Sandalwood – Ceremony, Serenity & Comfort

Valued as a divine scent, sandalwood is obtained from a parasite from South Asia, after 30 years of tree maturation. Ancients used it to make perfumes and cosmetics as well as temple incense, and it is still used in many Hindu temples. In fact, it was linked to the divine by the Egyptians, who used it to venerate the Gods, as well as ancient Muslims, who believed in their afterlife, beautiful, goddess-like beings called the Houris were actually “made” of sandalwood.

Its applications throughout history have spanned both beauty and therapeutic use. For years, women of Tahiti used a mix of sandalwood oil and coconut oil to condition their hair. In ancient China, sandalwood was used for skin and digestive disorders as well as to treat gonorrhea. Present day Ayurvedic practitioners still use it for urinary and respiratory infections.

There are many different varieties of sandalwood, including West Indian sandalwood (Amyris balsamifera family Rutaceae), which contains mainly sesquiterpenes caryophyllene, and Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum), in which the oil is obtained from a diminutive tree or large bush and contains around 60 percent santalol.

However, the most therapeutic and best known variety is East Indian sandalwood oil (Santalum album family Santalaceae). It was used for religious purposes by the Hindus and Parsis. One of the most precious perfumery materials from antiquity to modern times, East Indian sandalwood oil was transported by caravans passing over Persia, Arabia and Asia into Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Santalum album is a native of the highlands of southern India and Malayan archipelago. It occurs in dry places at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. The tree grows to a height of about 60 to 65 feet, and is actually an obligate hemi parasite plant. Soon after germination of the seed, the roots attach themselves to nearby grasses, herbs or bushes, obtaining food by means of the haustorium, which leads to the death of host plant. The most suitable hosts of sandalwood trees are Cassia siamea, Pongamia glabra and Lantana acuminate. As tree grows, essential oil of sandalwood develops in the root and heartwood. The trees reach full maturity at an age of 60 to 80 years.

Whatever the variety, sandalwood essential oil is obtained by water distillation of wood chips (heartwood and sapwood) and roots.

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