The genius beauty hack to try with your old Valentine’s Day roses

Regardless of what you did on Valentine’s Day, there’s a good chance you were lucky enough to score yourself a beautiful bouquet of roses. However, as stunning as they are, the unfortunate reality of having fresh flowers is that they start to look a tad weathered and sad within a week or so. But before you decide to bin that old bouquet, we’ve found a genius beauty hack to try that’s going to give you some serious skin benefits.

The trick? Creating your very own DIY rosewater. While one of the biggest features of rosewater is its incredible, calming scent, there are also numerous skin benefits associated with a daily spritz. “Rose hydrosol is renowned for its anti-inflammatory, refreshing, cell-rejuvenating properties, helping to soothe irritated skin, diminishing the appearance of redness, whilst also helping to balance the skin’s natural oil production,” says Samantha Sargent, natural skin care expert and AEOS distributor.

So to find out exactly how to reap the benefits of your old roses and create your own rosewater, we asked Sargent for her go-to recipe.

Here’s how to create your own rosewater spritz when that gorgeous red bouquet starts to wilt:

Step 1: In a small clean stainless steel pot, bring 100mL of spring water to the boil.

Step 2: Next, add in a handful of dried rose petals (if you’re using roses left over from Valentine’s Day, be sure to rinse the petals to remove any pesticide residue).

Step 3: Cover the pot and gently simmer the roses until they lose their colour.

Step 4: Turn off the heat and let the water cool.

Step 5: Strain the cold rosewater into a glass or ceramic bowl.

Step 6: Pour the rosewater into a spritzer bottle.

Step 7: Use daily and often! It should keep for seven days. If you have any left over after a week, it’s best to throw it out.

If you didn’t receive any roses this year, or perhaps spent February 14^th with your girlfriends celebrating Galentine’s Day, but still want to reap the benefits that rosewater delivers, there is a huge range of rosewater products available. Sargent recommends the AEOS Refreshing Hydrating Mist and we’d also suggest trying Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist and KORA Organics Balancing Rose Facial Mist.

Misting your face with skin-saving ingredients is always a good idea, but make sure you’re taking the right steps when cleansing. Find out the essential dos and don’ts of washing your face. Plus, find out why you need to start double cleansing, stat.

Image credit: @kendalljenner