Sandalwood -Species-Growth-Regions

Where Sandalwood Grows

Sandalwood has a fairly good spread over the earth. It’s found in the west from Central America, Caribbean, South America, and stretches itself in the east from various parts of North Africa and then into India. You may also find sandalwood in South East Asia, Japan and Australia and in Hawaii. WOW

Different Families of Sandalwood

1. Santalaceae

A. Santalum

i. Album

ii. Austrocaledonicum

iii. Ellipticum

iv. Freycinetianum

v. Haleakalae

vi. Paniculatum

vii. Spicatum

viii. Yasi

2. Rutacea

B. Amyris

i. Balsamifera

How Does Sandalwood Grow?

Sandalwood species are parasitic. They artificially produce their own nutrients but start off using host trees to suck the living life out of them (i.e. their water and nutrients).

Sandalwood Uses

Traditionally Sandalwood and its various varieties have been used by native peoples as a food source from its fruits and as medicine. Other uses included crafts and furniture. Its leaves were burned as an insect repellent. Essential oil and perfumery related use are traditional but not as ancient as the uses mentioned above.

Some Sandalwood varieties not mentioned above due yield a fragrant scent but do not yield fragrant essential oils.

Quality of Sandalwood

The quality of Sandalwood depends on its age, species, climate, soil conditions, rainfall, and region. The most valued Sandalwood today is the Santalum Album species which can be found in Southern India, Indonesia and North Western Australia. The most valued of Santalum Album today comes from various regions of India, most notably South East India. Next are the Indonesian and then Australian.

In addition to producing Santalum Album in North Western Australia, Santalum Spicatum is commercially produced for main uses as incense due to the very little to none oil yields.

Historically, and in my opinion, the best Sandalwood comes from Hawaii. Hawaiian Sandalwood was on the brink of extinction due to Chinese demand of Sandalwood which caused over harvestation. It may be possible some other native Hawaiian Sandalwood species may have gone extinct without our knowledge. The U.S. government has produced a program which is being implemented today that seeks to replant lost native species (of all plants) and continual effort is saving the Hawaiian natural habitats.

One species of Sandalwood has been extinct due to habitat loss in South America.

To purchase the scent of sandalwood please click here.

Agarwood Species

Here is a partial list of some of the agarwood species:

1. A. Beccariana van Tiegh


2. A. Hirta Ridl.


3. A. Microcarpa Baill


4. A Cumingiana (Decne) Ridl.


5. A. Filaria (Oken) Merr.


6. A. Brachyantha (Merr.) Hall. F.


7. A. Urdanetensis (Elmer) Hall. F.


8. A. Citrinaecarpa (Elmer) Hall F.


9. A. Apiculata Elmer


10. A. Malaccensis

Aetoxylon Sympetalum

Aetoxylon Sympetalum is an agarwood tree that can grow anywhere from 40m tall to 60cm wide. It is known as gaharu Buaya in Indonesia and its a fairly cheap agarwood commodity.

Its widespread, unthreatened (according to some resources) and smells great. Aetoxylon is also used in agarwood blends to help meet demands on other existing ouds which are more expensive.

Its colours (in oil form) can range from a nice light honey to a dark blackish/brownish colour depending on its quality. It has a light smell thats very sweet and woodsy. This scent is found in Aquilaria Malaccensis and Agallocha after all the animalistic notes have faded away, yet it is still much, much sweeter.

Oil viscosity is thick and rubs on smoothly.

For more Aetoxylon please purchase some directly from Olive Aura.

Olive Oil: Massage

Here is a website that I just love: http://www.healthymuslim.com It is a Muslim based website with traditional Prophetic Medicines and contemporary information. Once I found this website, I got hooked.

Here is a link on Olive Oil benefits: http://www.healthymuslim.com/articles/ipyru-ibn-al-qayyim-the-benefits-of-olive-oil.cfm

My Topic: Olive Oil & Body Massage

Warming olive oil and using it for a deep body-massage may potentially have great benefits. People, especially those enduring hard physical stress on their body, should use it. Using it for a complete body massage is also great, provided its done after a sauna and then in a hot-humid room followed by a nice cold or semi-cold shower.

When using it in a body massage, especially for the back, make sure the one servicing you is an expert in massage therapy and that they heat the oil to a warm temperature.

Olive oil massages serves multiple purposes when using it as a massage: therapeutic, hygienic, and cosmetic. Whoever has given an olive oil massage will know. Lots of dirt and dead skin will be released when olive oil is used as a massage, so its a good idea to keep at least a cup of it by you just to massage the back. Wipe off the used olive oil and keep repeating the massage. Your skin should come out clean, your muscles relaxed in addition to its beautifying properties. Upon completion of the massage, keep the body a little bit warm for about 15mins and then shower.

It is noted in history that olive oil was an essential part of a gladiator's diet, hygiene and medication. This cherished oil was dubbed "liquid-gold" and I can see why it still is today.

For more information on Olive Oil please visit : http://www.mediterraneandiet.gr/oliveoilhealth.html & http://www.oliveoilonly.org/

Herbal Baths

Herbal baths can be great if you can get the right mixture of ingredients with healing and cleansing properties along with some aroma therapy.

Some great herbals bath recipes below:

Honey-Rose

• 1/3rd Cup liquid honey


• Earl Grey tea bags (as many as you'd like)

For twists to this bath, add orange or lemon-peels to add to the aroma or a touch valencia orange essential oil.

Mint-Tea Bath

• Fresh or dried mint leaves (about one handful)


• Tea (of any kind you like)

Herbal Mix

• 2 Earl Grey Tea bag


• 2 Tablespoons dried thyme


• 3 Tablespoons dried hibiscus


• 1 Tablespoon Sage


• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Camomile


• 1 1/4 tablespoons Anise


• Pinch of dried mint leaves

This is a great herbal tea bath. You can also play with the ingredients to your likings. Adding bits of rose, orange blossom petals, lavendar, and other sweet smelling herbs and flowering plants is a great thing to do.

Natural Hair Dye

A beautiful natural hair dye to use is HENNA. The hair dye colours (after application) can range from a bright blonde to a beautiful dark red. It can also be used for dye on the skin.

Please beware of any "black henna" or "neutral henna" which may contain synthetic chemicals which are VERY harmful to the body.

To use henna for temporary body art, mix henna powder into a muddy consistency with some water and apply generous amounts to the body. Let the henna completely dry and become a crust. After henna becomes a crust, leave it on for anywhere upto half-hour to approx 4 hours to get a really strong dye.

Henna paste may also be use to help ease foot-pain by applying henna to the soles' of your feet and letting it dry as recommended.

Black Seed

This is the most under-rated, unspoken about, hidden, unknown seed in the world. It should be deemed an "ultra-super seed." Black seed, or Nigella sativa, is a wonder seed that has so many remedies, I cannot even list them.

It is extremely useful as a detox, immune strengthener, and sexual enhancer.

You can search articles about blackseed from sites like http://www.healthymuslim.com where many devout muslims use it as a traditional medicine. You may also find Far East people from India to Indonesia using it. It is also used in Egypt and Turkey.

If anyone has any other links about blackseed to share, please feel free to forward them to info@oliveaura.com

Milk Bath

Taking a milk bath may help exfoliate the body's dead skin and apparently people have been taking milk baths for quite some time now, so we're assuming its good for you?

Some people love taking milk baths, I think its a great idea even though I've never tried it before.

My recommendations for taking a milk bath would be to use powdered milk, lavendar and rose buds. Another type of milk bath which may have you leaving smelling like sweet roses would be to add rose or orange-blossom water to your milk baths.

Here is my recipe:

• 1 cup or less orange-blossom or rose water


• 3 cups or more powdered milk

It's a good idea to use a nice soft loofa and some olive-oil based soap with a neutral smell to wash with firstly. After rinsing off, fill the bathtub with hot water and add the ingredients. If you don't wish to add the rose/orange-blossom water you can always add some dry botanicals like lavendar buds.

Mix the water and powdered milk thoroughly, rest in the tub and enjoy!

Make sure you rinse your body off properly once done with your milk bath!

How Fragrances Should be Applied

When using a spray fragrance, the quality does not need to be as high as an oil-based attar fragrance due to its application. The very best place to apply a spray fragrance is on the clothes because it can retain the scents for a longer period of time. It also serves well that fragrances are sprayed on clothing rather than directly on the skin for health reasons.

Fragrance manufacturers have to abide by special laws put in place that benefit them, more than the consumer. They are allowed to hide almost all ingredients in their fragrances and use the term "fragrance" on its ingredient list. Since ingredients used are closely guarded secrets, the only thing protecting you from the fragrance, is the fragrance developer. If it was manufactured using safe ingredients and methods it workd to your benefit. Problem is we can't always be sure.

In addition we virtually have no information as to which fragrances are potentially harmful so applying the fragrance to your clothes rather than your skin can help prevent bodily absorption of the fragrances and give you a higher degree of protection.

Spraying on the inside of a leather jacket is also a good place to apply your spray fragrance because it helps shield it from any winds that may increase its evaporation rate (evaporation is part of what allows you to smell the notes of your fragrance).

Attars are usually completely natural, oil-based fragrances that are generally safe for direct bodily applications. Attars usually come in a bottle with a dipping stick to help apply the attar. Dabbing the entire stick on the hands, wiping them together and then rubbing on the clothes from the top of the chest down to the waste are good areas to apply the attar. It'll help hold the fragrance and give you a higher degree of protection from any potentially harmful ingredients, as mentioned above.

Applying attars directly on the body may als be practiced. Good areas to apply them directly on the body are :

• Between your ear and jaw on the neck


• On the collar bones


• Underneath your clothes (great for hot and humid climates)

Always wash your hands with some (organic) soap and cold water to neutralize any smells and be sure never to get attar oils into contact on your eyes or in your food (if left on hands).

"Milk it does a body good?"

Hey,

I stumbled upon an article about milk and found this PDF http://www.healthymuslim.com/assets/docs/healthymuslim-com-raw-milk-book.pdf

To see the original article and video please click here

Very controversial subject... at least because its going against the mainstream thought that our milk today can be bad for you.

The Problem with Oud (Agarwood)

Agarwood should be defined by species along with its territory and not by its region alone.

Many customers may be cheated, or decieved by both learned and unlearned agarwood sellers.

Agarwood is an extremely complex tree which many scientists may mistakenly classify some of the current species out there for others such as: Aquilaria malaccensis and Aquilaria agallocha, but thanks to modern technology, scientists have been able to identify new species of agarwood.

By identifying new species of agarwood, we can get a bigger picture of the agarwood depeleting resources. It's no longer that we have (hypothetically) 100% agarwood species of malaccensis, but rather we have 24% malaccensis, 16% Aquilaria sinensis, 2% Aquilaria filaria, 8% Aquilaria hirta rdl, 22% Aquilaria microcarpa balil and 28% Aquilaria crassna etc etc. This has allowed us to see the greated extent of the threat by categorizing agarwood species which include, but not limited to the following of the Thymelaeceae family of agarwood trees:

• Aetoxolyn


• Aquilaria


• Gyrinops


• Wikstroemeia (resionous producing species believed to be extinct)

As we can see here, there are many agarwood producing species.

These trees adapt well to other climates, soils, heights etc. It is a good commercial and scientific research tree that is invasive and can be planted in many areas. You may find Aquilaria Malaccensis species growing in countries as far west into Indian territories and as far east into Papua New Guinea. Regional differences of the same species have little affect on the aroma characteristics, generally speaking. Only a well trained nose or oud expert could tell the difference if any.

The problem with oud (agarwood) comes in when sellers, both learned and unlearned, begin to classify each agarwood species by territory only. For example, someone might say something along the lines that some agarwood SPECIES cannot be classified, but it fits their classification of Kinam or a species or a sub-species of kinam or what not and that it has nothing in common with any other trees in Assam.

To me, that is one of the most ignorant statements I've ever read from anyone selling oud or talking about oud; and Since when did oud get classified by a NON-EXPERT in biological flora classification?

Its a shame consumers are being deceived by sellers who classify each oud by its region, or by way of their own classification that is completely outside the scientific realm. Agarwood needs to be classified by what species it is, its natural region, where it was grown and how it was grown.

For example, I can take a chinese agarwood; Aquilaria grandiflora or Aquilaria sinensis from various parts of china and grow them in India. Now, as a seller, I should state that my agarwood is endemic to china, but grown invasively in India on an organic farm or otherwise and that it is such and such species not found in India's natural flora or habitats.

Beautifying the Body (Women)

[Note: The following statements are only to be considered as medical advice, we are not responsible for any damages, losses or any misuse. Please consult a professional medical physician in addition to our advice before use.]

Fenugreek is small seed that has a unique ordour and taste. Women may use it to their upmost advantage by applying its steam to their skin as a steam bath.

For curly hair and anti-dandruff, wash hair with the water in which fenugreek was boiled.

To increase menstration flow, drink the water in which fenugreek as been boiled.

To ease pain of the vagina, fill a bath with the water in which fenugreek was boiled and wait for about 15-30mins.