wanalearn2soap said:
I am I want to make my own flower water it's too expensive at the supply site. Thank you
Hey Wanalearn2soap
Here is what I did.
Everything I ve read about lavender so far, it mostly with dried petals. I think that fresh petals mold quickly, but I am not too sure about this. Hence it would be prudent to hang ur lavender flowers upside down in a ventilated and well lit area for minimum 3 weeks.
Separate the petals, leaves and the stems. I used the flower petals and the leaves only, not the stems.
Here is the method for home "distillation" of the flower water. It is actually a combination of 2 methods I saw online when I googled this.
1. In a deep slow cooking crock pot, put a bowl upside down. Slightly bruise ur flower petals in a mortar and pestle and arrange these petals around the upside down bowl.
2. Fill just enough water that just covers the petals. I used about half a cup of dried lavender petals. The water I eye balled so can't tell u precise measurements of that.
3. Put another bowl in an upright position, on top of the upside down bowl, flower petals and water. Leave this bowl empty as this is where the flower water will be collected.
4. Cover the pot with it's lid, upside down. I further covered it with foil so as to make sure that all the steam stays inside the pot.
5. Turn the pot on high. As the water starts to boil, turn it on low. ( I kept it on low for an hour, u can keep t on for longer if there is enough water u want to vaporize, again eye ball this).
6. As soon as the water starts boiling and u can see a buildup of steam, put a few ice cubes on the upside down lid. This will help the steam vaporize faster. The vapors that collect in the empty upright bowl is ur flower water.
7. Empty this water in an air tight glass jar and let it stand for about 14 days before using. Store it in a place that is cool and doesn't get much sunlight, but not in a fridge.
At this stage I added enough petals in the jar that was covered by the water as I wanted a stronger smelling water. U can do this too if you like, that is where the liquid gets colored, otherwise it will be clear water, that someone might mistake as normal water and take a sip
If you are adding the petals, make sure u shake the jar every day. After 14 days sieve the petals from the jar and squeeze out as much water as u can with the help of a muslin or cheese cloth.
Hope this has been helpful. It seems like a lot of steps, but once ur flower petals have been dried and collected, its actually not that much work, although it does need its drying and curing times. But personally after smelling the water (and the kitchen while it was distilling, it is well worth the effort).
U can use this method for any other type of dried petals or even fresh ones if u wish.
Best of luck
HC
