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Sandalwood's aroma is, perhaps, one of my favorites. It's a deep, exotic-sweet-wood scent that has an immediate calming and relaxing effect. This is not a surprise since Sandalwood has been used for hundreds of years in spiritual ceremonies. The oil itself is quite thick, so it's a good thing that it takes very little to achieve the desired effect.
As mentioned above, Sandalwood is calming and sedating. Along those lines, it's antispasmodic, can decongest and open the lungs, lymph, and veins. While these attributes may not sound related, they are. As the airways and blood vessels open up, we breathe more easily and deeply, and oxygen is better circulated. This can help calm our nerves and relax us -- even help us fall asleep more easily. Perhaps the next best property of Sandalwood is its affinity for the skin. Like Patchouli, I tend to use Sandalwood more in skin care products than anything else. It can cool hot, inflamed skin issues, and help protect and maintain healthy skin. To go with that, it's antifungal and antiviral. It's can be used on Athlete's Foot, minor skin irritations, and cold sores. There are different species of Sandalwood, and because it's expensive, sometimes the oil is adulterated, so it's important to get a GC/MS report when you buy it. (The expensiveness is due to over harvesting.) Robert Tisserand recommends a topical maximum of 2 % dilution (12 drops per ounce of carrier oil).
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 Patchouli essential oil is like a fine wine -- the older it gets, the better it gets. This oil has at least a 20 year shelf life!!! It's one that people either love or hate. Funny story: A friend of mine insisted that she hated Patchouli and wanted nothing to do with it. When I was creating a skin blend for her, she agreed to have it be one of the oils she would smell in deciding her blend. She didn't look at the names of the oils before checking their aromas. When I held up the Vintage Patchouli, her reaction was an immediate "I love this one!" As it turns out, this was her favorite! Needless to say, Patchouli went into her blend.
I tend to use Patchouli more in skin blends -- for deodorants, body butters, skin serums, moisturizing blends, and scar butters -- because of it's skin healing properties. Yet, perhaps it's time to experiment with it some more. Like last weeks Palmarosa, Patchouli has cooling properties. It can help calm anxiety and lift depression for mental cooling, and it can relieve muscle spasms and tension, and reduce inflammation and pain in acute (minor) injuries or arthritis flare-ups. The high level of patchoulol (a sesquiterpenol), makes this oil antifungal and antibacterial. As an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, it also gives the oil neuroprotective properties. Even better -- there are no known safety issues with Patchouli. Patchouli essential oil has a deep, base note that's distinct and unique. It's both earthy and herbaceous but not overpowering. It reminds me of turning over the fresh dirt in my garden in springtime. If I had to choose just a few oils to stock in my EO refrigerator, Patchouli would be one of them. |
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