We are absolutely thrilled to welcome back one of the most cherished members of our HydroSoul family – Sandalwood. Now back and better than ever, we bring you artisanally copper-distilled Santalum Album Sandalwood, one of the rarest and most time-honored varieties. We are fortunate to have discovered a sustainable, ethical, and fully traceable source to create this divine plant water.
Our master distillers, Anne and Jud Carlton are sourcing sandalwood from a collective of family farmers in Australia that has made it their mission to safeguard this sacred tree. They have achieved certifications from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)/Responsible Wood. They secured the future of Indian sandalwood by using seeds sourced from the area previously known as the Kingdom of Mysore in India; planting them in the tropical north of the country which is in the same equatorial zone as that part of India. The biodiverse ecosystem that has been created mimics the environment and soil microbiome where Santalum Album Sandalwood natively grows in India. This endangered forest species has been under threat of extinction for decades. Yet, after just 20 years of dedicated effort, Santalum Album Sandalwood is now thriving and growing abundantly in the lush forests of Northern Australia.
A Legacy of Reverence and Sacredness
Is there any plant more revered and sanctified than Sandalwood? Each culture that has come in contact with this sweet wood has deemed it one of the holiest of holies. Sandalwood awakens the spirit and nourishes the soul. Its mesmerizing scent of creamy caramelized woods and its profound ability to unify, ground, and elevate has captivated humans for thousands of years. It seems to summon, or perhaps simply awaken us to, Divine Presence.
For millennia it has graced the pages of holy texts—both with its name on the page and as the ink that scrawled the verses. The Qur’an, the Bhagavad Gita, the Old & New Testament, the Guru Granth Sahib—sandalwood has a home in each. It has also been traditionally used by the Aboriginal people of Australia to prepare for their adulthood rite, the Walkabout.
Cooling serenity for the skin
Here it is, to enchant and mesmerize, summon otherworldly luminescence, and profoundly calm and cool irritated and fiery summer skin. The soft, silky water of the sandalwood tree is incredibly gentle and cool on the skin. The sensation can be likened to bathing in moonlight: cooling, serene, sublime, and peaceful. Like all hydrosols, it hydrates, plumps, and balances pH. Its scent is redolent of sacred, ancient woods adorned with warm creamy notes, almost caramel-like.
Sandalwood Hydrosoul is fantastic for skin that has perhaps seen a little too much sun, and also for skin that is prone to blemishes or breakouts. Its nature is cooling, calming, softening, and moistening.
Sandalwood - at the Seat of the Soul
Sandalwood contains abundant amounts of unique compounds called santalols—a group of sesquiterpenes. Evidence suggests these compounds cross the blood-brain barrier and oxygenate the pineal gland, also known as the Seat of the Soul. This might begin to explain why Sandalwood has always been considered a plant to support spiritual development.
Sandalwood unites the forest and creates wholeness
The Sandalwood tree needs the support of a forest to survive. It interlaces its roots with surrounding trees and relies on its community for support. Some consider it a parasitic plant because of this connection it creates, but since no damage is caused to the ‘host’ trees, our interpretation is something very different.
Sandalwood cannot be mono cropped. It requires community. It creates community. Sandalwood unites the forest, dissolving separation, and creating wholeness. It is said the trees growing among sandalwood also become fragrant.
Sandalwood is also one of the few plants that is considered to possess qualities both meditative and transcendent, as well as sensual and aphrodisiac.
Sandalwood unites. Sandalwood brings us together, brings us closer. Closer to ourselves, closer to each other, and closer to the Divine.
We invite you to experience the magic of Sandalwood Hydrosoul, a testament to nature’s ability to heal, inspire, and connect us to something greater.