Sandalwood Oil

About Sandalwood Oil

Indian sandalwood (S. album) is grown on a large scale. Santalum ellipticum, S. freycinetianum, and S. paniculatum, the Hawaiian sandalwood, were also used and considered high quality. These three species were exploited between 1790 and 1825 before the supply of trees ran out (a fourth species, S. haleakalae, occurs only in subalpine areas and was never exported). Although S. freycinetianum and S. paniculatum are relatively common today, they have not regained their former abundance or size, and S. ellipticum remains rare.[1][2]Santalum spicatum (Australian sandalwood) is used by aromatherapists and perfumers. The concentration differs considerably from other Santalum species. In the 1840s, sandalwood was Western Australias biggest export earner. Oil was distilled for the first time in 1875, and by the turn of the century, production of Australian sandalwood oil was intermittent.Sandalwood oil has a distinctive soft, warm, smooth, creamy and milky precious-wood scent.