Sandalwood Essential Oil

Sandalwood is a tree with a highly aromatic wood. It is economically and culturally important to many countries around the Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean regions where it grows or is traded. The wood is prized for making furniture, ornaments, sacred objects, carvings and joss sticks (incense). The essential oil is used in medicine, perfume and aromatherapy. Sandalwood oil is one of the most used perfume materials in the world, with over four millenia of historically proven continual use. It was formerly used as a pharmaceutical disinfectant, but its use has been discontinued due to the expense of the oil.

It is current in Ayurvedic medicine for urinary and respiratory infections, as well as for chronic and acute diarrhea. Therapeutically, it is used for treatment of stomache aches, vomiting, gonorrhea, and skin complaints in Chinese traditional medicine. In aromatherapy the oil is mostly prized for its skin care benefits for acne, chapped and cracked skin, aftershave rash (razorburn), and greasy skin. The circulatory system is the body's main system of transport.

Although there is continual research into the specific pathways and effectiveness of each oil, essential oils are generally absorbed into the circulatory system via absorption through the skin or mucous membranes. Once the oil molecules have entered the bloodstream they travel throughout the body and effect it according to their properties.Sandalwood (Santalum album) is a small evergreen tree that grows up to 30 feet with leathery leaves and small purple-pink flowers.

The essential oil is steam distilled from the dried and powdered roots and heartwood of trees that are at least 30 years old. It is indigenous to tropical Asia with India producing the highest quality oils in Mysore and Tamil Nadu for global export. China also produces substantial quantities of sandalwood oil, but it is all under contract to the Japanese. Other species are found in Australia, the West Indies, and Africa, but they are considered inferior to the quality of the oil from India.