Essential oils are becoming increasingly popular for many reasons; they offer a range of aromatic, therapeutic and practical benefits. Most of all, they offer a natural, non-toxic alternative to harmful, synthetic commercial personal care and household cleaning products. Of the many essential oils available, sandalwood is a special essential oil with a lovely scent and impressive healing abilities. In this post, we will cover just how sandalwood can help improve overall health and well-being of the body.
The Top 7 Benefits of Sandalwood
1. Calming Aroma: One of the primary uses of essential oils is aromatically. Inhaling or diffusing sandalwood promotes mental clarity and a positive feeling of relaxation and calm. In fact, there are even clinical studies that demonstrate the calming therapeutic, aromatics of sandalwood when applied to the skin and inhaled.
1 2. Aphrodisiac: Sandalwood makes for a great, non-toxic and aphrodisiac perfume. It’s postulated that the scent sandalwood puts off can positively increase sexual arousal, libido, and energy. 3. Astringent & Antiseptic: Acting as a natural astringent is just one of the many ways sandalwood promotes the health of the skin. As a mild astringent, sandalwood is great post-shave to help soothe, tighten, and gently cleanse the skin. As an antiseptic, sandalwood ensures the skin is free of inflammatory microorganisms that may lead to acne or other skin imbalances. 4. Anti-viral: Sandalwood also acts as an anti-viral, making it a beneficial, natural treatment for things like cold sores, otherwise referred to as herpes simplex 1.
2 5. Anti-inflammatory: One of the best attributes of sandalwood is its anti-inflammatory effects. Sandalwood contains a compound known as santalol that can decrease the production of proflammatory cytokines. This compound works similarly to NSAIDs, without the negative side effects. Applied to the skin, it can help sooth irritation, redness, acne, warts, or other inflammatory skin problems.
3 6. Anti-Cancer: Sandalwood even has anti-cancerous abilities. This can be attributed to its aptitude to induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis (cancer cell death).
4 7. Anti-aging: Sandalwood is rich in many antioxidants that inhibit the oxidative stress or damage caused by reactive oxygen species, which cause cellular aging. Applied to the skin, in some sort of carrier substance, sandalwood can help protect the skin cells from aging.
Using Sandalwood
Sandalwood; like any essential oil, can be used in a variety of ways. The most common uses involve aromatic or diffusing, internal use and most frequently used as a skin care product. If you intending on using sandalwood as a topical for its skin health promoting benefits, be sure to mix it with some sort of carrier oil or base. You can get creative and make various different blends, lotions, cleansers, shampoos or fragrances. You can also find sandalwood featured in several Alitura products including:
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