Frankfurt - The rose is the most popular flower in the perfumer's arsenal of fragrances at the moment, with countless cosmetic products on the market containing rose scent as an ingredient.
For centuries the rose has been regarded as the queen of flowers around the world. It also has a long history as an ingredient in beauty products. Women in ancient cultures were aware that rose petals were a useful addition to a bath.
“The rose is experiencing a renaissance in the cosmetics industry,” explains Birgit Huber, deputy manager at Germany's trade association for beauty-care and household cleaning products, the IKW. “Rose-water is used in many cosmetic products.”
Organic cosmetic manufacturers such as Annemarie Boerlind of Germany led the way in the exploitation of rose as an active ingredient.
But top-name German “natural cosmetics” makers such as Weleda, Lavera, Alverde and Dr Hauschka all have products that make use of rose effects.
Conventional manufacturers have been following that trend for some time. Dior's Prestige series contains a specially bred variety of rose as an ingredient.
Making natural cosmetics with rose ingredients is costly. It takes 4 tons of rose petals to produce 1 kilogram of rose-oil, which is one of the basic ingredients used to manufacturer rose cosmetics.
Even harvesting the petals is a difficult procedure: the roses are grown in huge nurseries in Morocco, Bulgaria and Turkey and the petals are picked by hand. There are only 30 days a year when the petals are ready for harvest.
Rose-oil is one of the most expensive ingredients in the cosmetics industry.
The oil contains over 100 individual chemical compounds. They include lipids that prevent skin from losing moisture and unsaturated fats that keep skin smooth and healthy looking. These are the active ingredients that makers of organic cosmetics stress.
“Rose-oil has several different effects on skin,” says dermatologist Uta Schlossberger. It's also healthy for the body's blood vessels. “And it encourages new skin growth. Rose-oil can also reduce skin reddening and inflammation.”
Another rose product is rose-water. It's made by distilling rose-oil and is a by-product of the process.
“Rose-water is also often used to make cosmetics,” says Schlossberger. “It's an anti-bacterial substance and therefore it's frequently used in skin cleansers.”
Although the rose is an amazing skin-care plant, it is not completely free of risk.
“Just like any other natural product, rose-oil and rose-water can cause allergic reactions in a small number of people,” explains dermatologist Heiko Grimme.
Along with rose's skin-care aspect it should not be forgotten that it has that distinctive fragrance.
“For thousands of years its aroma has been regarded as having erotic properties and it's even said it can help against unhappiness,” says Schlossberger. No wonder then that rose perfumes remain one of the most popular fragrances there are. - Sapa-dpa