Sandalwood - What's the difference?

[Guest guest]

Hi friends,

 

Wondering what's the difference between the 3 different sandalwood EOs

below? And which is for therapeutic use?

 

1. Sandalwood Australian

Botanical Name: Santalum spicatum

Extraction Method: steam distilled

Country of Origin: Australia

 

2. Sandalwood East Indian

Botanical Name: Santalum album

Plant Part: wood

Extraction Method: steam

Country of Origin: India

 

3. Sandalwood Mysore Agmarked

Botanical Name: Santalum album

Plant Part: wood

Extraction Method: steam

Country of Origin: India

 

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

> Hi friends,

 

Hi Ben

 

 

> Wondering what's the difference between the 3 different sandalwood

EOs

> below? And which is for therapeutic use?

 

All oils have some sort of use therapeutically or spiritually. Just the

Mysore sandalwood is considered THE best stuff to have Mostly it is

used for spiritual matters, and in perfumery for its lingering scent. It

also has beneficial properties for the skin.

 

> 1. Sandalwood Australian

> Botanical Name: Santalum spicatum

> Extraction Method: steam distilled

> Country of Origin: Australia

 

Australian sandalwood is a different species from East Indian (as the

name tells) This oil is half the price of Mysore, and good for

applications where one is just seeking the scent value of sandalwood,

and wants to save some cost. Its not the one I'd choose for Aromatherapy

use. Some folks have promoted it as being more a " ecologically sound "

choice to replace Mysore sandalwood, but the tree species santalum grows

very slowly, and does not produce a good oil until it is at least 30 -

60 yrs old. In India the trees are not even allowed to legally be

removed until they are at least 30 yrs old - this is one area where the

black market problem is cropping up - to remove younger trees, which

produce a lower quality oil), so as soon as the population of Australian

sandalwood trees that are being harvested in the wild start to thin, and

even if new trees are planted they won't be useful to the industry for

about 30 years, there will be the same concerns for this species as

there are for the Indian Sandalwood.

 

> 2. Sandalwood East Indian

> Botanical Name: Santalum album

> Plant Part: wood

> Extraction Method: steam

> Country of Origin: India

 

> 3. Sandalwood Mysore Agmarked

> Botanical Name: Santalum album

> Plant Part: wood

> Extraction Method: steam

> Country of Origin: India

 

Both of the above plants are the same species, possibly just the

location where they are grown is different. As I said in the beginning,

Mysore sandalwood is considered to be THE best stuff to have.

 

There has been controversy of late regarding this one, from its over

cultivation to questions about whether it is harvested legally, etc ...

It is a very valuable wood and is heavily taxed by the Indian gov't. It

is a species used to make fine furniture, and used A LOT for religious

ceremony in the form of incense, carvings, etc ... It is a much smaller

portion of sandalwood that is specifically harvested for oil making. The

Indian government had placed sanctions on the exportation of the oil

back in 1996, which began to put the oil in very high demand. In March

of 1997 there was a fire in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which

destroyed much of that year's sandalwood crop, which put even greater

stresses on the crop and supply/demand. It takes a while for tree crops

to make recoveries from such things.

 

There are restrictions on the sandalwood trade:

 

Regulation no. 2000/17 on the Prohibition of Logging Operations and the

Export of Wood from East Timor

 

This regulation was one of the earliest legislative interventions by

UNTAET. It came into force on 08 June 2000.

 

General Prohibitions

 

The regulation set out the following prohibitions:

(a) the cutting, removal and logging of wood from land in East Timor;

(b) the export from East Timor of wood in any form, including logs,

planks, plywood or furniture, and

© the burning or any other destruction of forests.

These activities or attempts to perform these acts are offences.

 

There are certain exemptions to there restrictions too, including the

following:

 

Any person or legal entity who wished to conduct logging operations or

export wood in any form for the limited purposes of use by the

pharmaceutical industry, the cosmetics industry or " for such other

purposes and upon such conditions as deemed essential by UNTAET for the

economy of East Timor which were authorized by UNTAET Directive may

apply to the UNTAET Agricultural Affairs Unit (now the Forestry Unit of

the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests) for an exemption

to the prohibitions.

 

Now, please do keep in mind that there IS some legally exported

sandalwood oil available, just NOT A LOT of it at the moment for a

variety of reasons, some quite apparent, and some not so apparent!

 

There ARE sandalwood trees being planted, and there is a future for

sandalwood and sandalwood oil. Look at it this way, there is a lot of

money involved in this crop - OF COURSE its not going to be allowed to

totally die out or be poached away. Where there is an economic interest,

there is a way - cause the economic interest is the will (very strong

will at that) to make it happen ...

 

> Thanks!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sorry this is a bit out of date in the chain but I have not popped in

for a few days.

 

A few comments on the post on Sandalwood by Chris.

 

>Now, please do keep in mind that there IS some legally exported

>sandalwood oil available, just NOT A LOT of it at the moment

Yes, but what about the significant amount of sandalwood oil sold

which is being manufactured and sold as the real thing? Of course

none of that is sold by aromatherapy suppliers!!!

 

1. Sandalwood Australian

>Extraction Method: steam distilled<

It is not, it is solvent extracted.

 

Conservation problems with Australian trees: The biggest problem is

that the trees occur in very remote areas and grow on poor soils.

You cannot possibly replant trees in such an environment. You would

need a whole army of workers to care for the newly planted trees such

as watering them till they get established and preventing wild

creatures damaging the young trees. Believe me that just aint gonna

happen. Therefore, they are depleting a limited natural resource and

it is *not being replaced*.

 

About export regulations: People always seem to forget that you are

dealing with the kind of Governments where a few bucks slipped into a

few pockets will wave any regulation of any kind.

 

About genuine sandalwood: Legally traded sandalwood oil coming out of

India is like goldust or may even be a fantasy. If it is Indonesian

oil, people should just think back a couple of years to when a vast

area of the Earth was blanketed by smoke due to deliberate forest

burning in Indonesia. Severe health problems resulted from that all

over the Far East, particularly with breathing in children and the

elderly. Logging interests are always very strong at Government

levels. Most of the people involved are only interested in making

money by destroying the Earths resources.

 

Butch saying that Europeans ecologists should look in their own

backyards before complaining about what is happening in other

countries has little to do with this issue. If one looks at history,

then of course, many countries have pillaged the worlds resources.

That does not justify those who care not trying to prevent that

situation continuing and campaigning to stop it.

 

The simple answer: Treat sandalwood oil as of great historical

interest, but do not use it anymore, or at least not for another 50

years until some plantation trees in India may come into production

again.

 

As an aside, the pagans in this group should examine their own belief

systems which are generally to care for mother earth and her

resources.

 

Do not put your blind faith in anyone who is selling products where

such matters are concerned. Try to check facts for yourself from

sources independent of the trade selling the products. Independent

references on Rosewood and Sandalwood have been posted on this group

several times and are on my web site, Chrissie's and others.

 

Martin Watt

http://www.aromamedical.com

 

 

, " Christine Ziegler "

<chrisziggy@e...> wrote:

> > Hi friends,

>

> Hi Ben

>

>

> > Wondering what's the difference between the 3 different

sandalwood

> EOs

> > below? And which is for therapeutic use?

>

> All oils have some sort of use therapeutically or spiritually. Just

the

> Mysore sandalwood is considered THE best stuff to have Mostly it

is

> used for spiritual matters, and in perfumery for its lingering

scent. It

> also has beneficial properties for the skin.

>

> > 1. Sandalwood Australian

> > Botanical Name: Santalum spicatum

> > Extraction Method: steam distilled

> > Country of Origin: Australia

>

> Australian sandalwood is a different species from East Indian (as

the

> name tells) This oil is half the price of Mysore, and good for

> applications where one is just seeking the scent value of

sandalwood,

> and wants to save some cost. Its not the one I'd choose for

Aromatherapy

> use. Some folks have promoted it as being more a " ecologically

sound "

> choice to replace Mysore sandalwood, but the tree species santalum

grows

> very slowly, and does not produce a good oil until it is at least

30 -

> 60 yrs old. In India the trees are not even allowed to legally be

> removed until they are at least 30 yrs old - this is one area where

the

> black market problem is cropping up - to remove younger trees, which

> produce a lower quality oil), so as soon as the population of

Australian

> sandalwood trees that are being harvested in the wild start to

thin, and

> even if new trees are planted they won't be useful to the industry

for

> about 30 years, there will be the same concerns for this species as

> there are for the Indian Sandalwood.

>

> > 2. Sandalwood East Indian

> > Botanical Name: Santalum album

> > Plant Part: wood

> > Extraction Method: steam

> > Country of Origin: India

>

> > 3. Sandalwood Mysore Agmarked

> > Botanical Name: Santalum album

> > Plant Part: wood

> > Extraction Method: steam

> > Country of Origin: India

>

> Both of the above plants are the same species, possibly just the

> location where they are grown is different. As I said in the

beginning,

> Mysore sandalwood is considered to be THE best stuff to have.

>

> There has been controversy of late regarding this one, from its over

> cultivation to questions about whether it is harvested legally,

etc ...

> It is a very valuable wood and is heavily taxed by the Indian

gov't. It

> is a species used to make fine furniture, and used A LOT for

religious

> ceremony in the form of incense, carvings, etc ... It is a much

smaller

> portion of sandalwood that is specifically harvested for oil

making. The

> Indian government had placed sanctions on the exportation of the oil

> back in 1996, which began to put the oil in very high demand. In

March

> of 1997 there was a fire in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which

> destroyed much of that year's sandalwood crop, which put even

greater

> stresses on the crop and supply/demand. It takes a while for tree

crops

> to make recoveries from such things.

>

> There are restrictions on the sandalwood trade:

>

> Regulation no. 2000/17 on the Prohibition of Logging Operations and

the

> Export of Wood from East Timor

>

> This regulation was one of the earliest legislative interventions by

> UNTAET. It came into force on 08 June 2000.

>

> General Prohibitions

>

> The regulation set out the following prohibitions:

> (a) the cutting, removal and logging of wood from land in East

Timor;

> (b) the export from East Timor of wood in any form, including logs,

> planks, plywood or furniture, and

> © the burning or any other destruction of forests.

> These activities or attempts to perform these acts are offences.

>

> There are certain exemptions to there restrictions too, including

the

> following:

>

> Any person or legal entity who wished to conduct logging operations

or

> export wood in any form for the limited purposes of use by the

> pharmaceutical industry, the cosmetics industry or " for such other

> purposes and upon such conditions as deemed essential by UNTAET for

the

> economy of East Timor which were authorized by UNTAET Directive may

> apply to the UNTAET Agricultural Affairs Unit (now the Forestry

Unit of

> the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests) for an

exemption

> to the prohibitions.

>

> Now, please do keep in mind that there IS some legally exported

> sandalwood oil available, just NOT A LOT of it at the moment for a

> variety of reasons, some quite apparent, and some not so

apparent!

>

> There ARE sandalwood trees being planted, and there is a future for

> sandalwood and sandalwood oil. Look at it this way, there is a lot

of

> money involved in this crop - OF COURSE its not going to be allowed

to

> totally die out or be poached away. Where there is an economic

interest,

> there is a way - cause the economic interest is the will (very

strong

> will at that) to make it happen ...

>

> > Thanks!

>

> *Smile*

> Chris (list mom)

> http://www.alittleolfactory.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

 

aromamedical2003 [aromamedical-2]

 

 

> Sorry this is a bit out of date in the chain but I have not popped

in

> for a few days.

 

> A few comments on the post on Sandalwood by Chris.

 

>> Now, please do keep in mind that there IS some legally exported

>> sandalwood oil available, just NOT A LOT of it at the moment

 

> Yes, but what about the significant amount of sandalwood oil sold

> which is being manufactured and sold as the real thing? Of course

> none of that is sold by aromatherapy suppliers!!!

 

I never said that, implied that or disputed that point. I gave the NO

spin FACT that there is some legally exported real sandalwood available

out there - just NOT A LOT of it. Which is a true statement .

 

Actually, I presented a bunch of information about Sandalwood, the

current state of it, how it go there and what is going on legislatively

in India too. And I didn't put any kind of " seller's " spin on it, nor

did I put a " Henny Penny the Sky Is Falling " spin either ;-p

 

> 1. Sandalwood Australian

>

>>Extraction Method: steam distilled<

>

> It is not, it is solvent extracted.

 

 

I didn't write that, it was part of the original question. I don't know

an awful lot about the specifics of Aussie Sandalwood. I don't use it.

Is it ALL solvent extracted? I thought there was some steam distilled

available too. Dunno ..

 

Dennis, do you know about this one??

 

 

> Conservation problems with Australian trees: The biggest problem is

> that the trees occur in very remote areas and grow on poor soils.

> You cannot possibly replant trees in such an environment. You would

 

> need a whole army of workers to care for the newly planted trees

such

> as watering them till they get established and preventing wild

> creatures damaging the young trees. Believe me that just aint gonna

> happen. Therefore, they are depleting a limited natural resource and

 

> it is *not being replaced*.

 

I also mentioned what you talk about above, how the Australian

sandalwood is from wild trees which grow slowly and there will be the

same problems with that sandalwood as far as stresses on the crop, as

there is on the Indian .

 

 

> About export regulations: People always seem to forget that you are

 

> dealing with the kind of Governments where a few bucks slipped into

a

> few pockets will wave any regulation of any kind.

 

Yes, bribes happen. And .... ? How can we change those governments and

their procedures? Should we boycott all their goods cause we don't know

what is what behind the scenes? Politics is everywhere!

 

> About genuine sandalwood: Legally traded sandalwood oil coming out

of

> India is like goldust or may even be a fantasy.

 

How can you say that? That is misleading folks! There IS sandalwood

legally exported from India. NOT A LOT of it, but there is SOME! It is

an industry and provisions have been set up by the Indian government to

keep that industry in existence.

 

Sure there is more synthetic and adulterated stuff available, and some

smuggled or bribed stuff out there, but to say that it is fantasy or as

bogus as a real unicorn is not the fact.

 

> If it is Indonesian

> oil, people should just think back a couple of years to when a vast

> area of the Earth was blanketed by smoke due to deliberate forest

> burning in Indonesia. Severe health problems resulted from that all

> over the Far East, particularly with breathing in children and the

> elderly.

 

Indonesia has problems with some of its anti-burn policies and the gov't

enforcing them. But the finger was pointed specifically at PALM oil

plantations starting those fires as the cheapest way to clear an area,

not sandalwood oil producers. (I'll post some stuff on Palm oil later

too).

 

They've also had problems with natural forest fires - and those natural

fires destroying plantations too

 

> Logging interests are always very strong at Government

> levels. Most of the people involved are only interested in making

> money by destroying the Earths resources.

 

Not to sound doomy and gloomy, but for the most part, by existing we

destroy the earth's resources. Building homes with plenty of space for

everyone creates urban sprawl, but by packing crowds folks into sardine

can style cities we create havens of filth and pollution and stress.

People who eat meat destroy the plant by clearing land for cattle

grazing, or deplete the ocean of fish, but people who are strictly

vegetarian also put HUGE stresses and burdens on the planet too. ALL

PEOPLE put huge amounts of stress on the planet actually. By trying to

create ways to combat that, such as by creating synthetic alternatives ,

like plastics, we pollute. By creating the new GMO crops which were

designed to be able to feed the masses in less space we've created

" franken-crops " that have interfered with the ecosystem and natural

crops. By using only all natural resources, we deplete them. I suppose

all we can do is pray for more wars and disease and natural disasters to

remove the blight of ourselves from the planet, eh?

 

 

 

> Butch saying that Europeans ecologists should look in their own

> backyards before complaining about what is happening in other

> countries has little to do with this issue. If one looks at history,

 

> then of course, many countries have pillaged the worlds resources.

> That does not justify those who care not trying to prevent that

> situation continuing and campaigning to stop it.

 

Butch can defend his own statements

I say, yes we need to be conscious of our choices and the effects they

cause. But there is a LOT of spin on all that info! I don't really

believe there is too much pure black or pure white in this world, and it

takes a lot of digging and experience to see all the shades of gray and

figure out what color it all really is and where in the spectrum it

falls.

 

 

> The simple answer: Treat sandalwood oil as of great historical

> interest, but do not use it anymore, or at least not for another 50

> years until some plantation trees in India may come into production

> again.

 

Being that it is so $$$$$ and that even the legally obtained stuff is

available in drips and drabs, I don't think we really have to worry

about many of the folks who continue to use sandalwood oil doing so in

much more than small quantities, and the use of small quantities can be

supported in a sustainable manner by the current supply. Hopefully in

the future, as the sandalwood farms become more numerous and the planted

trees mature there will be more supply to sustain more liberal use of it

and the the prices will at that time lower to reflect the larger supply

available for the demand.

 

> As an aside, the pagans in this group should examine their own belief

 

> systems which are generally to care for mother earth and her

> resources.

 

To be technical - pagan just means someone who is polytheistic,

believing in many gods as opposed to just one, There are many gods and

pagans that aren't at all Gaia centered

 

I personally try to do much in my day to day life to " walk lightly on

the earth " . But I don't get unrealistic about it either. I meet too many

people who complain and rant just to be heard but have no real answers!

Like the wanna be hippie who sat in front of me in math class in High

School who made a snide comment about my leather sandals and when I

asked him if plastic was a better alternative he shut up! And if you

resort to using hemp for those sandals, well, it might be from China,

who has human right violations, so why support them? Or the folks who

moan about any part of any forest or any tree being cut but don't want

their kids to be playing with anything but natural wooden toys (and BTW

I am a BIG fan of wooden toys) and/or don't understand why we're having

some of the worst forest fires in memory here in North America due to

not being able to responsibly manage the forests ... And the list goes

on ... plenty of examples of swinging to the edges of extremes ....

 

I'm not knocking conservation and its efforts at all - I am VERY much

FOR conservation efforts and living much more natural lifestyles. I am

making a point. Anything can have a bad spin put on it, just as anything

can have a good spin put on it. In reality there is a balance between

all of it which is rarely put out there without the spin. I want to see

information out there that has no spin put on it, from any side, from

any extreme!

 

> Do not put your blind faith in anyone who is selling products where

> such matters are concerned. Try to check facts for yourself from

> sources independent of the trade selling the products.

 

I don't know WHO you know who is a rich land baron because they sell

some EO's *lol* All I I know is that I'm not one of them! I have just

enough money to scrape by, pay my monthly bills and splurge on the

luxury of feeding my kids food that isn't full of hydrogenated oil,

artificial colors, flavors and pesticides - but I have to save up wisely

over time to afford any other luxuries - like buying myself a new

naturally clay dyed organic cotton dress that I want - or a new pair of

*gasp* leather (or even hemp) sneakers that I need!

 

> Independent

> references on Rosewood and Sandalwood have been posted on this group

 

> several times and are on my web site,

 

> Chrissie's and others.

 

Chrissie (and Tony B. who holds the copyright to an article on Aussie

Sandalwood with her) writes books though . So other folks who don't

necessarily sell EO's have got an angle too - and angles aren't bad, but

lets be honest about the fact that the spin is in ;-p

 

> Martin Watt

> http://www.aromamedical.com

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com