Roghan e Gul, Banafsha and Babuna: Why the Rose Oil Smells of Sesame
Roghan e gul (rose oil, roghan gul), roghan banafsha (violet oil) and roghan babuna (chamomile oil) are not essential oils. Each is a plain sesame oil in which dried flowers were steeped and cooked, which is why a small Unani bottle costs a fraction of true rose oil, and why the rules for using it are closer to a massage oil than a perfume ingredient.
The short version
- What they are: infused carrier oils: dried flowers plus sesame oil (roghan kunjad), heated, strained, bottled
- Names: Roghan e Gul / Duhn al Ward (Rosa damascena); Roghan e Banafsha (Viola odorata); Roghan e Babuna (Matricaria chamomilla, some makers use Anthemis nobilis)
- Traditional job: Gul and Banafsha for the head, dryness and sleep; Babuna for aching joints and ear pain
- Honest expectation: a pleasant scalp or joint massage oil; the flower adds scent and tradition, the sesame does most of the physical work
- Safety flag: patch test, never in the ear, never dripped into a child’s nose, and a bad headache is a doctor’s job
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What is roghan e gul, and why does it smell of sesame?
Open a bottle of Hamdard-style roghan gul and most people are surprised. It does not smell like a rose garden. It smells like til oil with a faint, dusty floral note behind it. That is correct, not a defect.
The label tells the story. Roghan Banafsha from the same tradition lists just two things, gul banafsha (violet flowers) and roghan kunjad (sesame oil), and roghan gul is built the same way with gul e surkh (red Damask rose petals). The classical method soaks the dried petals in the oil, warms the mixture gently until the petals turn crisp, strains them out and repeats with a fresh batch if a stronger oil is wanted. A pharmacopoeial recipe for roghan banafsha uses about 300 g of flowers to 3 litres of oil, so the finished product is roughly a tenth flower by weight, more in some makers’ versions. Dried petals hold very little oil-soluble scent, so almost none of it carries across.
True rose essential oil (rose otto) is a different product entirely. It is distilled from fresh petals, needs thousands of flowers for a few millilitres, and sells for the price of gold by weight. The two share a name and nothing else.
The pansari’s nose test: strong rose smell means added fragrance
Genuine infused roghan gul smells mostly of sesame with a whisper of flower. If a bottle smells powerfully of rose, the maker added rose fragrance or synthetic rose compound, because steeped petals cannot produce that on their own. The same logic applies to roghan banafsha: real violet flowers give almost no scent to oil, so a sweet “violet” perfume is an additive. Neither added scent is dangerous by itself, but you are paying for perfumed sesame oil, and perfumed oils are more likely to irritate sensitive skin.
Second check, for any of the three: smell for rancidity. Sesame oil keeps well, but once it oxidises it smells like old crayons or putty. That bottle is finished, whatever flower is on the label. Keep the oils capped, out of sunlight, away from the stove, and finish an opened bottle within a year.
Names in English, Urdu and the Unani books
- Roghan e Gul (also rogan gul, roghan gulab, Duhn al Ward in Arabic): infused Damask rose oil, Rosa damascena petals in sesame.
- Roghan e Banafsha (rogan banafsha, violet oil): sweet violet, Viola odorata, flowers in sesame. Not African violet, which is a houseplant and a different family.
- Roghan e Babuna (rogan babuna, babuna sada, chamomile oil): chamomile flowers in sesame. Most Indo-Pak makers list Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile). Some older recipes and some Pakistani labels use Anthemis nobilis, the Roman chamomile. Both are daisy-family flowers used the same way.
- Roghan e Hina (rogan hina, henna oil): sesame infused with henna leaves or flowers, Lawsonia inermis. It is covered in a box below because people confuse it with mehndi for hair.
“Sada” on a babuna bottle means plain: chamomile and oil only. “Khas” or a compound name means other herbs were cooked in too, usually warming ones, and that moves the product toward the pain oils described in our guide to Unani roghan for joints.
What tradition says each oil is for
Unani physicians sort medicines by temperament. Rose and violet are described as cold and moist, so their oils were rubbed into the scalp and temples for “hot, dry” complaints: a head that feels hot, dryness, restlessness at night, and the kind of headache that comes with heat and sun. Violet oil in particular was the bedtime oil, warmed slightly and massaged into the head. Chamomile is placed on the warm side, so roghan babuna went to the joints, the lower back, and the ear and jaw for aching, and was mixed into poultices.
What the evidence actually supports
Reasonably supported: massage itself. Rubbing the scalp or a sore joint for ten minutes relaxes muscle tension and helps people wind down. Sesame oil is a decent, cheap moisturiser for dry skin and a dry scalp.
Preliminary: the flowers. Chamomile has a long research record for calming and skin-soothing effects, but the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health sums it up plainly: the trials have not produced enough reliable evidence to say it works for any specific condition. A small Iranian trial tested an oil of violet, saffron and lettuce seed as nose drops for chronic insomnia against plain sesame oil, which tells us the tradition is being studied, not that a scalp rub is proven.
Tradition only: “strengthens the brain”, “removes dryness of the brain”, “dries nazla”, “relieves early meningitis”. The last one is worth stopping on.
Unsafe wording: any label or seller that mentions meningitis. Meningitis is an emergency. Fever with a stiff neck, a severe headache with vomiting, confusion, a rash that does not fade under a glass, or a child who is floppy and will not feed means hospital now. No oil belongs anywhere in that story.
How people use them at home (and the amounts that make sense)
These are external oils. They are not drunk, and the household amounts below are for skin and hair, not medicine.
- Patch test first, every new bottle. Rub a drop the size of a lentil onto the inner forearm, leave 24 hours, and use only if there is no redness or itch. Sesame allergy is real and growing, and allergic contact dermatitis to sesame oil in topical remedies is documented in the medical literature.
- Scalp, for sleep or a tension headache (Gul or Banafsha): pour 1 to 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 ml) into a small steel bowl, stand the bowl in hot tap water for 2 minutes so the oil is barely warm, then massage with fingertips in slow circles for 10 minutes. Leave it an hour or overnight on a towel-covered pillow, wash out with normal shampoo.
- Temples, for a tight head: a few drops on the fingertips, small circles over the temples and the base of the skull for 3 to 5 minutes. Keep it away from the eyes; it stings.
- Joints (Babuna): about a teaspoon per knee or shoulder, rubbed for 5 minutes, then a warm cloth over the top for 15 minutes. Use on intact skin only.
Real versus fake: what to check on the bottle
- The ingredient line should be short. One flower plus sesame oil (roghan kunjad or Sesamum indicum). Mineral oil, “liquid paraffin” or an unnamed “base oil” means a cheaper, non-traditional product that will also not go rancid the same way, which is why it can sit on a shelf for years.
- Colour. Infused rose and violet oils are pale gold to amber, the colour of the sesame. A pink roghan gul or a purple roghan banafsha has dye in it.
- Price. Flower-infused sesame oil is cheap to make. A roghan gul priced like a perfume is trading on the word “rose”. A rose essential oil priced like roghan gul is not rose essential oil.
- Enlistment. In Pakistan, look for a DRAP enlistment number on herbal products; our guide explains how to check a DRAP enlisted herbal product.
Nothing on this list proves purity. Only a lab can confirm the oil is sesame and the fragrance is from petals. The checks above tell you when to walk away, not when to trust.
Allergy: sesame allergy can show up on skin as well as from food; chamomile belongs to the daisy family and cross-reacts with ragweed, mugwort and marigold pollen allergy, so hay fever sufferers in that group should patch test with extra care or skip babuna. Ears: never pour any oil into the ear for earache, including roghan babuna sold “for ear pain”. A perforated drum or an infection behind it can be made worse, and the oil hides what a doctor needs to see. The ear drop myth is explained in our roghan zaitoon guide. Noses: no oil drops in a child’s nose; oil that slips into the airway of a small child can cause a chemical pneumonia. Pregnancy and breastfeeding: a scalp or joint rub is low risk, but there is little safety data on chamomile, so keep it modest and skip it if in doubt. Broken skin, eczema flares and the eyes: keep all three oils off. Headache red flags that need a doctor, not oil: a sudden headache that is the worst of your life, headache with fever and a stiff neck, headache after a head injury, headache with weakness, slurred speech, confusion or vision loss, headache that wakes you at night or keeps getting worse, or any new headache over 50. A headache after a fall or a bang on the head is an emergency.
The roghan hina mix-up
Roghan hina is henna-infused sesame oil, sold in the same row at the pansari. It does not dye hair. Lawsone, the orange dye in henna, needs a wet paste and hours of contact to bind; a few leaves steeped in oil give an oil that is faintly green and smells of henna, nothing more. Tradition rubs it on the head for “heat” and on the feet for burning soles. If you want coloured hair or a conditioned beard, you want a henna paste, not this bottle. If you want a cooling-scented massage oil, it is fine, with the same patch test and the same rules as the three above.
Questions people ask about these flower oils
Roghan e gul ke fayde kya hain?
Honestly stated: a gentle, pleasant oil for scalp and temple massage, a moisturiser for dry skin, and a traditional bedtime ritual. The massage helps you relax and may ease a tension-type headache for a while. Claims that it feeds the brain, fixes insomnia or heals the eyes are tradition, not demonstrated effects.
Roghan e gul benefits for hair and skin, is it true?
Partly. The sesame base softens a dry scalp and reduces flaking from dryness, and it conditions hair like any oil. The rose adds scent and little else. It will not regrow hair or change hair colour, and on oily, acne-prone facial skin a sesame oil can clog pores.
What is roghan banafsha in English, and what is it used for?
Violet oil, sweet violet (Viola odorata) flowers infused in sesame oil. Traditionally it is warmed and massaged into the scalp at bedtime for dryness, restlessness and heat headaches. The violet herb itself, used for coughs and nazla, is a separate subject covered in our banafsha and gaozaban guide.
Roghan babuna oil uses, is it for joints or the head?
Joints, mostly. Chamomile is counted as warming in Unani, so roghan babuna goes on aching knees, shoulders, the lower back and the jaw, usually with a warm cloth over it. Gul and banafsha are the head oils. People do use babuna on the temples too, and nothing stops you; it is simply not its traditional role.
Roghan babuna sada vs khas, what is the difference?
Sada is plain: chamomile and sesame oil only. Khas (or a compound name) means extra herbs were cooked in, usually warming ones. The compound versions act more like the general pain oils and are more likely to irritate skin, so patch test them with more care.
What is the difference between roghan gul and rose essential oil?
Everything except the name. Roghan gul is sesame oil with dried petals steeped in it; it is mild, cheap, and can go on skin as it is. Rose essential oil is distilled from fresh petals, extremely concentrated and expensive, and must be diluted heavily before it touches skin. The essential oil dilution chart does not apply to roghan gul, but a patch test still does.
Can roghan banafsha be put in the ear or nose?
No. Nothing goes into the ear for earache, however traditional; an infection or a perforated drum can be worsened and the oil hides the view. Oil drops in a child’s nose risk the oil slipping into the lungs. Keep these oils on the scalp, temples and body.
Roghan e gul price, why is it cheap when rose oil is expensive?
Because it contains no rose essential oil. The costly product needs vast quantities of fresh petals distilled under steam. Roghan gul needs a handful of dried petals and a litre of sesame oil. In 2026 small Hamdard-style bottles are listed on Indian pharmacy sites for a little over a hundred rupees, which tells you what is inside.
Can these oils be used on babies?
For a baby under one, a plain oil massage is the tradition, and sesame is a common choice, but add nothing scented or herbal, patch test first, and keep oil away from the face, nose and ears. For an older child a little roghan gul on the scalp at bedtime is low risk after a patch test. Never add camphor or balm.
How to use roghan gul for headache?
Warm a teaspoon or two slightly, massage the scalp and temples slowly for about ten minutes, then rest in a dim room with water to drink. That routine helps a tension headache. A sudden severe headache, one with fever and stiff neck, or one after a head injury is for a doctor, not for oil. Our headache guide covers what else helps.
What is roghan hina?
Henna leaves or flowers infused in sesame oil, used traditionally for a “hot head” and burning feet. It does not colour hair; henna dyes only as a wet paste left on for hours. Treat it as a scented massage oil with the usual patch test.
Bottom line
Roghan e gul, roghan banafsha and roghan babuna are flower-infused sesame oils, cheap for a reason. Known: they moisturise, they smell faintly of their flower, and a slow massage with them is calming. Tradition: cooling the head, dryness, sleep, aching joints. Uncertain: whether the flower adds anything measurable to the sesame. The real safety issues are allergy (patch test), the ear and nose (never), and headaches with red flags, which need a clinic, not a cupboard. For the broader family of these products, see Unani & Herbal, Decoded.
Sources
- Roghan Banafsha: composition and method (gul banafsha 300 g, roghan kunjad 3 litres), external use only
- NCCIH (US NIH): Chamomile, usefulness, allergy cross-reactions and safety
- de la Torre Morín et al., 2001: clinical cross-reactivity between Artemisia vulgaris and chamomile, J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol
- Oiso et al., 2008: allergic contact dermatitis caused by sesame oil in a topical remedy, Contact Dermatitis
- Taherzadeh et al., 2020: trial of an intranasal oil of saffron, lettuce seed and sweet violet in chronic insomnia, J Ethnopharmacol
- NHS: Headaches, when to get urgent help