11 Health Benefits of Sandalwood Essential Oil

Sandalwood Essential Oil health benefits includes treating stomach ulcers, wounds, pimples or spots, lowering blood pressure, lowering stress and anxiety, improving memory, fighting inflammation, improving renal health, support skin health, reliefs pain, helps fight viruses and infections, and help promote sound sleep.

What is Sandalwood Essential Oil?

Sandalwood Essential Oil has been a part of Ayurvedic medicine for a long time. Known for its numerous spiritual and cultural uses, Sandalwood oil is mainly harvested in India, Australia and Hawaii. However, the Indian Sandalwood oil (Santalum album) is considered to be true and the best for its medicinal properties. The sandalwood trees have been given religious significance in the Hindu religion and are considered an integral part of their ceremonies.

Sandalwood oil is extracted by finding matured Sandalwood trees (70-80 years) that are considered to be the best reserves for the oil, and putting the pieces of wood through steam distillation. Sandalwood Essential oil primarily consists of two compounds alpha-santalol and beta-santalol. The alpha-santalol compound is responsible for the numerous health benefits provided by the oil.

11 Health Benefits of Sandalwood Essential Oil

1. Antiseptic Properties

Sandalwood oil is greatly known for its antiseptic properties that make it an excellent agent to be used in case of wounds, pimples or spots. Sandalwood oil, when applied to these areas, speeds the healing process and keeps the area free of germs, reducing the chances of infection. Furthermore, the antiseptic properties of Sandalwood oil are not effective only externally but also internally. The oil can also be used to treat stomach ulcers, making it safe to be consumed.

2. Lowers Blood Pressure

Sandalwood Essential Oil has also seen results in helping lower the blood pressure due to its hypotensive components. The oil can be consumed with milk or any other liquid to regulate the blood pressure. In a study, it has been concluded that sandalwood acts as a blood pressure reducing agent not only when consumed orally but also, when it is topically applied to the skin.

3. Lowers Stress & Anxiety

Sandalwood Essential Oil is known for promoting calmness and peace. The warm and woody aroma of the oil helps you relax and soothes your mind. The oil is known to balance emotions and provide harmony and peace. Sandalwood Oil can be used to reduce stress and anxiety by rubbing it on your wrists and ankles or by inhaling it directly. In aromatherapy, sandalwood oil is used along with other essential oils to make a meditation blend that can be diffused or applied topically.

4. Improves Memory

Sandalwood Essential Oil is known to boost brain health since it is known to cross the blood brain barrier. The fragrance released by Sandalwood Essential Oil has been seen to stimulate the nervous system and induce mental clarity. By doing this, It helps your memory work more efficiently by eliminating undue stress and anxiety as well as improving concentration.

5. Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Sandalwood Essential Oil is greatly known for its anti-inflammatory properties that help the oil become a great substitute for medicines like ibuprofen and other NSAIDs. Sandalwood Essential Oil can be used to reduce the inflammation of the skin as well as any inflammation that occurs internally. Because of its effect on brain health, it is considered most useful in cases of inflammation involving the nervous system. It also has anti-inflammatory properties for conditions pertaining to circulatory, digestive and excretory system.

6. Improves Renal Health

Owing to its relaxing properties, Sandalwood Essential Oil has a significant impact on the excretory system. The oil, when taken internally, promotes ease in the passage of urine. The oil works by using its anti-inflammatory properties to relax the urinary system and increasing the frequency of urination. By doing so, the oil helps flush the toxins out of the body and boosting renal health. Also, this reduces the chances of infection and inflammation of the kidneys that can lead to other serious diseases.

7. Great For Skin

Sandalwood Oil has great applications in the world of skin care. It is known to show significant results in treating acne. Sandalwood Essential Oil uses its microbial, anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties in order to give you numerous skin benefits. Sandalwood reduces oily skin and helps eliminate scars, blemishes and other marks. The oil also helps relieving symptoms of eczema and psoriasis. In addition to its effect on skin, Sandalwood Essential Oil can also be used to promote hair growth and nourish dry hair. The oil is effective for moisturizing dry skin and eliminating body odor.

8. Relieves Pain

Due to its above mentioned properties, Sandalwood Oil becomes a perfect agent to reduce pain significantly. Any pain that is caused in the body due to inflammation can be reduced greatly with sandalwood oil. Also, due to its calming effect on the nervous system, Sandalwood Essential Oil is considered to be more effective than the regular NSAIDs. Sandalwood Essential Oil can also be used topically in order to reduce the effects of pain.

9. Spasms

Sandalwood Oil is known for its antispasmodic properties and thus can be used to gain significant improvement in the case of spasms or aches caused due to tension of the muscles, blood vessels and nerves. The oil can be massaged onto the affected area to reduce the spasm. This is achieved by fighting the inflammation as well as suppressing the spasm. In addition to these two benefits, the calming effect of the oil helps relaxing the nerves and the muscles, thus eliminating the spasm and providing relief to the body.

10. Helps Fight Viruses & Infections

Coupled with the anti-inflammatory properties, Sandalwood Essential Oil is also known to have anti-microbial properties that make it a useful agent in treating viruses and infections. Sandalwood Essential Oil strengthens the immune system and also behaves as an expectorant for treating stubborn coughs. Its anti-microbial properties have made it useful in fighting infections that are said to have no cure or medical treatments such as Herpes.

11. Helps You Sleep

Sandalwood Oil can be greatly beneficial for people who have trouble sleeping at night. Owing to its relaxing effects, Sandalwood Essential Oil helps you have a good night’s sleep by putting your mind to ease and relaxing the stiff muscles in your body. Its calming sensation brings peace and harmony to the mind and helps you reduce stress that doesn’t let you sleep at night. In order to get a good night’s rest, you can apply a few drops of Sandalwood Essential Oil on the back of your neck.

Caution

Sandalwood Essential Oil should not be used as a substitute for any medicine that has been advised by the doctor. In order to apply the oil to the skin it is recommended to be mixed with some other oil that acts as a carrier.