Sandalwood is a luxurious essential oil with a soft, sweet, and woody scent that is characteristic of Oriental perfumes and incense. It is often referred to as “liquid gold” and is one of the most expensive essential oils in the world. Sandalwood belongs to the woody fragrance family and is distinctive by its woody character with notes coming from bark and roots. It is a base note in many perfumes and is often used to give perfumes more body, longevity, richness, velvety woodiness, creamy-milky softness, and fixative properties. Sandalwood oil retains a prominent place in many traditional medicines due to its purifying nature, having demonstrated anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative activity in controlled laboratory studies. It is also reputed to help manage feelings of discomfort due to headaches, coughs, colds, and indigestion, promoting feelings of relaxation.
Positive:
- Soft, sweet, and woody scent
- Highly valued and costly
- Promotes relaxation
- Demonstrated anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative activity
Negative:
- Overharvesting has reduced its applications
- Most expensive essential oils in the world
Ingredients or materials:
- Sandalwood oil is the natural product that is highly valued and costly.
- Synthetic substitutes such as isobornyl cyclohexanol, Givaudan’s Javanol, Sandalore, Sandela, Ebanol, Pashminol, Firmenich’s Polysantol, Firsantol, Dartanol, IFF’s Bacdanol, Santaliff, Sanjinol, Sandiff, Symrise’s Brahmanol, Mysore Acetate, Takasago’s Hindinol, are used in perfumery to replicate the sandalwood smell.
Note: Sandalwood fragrance oil is also available for purchase, but it is not a natural essential oil.
