A wide range of herbs that are lovely distilled for oils and hydrosols.

Hydrosols are the by-product of the distillation process. Water from the boiling flask is evaporated and passed through the plant matter, picking up the oil. this is then cooled down in the condenser where the hydrosol and oil are condensed and collected. After a time the oil floats to the top, because of the closeness to the essential oil the hydrosol carries much of the same properties as the oil just with less potency and higher quantity. Because such a small quantity of oil is produced from a large quantity of plant matter it is better to use hydrosol in place of the more potent oils whenever possible.