A blend of wormwood hydrolate, citronella and clove essential oils masks body odour and, as it dries, coats the surface of the skin with a bitter micro-film of wormwood hydrolate to help ward off mosquitoes and other annoying insects.
Wormwood hydrolat is extracted by passing water vapour through the aromatic vegetable raw material of bitter honeysuckle or wormwood (Artemisia abisinthium L.). All the organic substances in the plant that evaporate during distillation but are also water soluble are not released in the vapour, but remain dissolved in the water, so wormwood distillation water, an aromatic hydrolatte, contains water soluble aromatics that have different properties that complement the use of essential oils. The essential oil in wormwood hydrolates, which is predominantly terpenoid – oxygenated derivatives of terpenes: sabinyl acetate and thujone, acts as a gaseous insecticide through the respiratory organs of mites and other blood-sucking pests. The active ingredient in wormwood hydrate, the bitter glycoside absinthe, has internal insecticidal properties.