated form).
Benefits of lavender
These include:
- Soothing to the skin
- Calms you down (not really a skincare benefit)
- Anti-inflammatory; and
- As its in a water format, it is not as concentrated as lavender essential oil, and therefore can be used (in theory) by folks whose skin doesn’t do well with strong fragrances or essential oils.
(However, please do patch test on your forearm for at least 24-48 hours before using on your face).
Why do I need to use this product?
The main reason to use this product (for me personally) is during summer, skin becomes very parched. Its not always convenient to drink water every two seconds, and therefore, this product works well. For example, for air travel. The only downside (which is quite a major downside) is that if you apply this over sunscreen, you have to reapply sunscreen.
Quality matters
For products that are based on plant extracts, the fundamental quality of the ingredients really matters as does the process of extraction. Out of all the hydrosols in the market, I prefer those by Kama Ayurveda, because the quality of its ingredients are second to none. If you ever hear the founder of Kama talk about how he established his supply chain, you’d buy into the authenticity of sourcing of ingredients. I know I do.
It is better to buy a quality flower water OR none at all.
Would I buy this or use this?
I don’t like the smell of Lavender, so honestly this is not my first choice of face mists. I put it down to this being a very Western smell that is not indigenous to my country of origin. However, if you like or are indifferent to the smell, then this is an excellent flower water to have as part of your routine. Available to purchase at Nykaa or Kama Ayurveda. Retail price is INR 1175 for 200ml or INR 375 for 50ml
Here is a link for purchase