Rose concrete

Fresh rose petals, honey, beeswax, a green calyx edge. Rounder and warmer than rose oil; waxy and floral notes last long, with less diffusion than the absolute.

Rose has no dedicated standard in the IFRA 51 index. Methyl eugenol, naturally present in rose, is under an IFRA restriction standard (2023) and Annex III limits in the EU. Citronellol, geraniol and eugenol are EU-labelled allergens above threshold.

EU Regulation 2023/1545 adds rose flower oil and extract to the allergens that must be labelled above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.

Concrete is a solid wax and needs gentle warming. Store sealed, dark and cool.

A concrete is the first product of extracting flowers with a non-polar solvent such as hexane. The solvent dissolves the essential oil, waxes and pigments of the petals. After solvent recovery a solid or semi-solid waxy mass remains. Washing the concrete with alcohol, chilling and filtering out the waxes gives the absolute.

Two rose species supply most concrete: Rosa damascena, grown in the Kazanlak rose valley in Bulgaria and the Isparta region in Turkey, and Rosa centifolia, grown in Morocco and around Grasse in France. The picking season is short, around May to June. Flowers are picked by hand in early morning, when aromatic content is high, and must be processed the same day.

Damask rose is also distilled for oil (otto). Distillation loses most of the 2-phenylethanol to the distillation water. Solvent extraction keeps it, so concrete and absolute smell of fresh petals and honey, unlike otto.

Most concrete is turned into absolute at the production site. Some is sold as is for solid perfumes, balms and soap, where the natural waxes are not a problem.

In perfumery rose concrete is rarely used in alcohol-based perfume because it dissolves poorly. It is valued as the source of the absolute and as a material for oil and wax based products.