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A rose by any other name
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-21 08:58
A rose by any other name

Rose flowers are valued in cosmetics for their harmonizing and anti-inflammatory effects on sensitive skin.

"This acid is important for the skin's collagen production. Rose oil provides for more elasticity and smoothness," says Schwertle. The high content of unsaturated fatty acids can make skin more supple and support the healing of scars. But the most important quality of the rose is its aroma.

"In the eyes of the aromatherapy community roses have a harmonizing and balancing, even calming and consoling effect," says aroma expert Jean Claude Richard of Farfalla, a company based in Switzerland. "Its scent is really unique."

This is not only true of expensive rose oil, but also of a by-product of the rose oil extraction process, rose water.

"Rose water is not a waste product, rather it contains simply water soluble substances of the rose and is a very important raw material used in natural cosmetics," Richard says.

Its refreshing, antiseptic and calming effects make it suitable as a toner, tonic or body spray. But rose water is also used in making an array of products from perfumes and essences to aerosols and from mouthwash and compresses to hair care products and air freshener, Ferdinand adds.

As soon as the first tiny wrinkles appear, rose oil or rose water can help fight aging skin's decreasing tension and dryness, Schwertle says. "It gives the skin back not only what it is lacking, it also stimulates the skin to regulate itself."

A spray of pure rose water is a simple way to refresh the skin while out on a hot day. It can be easily carried along in a small atomiser kept in a handbag. Rose cream can be useful in the office applied gently around tired eyes that have been staring at a computer screen.

At the end of a stressful day when wrinkles appear that weren't there in the morning, a suggested remedy is rose oil massaged into the face after warming it up with a compress. A rose oil-based peeling mask also helps.

"It has the most beneficial effects when enjoyed in peace and quiet," Schwertle says. "But in a pinch, it can be applied while cleaning or ironing."

DPA

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