Cannabis concentrates vary in texture, taste, potency, and extraction method used, each with their own pros and cons. From waxes to budders, and crumbles to oils, extracts come in all shapes and sizes. Rosin is one of the most sought-after concentrate types for its potency, flavor, and accessibility. Rosin is one of the few extracts you can make at home without risking setting the house on fire. Plus, it doesn’t take a lot of money to make your own rosin dabs.

What is rosin?

rosin dabs

What is rosin?

Rosin extracts are made using a combination of pressure and heat to squeeze out the therapeutic resin found on the cannabis flower’s trichomes (cannabinoid and terpene-rich glands). Rosin can also be made from other starting material including bubble hash, kief, and trim. While a hair straightener can do the trick, serious extractors will use a rosin press machine or other state-of-the-art rosin tech.

Making rosin is extremely quick. Concentrate users can go from pressing to consuming in a matter of minutes. The average cannabis user only needs a hair straightener and a bit of parchment paper to collect their rosin extract. Cannabinoids can also be extracted using temperature-controlled rosin tech, which can be a considerably more expensive investment.

Rosin vs. live rosin

Live Rosin

Live Rosin

Curious cannabis consumers may have come across the term “live rosin,” which is very similar to traditional rosin, at their local dispensary. Instead of using dried flower buds, kief or hash, extraction technicians use fresh or frozen flower buds to produce live rosin. Fresh and frozen buds, like with live resin, contain a strain’s peak terpene levels making the final product more flavorful and pungent.

Live rosin manufacturers usually use bubble hash made from frozen or fresh flowers due to the low water content in bubble hash. Pressing live or freshly frozen cannabis buds differs from pressing dried buds. Fresh buds produce steam and boiling water when compressed, producing a harsh tasting and smelling product.

Bubble hash is a solventless extract that uses water and ice to agitate the trichomes on the flower buds. By the end of the agitation process, the separated trichomes are collected and allowed to cure for peak potency and aroma. Live rosin can test up to 85 percent cannabinoid concentration and up to 15 percent terpene content or higher.

Apart from the difference in terpene levels, live rosin tends to have a more opaque hue resembling honey or wax extracts. Some live rosin can also have a grainy texture, which makes it a bit trickier to load onto a dab nail or vape pen. Regardless of extract choice, live rosin and rosin provide a potent and flavorful experience without the need for solvents.

Solventless vs. solvent-based extracts

hash rosin

Unlike other cannabis concentrates, solventless rosin doesn’t require a solvent-based chemical process to remove cannabinoids and terpenes. Instead, rosin tech uses heat and pressure to compress the resinous sap from cannabis flower, bubble hash, or kief. Solvent-based extracts use hydrocarbons like butane and propane, which can leave behind harmful residual particulates in the final product if it is not adequately purged.

Visually, rosin resembles other extracts like shatter, but unlike shatter, rosin doesn’t contain butane, propane, ethanol, or other chemicals. A rosin heat press doesn’t require solvents to strip away cannabinoids from plant material, which makes rosin dabs an accessible extract. Finally, rosin tech is a much safer extraction method for hobbyists.

How to make rosin

Concentrate users that want to make rosin don’t need a science degree to understand the process. Essentially, the application of heat and pressure melts the cannabinoids and terpenes into a consumable resin. There may be more plant particulates in the final product, especially if using a hair straightener, but rosin tech makes up for it with its ease of use and efficiency.

Rosin can be made using a variety of tools. Prospective rosin makers will choose an appropriate rosin pressing tool based on how much final product they need. First-timers can start off by using household items like a hair straightener. Here’s exactly what you’ll need:

  • A tong-style hair straightener or flat iron with a low setting of 300 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Higher temperatures can burn off terpenes with lower boiling points.
  • Starting material like cannabis flower, kief, bubble hash, or trim
  • Unbleached parchment paper (never use wax paper because the wax will infuse into your final product)
  • Collection tool or dabber
  • (Optional) Heat resistant gloves to avoid burning yourself with the rosin tech
  • (Optional) Bar clamp for higher quantities and to maintain pressure on the rosin press
  • (Optional) Micromesh/silkscreen filter to keep plant matter out of the rosin

Method 1 — Hair straightener


Most users will try their hand at making rosins by using a hair straightener. Some well-known models have minimum temperatures that will render rosins uncomsumable. For these models, users will have to heat the straightener, turn it off, and use a heat gun to check for the ideal rosin pressing temperature. Other smaller and more budget-friendly hair straighteners have low-enough temperature settings to press rosin. These models, however, are made with more brittle material that can be affected by regular usage.

Step 1

Turn the hair straightener to its lowest setting, generally, between 280 and 330 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut out a small piece of parchment paper (enough to hold the starting material) and fold it in half. Put the cannabis material in the middle of the folded paper and lightly press it closed.

Step 2

Place the paper and bud in between the hair straightener and ensure that the starting material is making indirect contact with the hair straightener. Apply hard pressure on the cannabis material for about 3 to 8 seconds until you hear a sizzle. That’s an indicator that the resin has melted.

Step 3

Remove the parchment paper and rosin from the hair straightener and unfold your parchment paper. Separate the compressed bud and remove the sticky rosin with a collection tool. The collection tool can also be used to remove any plant particles that are left. Users can also place the resulting rosin on a cold surface or non-stick silicone container to make it more manageable.

Method 2: Use a rosin press for larger quantites

For those wanting to carry out rosin extraction in larger quantities, rosin heat press machines enable extractors to place starting material between two heated plates. The plates press together leaving behind amber-colored rosin. Some rosin tech press models will come with temperature and pressure controls and LCD interfaces.

In just a few easy steps, cannabis consumers can transform their favorite, trichome-encrusted flower buds into potent and flavorful rosin dabs. The only disadvantage with rosin is that it can degrade quicker than other concentrates. The best way to store rosin is in an airtight and UV-protected container stored in a cool, dry, and dark place. All of the efforts are worth it to make cannabinoid-rich rosin dabs.

How to make live rosin

The process for making live rosin is exactly the same as the method for how to make rosin above. The only difference is that live rosin starts with freshly harvested buds, rather than cannabis that’s been dried and cured.

Article contents

  1. What is rosin?
  2. Rosin vs. live rosin
  3. Solventless vs. solvent-based extracts
  4. How to make rosin

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