The Odor Factor

Hydrosols are aromatic compounds, and it is important to consider this when working with them. One of the frequently quoted rules of aromatherapy, is that you don't use an oil on someone if the person finds the smell unpleasant. The rationale is that a disliked odor will have detrimental effects on the health of the patient that far out-weigh the beneficial effects a particular oil would have for the individual concerned. If healing has as much to do with state of mind as with medical intervention per se, then a different approach to this problem may be in order.

If someone intensely dislikes the aroma of Eucalyptus globulus but has a bad chest cold with lots of congestion and phlegm, a mild headache, slight fever, and general body aches, there are two options: use other oils with similar therapeutic properties to effect an improvement in condition; or take the time to explain just how eucalyptus would help, validate your choice, give the individual options on how to use it (in a bath, in inhalations, topically, or internally), and help the person understand why it would be worth putting aside his or her dislike of the odor for a short period in order to "get better faster".

You will find not only that most people respond but also understand the argument  on many levels, including the unconscious and subconscious, and you also plant a seed of deeper understanding in the psyche that can have its own benefit to the healing process. You can apply the same process when using hydrosols. 

Hydrosols smell. Some are strong, others mild. Some smell nothing like the essential oil, while others are very similar to the oil. However, hydrosols never smell exactly the same as the oil or plant from which they are extracted. In some instances the hydrosol is so markedly different that you might not instantly recognize it by smell alone . This may be disappointing to some, but there are reasons for it.

Hydrosols contain only very small amounts of essential oil, and the oil in them is often not complete. GCMS (gas chromatography, mass spectometry) analysis shows that some of the non-water-soluble components of the essential oil extracted directly from the plants do not appear in the essential oils extracted from the hydrosols.

Certain trace compounds may also be absent , and some chemicals may appear in a slightly different form. Thus the odour of this solution-extracted oil is not exactly the same as that of the whole essential oil. Then there are the completely water-soluble components taht will never show up in the essential oil but are plentiful in the hydrosol. These lend their own fragrance and qualities to the water, further altering odor.

The smell of the mixture running off a still is sometimes quite unpleasant. The sweetness of lavender doesn't develop for days, often several weeks, after separation, and it takes even longer for the fragrance character of rose to fully develop. Fresh essential oils resemble hydrosols in that they exhibit a certain wetness and a slightly vague, not quite defined aroma that can be confusing. Indeed, essential oils need time to rest and coalesce after distillation before they are ready for use.

Hydrosols require time to mature as well. They begin to settle several days after distillation and will be aromatically stable four to five weeks later, with the aroma peaking anywhere from two to five months after distillation and remaining that way until degradation begins. Some hydrosols are definitely an acquired taste! If you maintain the view that you don't use smells you don't like, there will be many hydrosols that will never make it to your cupboard. If you can take the step of acknowledging that even some not-so-unpleasant smells can offer a world of benefit, then you are on your way. And life and health will be richer for it.

Reference: Hydrosols The New Aromatherapy: Suzanne Catty