We got a still! Hydrosols, essential oils, and our growing extraction lab

We got a still! It’s beautiful and copper and handmade in Portugal, and I’m really, really excited about it! It’s basically the same as the still that you would use to make vodka or whiskey or any other liquor, but this one has a chimney that I can pack with botanicals. There’s a pot at the bottom that I fill with water and bring to a boil. The steam passes through the botanicals and extracts the essential oils and a bunch of beneficial, water-soluble compounds that make up the hydrosol.

Before I started making skincare, I was a plant biologist in an academic research lab. Extracting and isolating molecules (mostly DNA and RNA) from plant tissue was kind of my bread and butter. I always found extraction to be fascinating and fun. By using different solvents and salts and other chemicals combined with heating and cooling, I could selectively isolate the different types of compounds in the plant. 

Now, I have my still and a whole new way to extract some skin-loving compounds from my favorite botanicals. I also now have total control on sourcing where the plants actually come from, and I can start to experiment with wild-harvested, medicinal plants from all over the country. It’s like plant-nerd heaven!

I’ve already extracted a batch of lavender and chamomile and next up is some yaupon holly that I’ve been harvesting from the forests along the Gulf Coast. Yaupon holly has been used in traditional medicine practices for thousands of years because of the high caffeine and berberine content. I’ve been reading lots about other medicinal compounds found in the leaves of yaupon holly and I believe that as a hydrosol, it could be really beneficial for evening skin tone and smoothing skin texture.

Can’t wait to process the hydrosol and start experimenting!