The essential oil of sandalwood, with its exotic, sweet and woody fragrance, is extracted from the wood pieces of the sandalwood tree through a process of steam distillation. In order for the oil to be powerful and have high medicinal value, the tree must be at least 40-80 years old before the roots can be harvested. The older the tree, the stronger the aroma of the essential oil extracted will be.

Traditionally, sandalwood has been used in religious rituals and traditions particularly in India and other Eastern countries. It is undoubtedly considered sacred, holy and highly valuable, as it is included in weddings and even during the births of babies. It is also included in yogic rituals and traditions to achieve an awakening and balancing of the senses.

Read on to find out more on why sandalwood essential oil is so potent and useful, and you just might be convinced to get a bottle for yourself!

Health Benefits of Sandalwood Essential Oil:

1. Soothes the Mind

Sandalwood oil has been in use since many centuries ago in Hindu, Buddhist and ancient Egyptian ceremonies as it was widely believed to be able to relieve depression and restlessness so as to promote greater mental clarity, inner peace and spirituality.

In today’s times, this therapeutic benefit of sandalwood oil is still of immense and great value to many of us all. Being a memory booster, it seeks to provide mental clarity as it helps clear your mind and promotes focus as well as concentration. This makes it perfect for those who have to concentrate on an important exam or need to make crucial life decisions.

A 2006 study found in PubMed found that sandalwood oil elevated pulse rate, skin conductance level and systolic blood pressure while facilitating an increased level of attentiveness and mood levels, thus having a heightened sense of cognitive clarity.

In addition to providing a boost for concentration levels, it helps to ease anxiety, tension and stress. Its sedative qualities makes you feel relaxed and peaceful, thus promoting calm and truly inducing a state of inner peace. This helps to rid you of any feelings of depression or self-doubt as it provides a boost to your mood and augments your emotional as well as mental health.

A 2006 study published in the Journal of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice revealed how sandalwood oil helped a small sample of patients who were receiving palliative care to feel much more relaxed, at ease and less anxious, thus supporting the notion that the oil is effective in reducing anxiety.

While these two qualities of being a stimulant for mental focus and providing calm might appear contradictory, it makes sense because unlike lavender oil which promotes drowsiness, sandalwood oil fosters a sense of calmness and peace which makes your mind clear, thus making you concentrate fully.

2. Helps to Prevent Skin Infections

Sandalwood oil is also an antibacterial and antiviral agent, thus helping to prevent infections incurred on the skin. Coupled with its anti-inflammatory benefits, it can help reduce inflammation and redness arising from wounds, warts, boils or even pimples.

Thus, it serves as a potent antiseptic agent to protect your wounds from becoming septic and from developing infections, which can complicate the healing process.

A 1999 study published in Phytomedicine found that sandalwood oil actually inhibited the replication of the Herpes simplex viruses-1 and -2, while showing no signs of cytotoxicity, thus illustrating its safe antibacterial nature.

3. Provides Respiratory Relief

Sandalwood essential oil works as a great expectorant as well, thus it is great and effective in treating coughs, colds and flu. Its antispasmodic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agents all work together to soothe painful coughing spells and helps combat bacteria, viruses and infections in the respiratory system.

This hence facilitates a much faster and speedy recovery as well as provides much relief from congestion of the respiratory tracts, allowing you to breathe easier.

4. Promotes Skin Health

Sandalwood is also able to treat various skin problems and disorders because of its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory nature as it helps to kill off bacteria and soothe red, inflamed skin. For example, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found that a topical blend of salicylic acid and sandalwood oil from Australia resulted in notable reductions in lesion counts in the patients, with the treatment being well tolerated by patients.

It also contains much antioxidants to help fight off free radical damage and promote a healthy skin! Coupled with its astringent qualities, it facilitates a tightening of the skin and prevents loose or sagging skin, as well as inhibit the formation of wrinkles, thus warding off signs of premature ageing.

Not only that, there have been studies supporting the notion that sandalwood oil can actually help prevent skin cancer! A study published in 1997, in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention investigated the chemopreventive effects of sandalwood oil in chemically-induced skin cancer in mice subjects. They found that the oil significantly decreased the incidence of tumors by 67%, decreased the growth of the tumors by 96% and inhibited enzyme activity which were associated with cancer by 70%, thus making it a potential chemopreventive agent against skin cancer.

Also, a 2015 study conducted by researchers in South Dakota State University in the US found that sandalwood oil and the alpha-santalol compound in the oil led to the death of cancer cells of melanoma, non-melanoma, breast and prostate cancer, thus suggesting that it can possibly have strong anticancer potential.

However, further research still needs to be carried out to find out exactly how to incorporate sandalwood oil in cancer prevention treatments, but such initial results are undoubtedly promising, and they could one day revolutionize skin cancer treatments!

5. Promotes Detoxification

Sandalwood oil is also a diuretic as it has relaxing and anti-inflammatory properties, which means it eases inflammation in the urinary system and facilitates relaxation, which allows for the easy passageway of urine. It also promotes increased quantity and frequency of urination. Therefore, toxic substances like urea, uric acid, excess salts, fats and water will be flushed out from the body, leaving your body healthy and disease-free.

6. Helps Reduce Blood Pressure Levels

Being a hypotensive, sandalwood essential oil is great for those who are suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension. It protects heart health and decreases blood pressure to a healthy level, thus reducing the risks of diseases like cardiovascular ailments or even stroke, which can be life-threatening.

How to Use Sandalwood Essential Oil?

Now that you have read about the wonderful and truly amazing benefits of sandalwood essential oil, here are some of the ways you can use it in your daily life to reap its benefits and effects.

• Direct Inhalation: You can try inhaling the oil directly from the bottle, especially to promote relaxation, calm and mental clarity.

• Diffuser: You can also add a few drops of the oil into your diffuser or vaporizer and place it around your house or on your work desk table to boost concentration levels and improve alertness.

• Topically: When mixed with a carrier oil (such as almond, grapeseed or jojoba oil) in a 1:1 ratio, you can apply it topically onto your skin so as to treat skin conditions or help treat skin infections. You can even rub it on your chest to provide some respiratory relief.

• Steam Inhalation: You can even create a steam inhalation by adding 4-5 drops of the oil in a bowl of hot, steaming water and inhale the vapors emanating out. This is especially for those who are suffering from respiratory ailments.

• In the Bath: You can even add 4-5 drops of the oil in a tub of warm, bathing water and soak inside to relax or to induce the other positive, internal effects on the body.

• The best way to get mental clarity however, is to apply 2-4 drops of the oil to the ankles and wrist area when you are feeling very stressed or highly overwhelmed. This will help you manage your emotional and mental health, and maintain your alertness levels. Be sure to dilute it with a carrier oil first though!

• You can even add a few drops of it to a log before burning it in the fireplace, or add a few drops of it on the radiator to give off the woody and sweet fragrance in your homes, thus making your home very cozy indeed!

Safety Precautions:

• When applying it topically, be sure to dilute it with a carrier oil first, especially because some people have experienced minor skin irritations after usage.

• Be sure to do a skin patch test first to ensure no sensitive or allergic reactions crops up.

• If you are pregnant, have any pre-existing medical conditions and are under prescribed medication or have any severe allergies, it is best to consult your doctor and seek for his/her professional medical advice before using sandalwood essential oil as a form of treatment.

• It is not recommended to ingest sandalwood oil.

Sandalwood oil blends well with bergamot, black pepper, lavender, myrrh, rose, vetiver, ylang-ylang and geranium essential oils for aromatherapy purposes.

References:

Gaye Kyle, “Evaluating the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing levels of anxiety in palliative care patients: Results of a pilot study”, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2006); 12(2)

Eva Hueberger, Tapanee Hongratanaworakit, Gerhard Buchbauer, “East Indian Sandalwood and a-Santalol Odor Increase Physiological and Self-Rated Arousal in Humans”, Planta Med (2006)

F. Benencia, M.C. Courreges, “Antiviral activity of sandalwood oil against Herpes simplex viruses-1 and -2”, Phytomedicine (1999); 6(2)

Moy RL, et al., “Single-center, open-label study of a proprietary topical 0.5% salicylic acid-based treatment regimen containing sandalwood oil in adolescents and adults with mild to moderate acne”, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology (2012); 11(12)

Dwivedi C, Abu-Ghazaleh A, “Chemopreventive effects of sandalwood oil on skin papillomas in mice”, European Journal of Cancer Prevention (1997); 6(4)

Santha S, Dwivedi C, “Anticancer Effects of Sandalwood (Santalum album)”, Anticancer Research (2015); 35(6)