Writing this here because I am rather gobsmacked by the beneficial effect that East Indian Sandalwood oil has on the skin. I've used it for a long time in beard oils and other products but recently gave some of the neat essential oil to my brother in law and my mother to use (amongst others):
My brother in law has heavily scarred skin on his arms from a lifetime of bad decisions and to say it made some improvement to the appearance on his arms would be a serious understatement. I saw this with my own eyes and it left me highly impressed. He applied it daily after showering.
After seeing that, I gave some to my mother. She had a large nasty mole/lesion on her side. She's been putting sandalwood oil onto a cottonball and taping it to this mole. After about ten days of application in this fashion, she claims the mole has disappeared.
Additionally, my in house sales person at work is a sandalwood and patchouli maven. She claims the bottle I gave her has resolved some persistent skin issues on her hands. Likewise with the girl at the local bakery--she claimed her skin rash was resolved (even got free bread off of her as thanks til I said enough's enough!).
While none of this is a double blind medical study by any stretch, there seems to be some sort of (considerable) positive impact on the skin across multiple people for a variety of conditions.
Curious to hear other people's experiences with sandalwood and skincare.
Right next to the field of Perfumery - an aesthetic enjoyment of Aromatics, lies the field of Aromatherapy - a Medicine made by all the beneficial healing properties of aromatic essences and their source plants; and while the term 'Aromatherapy' itself is only a hundred years old, the medicinal use of the aromatic plants for Health benefits counts many thousands of years, and perhaps just as old as the use of aromatics as incense and offerings in spiritual practices and cult rituals. By the time of ancient Egypt, ancient China and ancient India, the medicinal use of aromatics was already established and well-documented.
Sandalwood has been used by humanity for seven thousands of years at least, was mentioned as important aromatic substance in Rigveda - 2500 years ago, and the earliest detailed prescription of Sandlawood ('Candana' in Sanskrit of ancient India) as a beneficial medication for skin conditions was in one of the oldest medicinal books in existence - 'Charaka Samhita' - nearly two thousand years ago.
Once the extraction methods became perfected enough to produce pure distilled essence, Sandalwood's wonderful properties could be appreciated in their maximally effective, concentrated form - free from fibers and wood pulp. Sandalwood essence has been very well studied by the modern science in the course of the last century, only to verify and expand its excellent medicinal merits - certainly not limited only for skin.
But as the skin goes, South Indian Sandalwood (Santalum albun) - considered the pharmacological standard - is one of the mildest and most tolerated aromatic essences there is - suitable even for little children, pregnant women and over-sensitive individuals. Such delicacy allows its oil to be applied more liberally than many other materials, and without any strict limitations in concentrations - even in its neat form - to soothe any irritations, to heal wounds, to reduce inflammations and pamper delicate and aging skin.
Sandalwood essence is useful in treatment in lung conditions - chronic as acute; it is important relaxant for nervous system, effective and sophisticated anti-depressant, as well as anti-anxiety medication; and the aphrodisiac properties of Sandalwood were well-established long before modern clinical research was possible, but it proved its effectiveness.
The boundary between the perfumery aesthetic use and the medicinal-pharmacological use is in the dosage and the regularity - while a fragrant effect can be created with a single drop, any medical condition requires much more significant amounts and to be applied with frequent regularity.
For the medicinal uses the genuine superior quality and the absolute purity of the essence used is of the crucial importance, of Sandalwood just as of any other aromatic essence playing role in the Therapy - and tracing pharma-grade essences is a path somewhat divergent form the perfumery market; and while the pharma-grade essence can be used as fragrance material, it does not work automatically the other way around - so always make sure, that your essence is compatible for the medicinal uses.
I thought to add my commentary since I was a professional Aromatherapist (and an academic professor for it, for many years) - before fully moving into Perfumery realm; and that's why I'd like to emphasize -
any serious medical conditions should be treated under the guidance of medical professionals - better those who are specialized in Aromatherpy - if one chooses the medicine of aromatics to be his medicine of choise (like many real royals did and still do); and while genuine Sandalwood essence is indeed one of the mildest and nicest aroma-materials there is, for the Medicine to be effective and safe, it still needs to be done properly.
But skincare with Sandalwood oil and products containing it - is great and a pure joy in any form and shape.
