If you’re looking for a natural way to relax, reduce tension, and feel more grounded, sandalwood might be the oil for you. In fact, sandalwood essential oil has proven benefits through its well-documented use in various cultures over centuries.
Keep reading to learn more about how to use sandalwood, the numerous benefits of sandalwood, and why this special oil deserves to be a part of your essential oil collection.
It’s probably not surprising to learn that sandalwood oil comes from trees. These powerful trees are highly aromatic, and the oil produced has a beautifully sweet, woody, and slightly dry aroma.
You might be surprised to learn there are different types of sandalwood, which depending on where and from what kind of tree we harvest these oils.
The types of sandalwood essential oil include:
For ease of understanding, this post will mostly focus on the first two types of sandalwood – Indian and Hawaiian.
In general, Sandalwood essential oil will have mood-enhancing effects and has excellent use in spiritual and meditation practices due to its grounding properties. It does come from a tree, after all, and trees are grounded deep into the earth with complex root systems.
If you’re curious about the science behind Sandalwood essential oil, put on your thinking cap. The powerful mood-boosting and grounding properties come from the main constituent santalol, which fall under the umbrella of sesquiterpene alcohols on the chemistry wheel.
Sandalwood has been used for centuries in various cultures and boasts a well-documented history of its use. From ancient Egyptians who used sandalwood for embalming, to its role in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sandalwood is a powerful and versatile essential oil that deserves a spot in your home.
Using a drop of Hawaiian or Indian sandalwood essential oil in your facial moisturizer will help to promote healthy-looking and glowing skin. If you’re looking to improve your skin’s complexion without harsh, toxic chemicals, sandalwood essential oil would be a great addition.
Constantly feeling overwhelmed and stressed? Sandalwood’s balancing and woodsy aroma will help to calm and settle your heightened emotions. Smell from the bottle or apply a drop to your hands, rub, and cup your hands to your nose. Take a few deep breaths and focus on the powerful calming benefits of this oil.
You may have read that sandalwood is highly praised for its grounding properties during meditation, but it’s just as powerful outside of active spiritual practice. Consider making a grounding and mood-boosting diffuser blend to help you unwind after a long day.
Sandalwood blends well with oils such as bergamot, grapefruit, geranium, and lavender. Get creative!
Like I mentioned above, sandalwood is a powerful essential oil for promoting healthy skin in terms of smoothness and inducing glow. It’s also great to help reduce the appearance of scars and skin imperfections.
Simply adding a one to two drops of sandalwood essential oil to wet hair will encourage a natural, healthy shine. Imagine the benefits alone between your skin and hair – all in one small bottle!
It’s true! A study has shown that spraying sensitive plants with a sandalwood-based solution provides additional protection against environmental threats. If this oil can help plants, imagine how it’s supporting you as well.
Sandalwood has been used for centuries in meditation practices thanks to its strong grounding properties. Whether you’re a meditation beginner or have an established practice, diffusing sandalwood during your spiritual ceremony will further enhance your ritual.
Read next: Meditation Tips for Beginners
You might have noticed that high-quality sandalwood oil is not cheap. Thankfully, it is extremely potent and powerful, so one to two drops go a long way.
There are two different ways that you can use sandalwood in your home:
Examples of aromatic use include smelling directly from the bottle and diffusing in a diffuser either alone or with other complementary oils.
With topical use – when applied directly to the skin – sandalwood essential oil is typically safe to use without a carrier oil. As with any topical oil use, it’s important to test a small patch of skin to see how you react before diving into using it all over.
If you find that you’d like to use a carrier oil, I highly recommend using a liquid and fat-based carrier such as fractionated coconut oil.
There’s something about the aroma of sandalwood that draws me to using it again and again. Between the woodsy, dry, and slightly sweet smell, it’s always something that’s instantly calming to my nervous system.
I also love that sandalwood can blend so beautifully with some of my other favorite essential oils such as bergamot, grapefruit, frankincense, jasmine, and lavender. The fact that it’s so versatile makes it a winner in my book and something that I continue to invest in time and time again.
Also, my husband is a big fan of using sandalwood in his skincare routine. I’ve enjoyed watching him create his self-care rituals and practices using this powerful oil and caring for his skin in the process.
Fun fact: emotionally, sandalwood is the oil of sacred devotion. It supports the individual using it to quiet the mind and hear the voice of the Spirit (hence its wide use in meditation). It assists the user to rise into higher levels of consciousness.
Learn more about the emotional components of essential oils with Emotions and Essential Oils.
The only major precaution to take when using sandalwood is to never take it internally. Sandalwood is safe for aromatic and topical use, but can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain when ingested.
Additionally, as I mentioned above, when trying any new oil directly on the skin, make sure to test a small patch to see how your body will react.
Alternatively, I’ve curated a small bundle of three powerful essential oils (including Indian sandalwood) to help promote relaxation, glowing skin, and an overall sense of calm. Shop the bundle now!
Before I share more about the benefits and how to use sandalwood, I need to share an important note of precaution.
Not all essential oils are created equally.
Like all supplements, essential oils are not regulated by the FDA. This lack of regulation allows companies and manufacturers to fill essential oils with whatever they’d like – often toxic fillers and chemicals – and label the final product as something else.
Please do your research and purchase essential oils from reputable companies who are certified pure and therapeutic grade quality. Additionally, their oils should be third-party tested, and you, as a consumer, should have access to those results.
I invite you to learn more about the only oil brand I use in my home.
SHOP ALL ESSENTIAL OILS NOW
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