This tutorial will detail how to make your own Rosewater, without distilling. This method makes more like a rose tea, with a beautiful dark pink color.
Rosewater is an amazingly beneficial addition to your skin care routine. It can be used to cleanse, tone and moisturize the skin. I'm often too lazy to properly clean my face and I find that a little rosewater on a cotton ball keeps my acne prone skin surprisingly happy. I usually use a mix if rosewater and witch hazel. The witch hazel helps preserve the water somewhat, but with out an actual preservative you should refrigerate your rosewater and use in 1-2 weeks. I plan to use most of this rosewater as the water component for a face cream, so I will be preserving the cream with phenonip. Otherwise it would not last long and could harbor dangerous microbes. Anyway, I'd be happy to answer any preservation questions you may have. Let's get back to making our rosewater.
I picked my rose petals from my own garden, so I know they are pesticide free. I sterilized my large jar with a bleach solution washed up really well. Gloves are always a good idea. I shredded the rose petals into the jar by hand, pushing down as I go. One colander of rose petals fills one jar pretty well.
Now because I'm making a product for sale, it is really important to sterilize everything and to use distilled water. Also this makes the rosewater last longer even if you aren't preserving it. However, if you just want to make some for yourself and don't want to make a trip to the store for distilled water, your filtered water it probably fine. After sterilizing my tea kettle with bleach solution, I fill it with enough distilled water to fill my jar and boil it.
I fill my jar all the way up with boiling water (make sure your jar is heat safe). As I'm filling, I use a skewer or chopstick to push the petals down and remove air bubbles
Once your jar is full, put the lid on and leave it until it cools. This takes at least a few hours. When the jar is cool, you are ready to strain your rosewater. I sterilized my bowl and colander. Set the colander inside the bowl and line the colander with cheesecloth. Then start pouring your rosewater
When I get down to the bottom, and it seems like there's no water left, I scoop the rose petals out into the cheesecloth, fold it up and squeeze. This make sure you get all your precious water.
The beautiful color and aroma is completely natural. At this point I like to add witch hazel for a great toner. You can also add rose essential oil, but the oil will float and need to be mixed in by shaking with each use. To maximize shelf life, store in a cool dry place, out of the sunlight, or in the fridge. It will last 1-4 weeks.
I used this rosewater as the water component in a lotion. This is what my lotion looks like while still cooling (hence, no cap). What an amazing skin treat.
Hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Please let me know if you try it and feel free to ask any questions.
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In addition to making and devouring this gorgeous turkey, I managed to make a few soaps. For my own bathroom, I made these great single use soaps from Brambleberry. They work great to get kids to wash their hands...over and over and over again. Each soap is just enough for one thorough washing. 
I also made this amazing cool water smelling mens soap for a Black Friday deal in my etsy store. You can purchase through my etsy mini to the right. Made with Shea butter and aloe, this soap is gentle and nourishing for the skin. 
