Scents & Sensibility Newsletter - Volume II - Issue 6- February 10, 2001

Scents of Amour - Sandalwood

Sandalwood trees have been cultivated since antiquity for their yellowish heartwood, and the aromatic oil obtained from the tree and roots. This semi parasitic tree burrows its roots into other trees and is slow growing, usually taking about 30 years for the heartwood to mature enough to extract the oil. Sandalwood trees are found throughout tropical Asia and South Pacific islands. The wood of the sandalwood tree has been used to build many ancient temples and is used.

Sandalwood the Aphrodisiac

In the 4000 years of recorded accounts of Sandalwood, its aphrodisiac properties are regularly noted. Sandalwood has a sensual, oriental scent, which is both pungent and musty and is used extensively in expensive perfumes and toiletries. As an aphrodisiac sandalwood has often been used in the treatment of impotence and helps to relieve the anxiety which can lead to frigidity. Sandalwood produces something similar to androsterone, a male hormone secreted in the armpits as a sexual signal

Another reason for the popularity of Sandalwood as an aphrodisiac is its universal appeal to men and women alike being neither too feminine nor too masculine. From experience, however, we note that men will bypass other soap scents and stock up on the sandalwood soap, while women comprise only 30% of our sandalwood sales leading to the conclusion that men may favor sandalwood even more than women. Sandalwood's deep, woody and exotic scent blends with bergamot, frankincense, geranium, jasmine, lavender, lemon, myrrh, neroli, rose and ylang ylang.

Sandalwood the Healer

While Sandalwood has been used to purify the altars of many a temple it has also been used as an aid to meditation and to help ease the transition of the soul to the next world. Its purification uses have a basis in that it is antiseptic and astringent, fungicidal and insecticidal. Sandalwood aids kidney and urinary tract function and can be massaged into the lower back to relieve cystitis. It is particularly useful against infections caused by staph and strep bacteria and stimulates the immune system. It has anti-inflammatory benefits on eczema, boils and acne and can soften aging skin.

Psychologically it is soothing and used as an aid to meditation. It can also help break with past conflicts and obsessions.