Guest guest Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi everyone, I hope everyone has enjoyed their day and with a beautiful weekend coming, have great plans. I recently came back from Quito, Ecuador with chunks of Palo Santo wood (Saintwood). The oil that is extracted by cold pressing the wood has some reputed theraputic qualities and a warm, woodsy, but sweet frankincense type aroma. The aroma is so delicious, even with the chunks in a zip lock bag, it permeated everything. It's calming too. I love it. The question I have is, can I capture the scent by soaking the wood chunks in alcohol or olive oil? In Ecuador they burn the wood as is for ritual, or process it also as incense. I want it for fragrance qualities in my perfume. Thanks! Any ideas or help is very much appreciated. Great evening to all Isis ***************************** Hi Isis, How wonderful! I love Palo Santo wood, from the few samples I have come across. I can tell you that Palo Santo wood tinctures very well. I have made 2 batches, just using folk method with wood in Everclear. Both batches I soaked once, I didn't recharge them. It comes out nice and strong, and smells better than the essential oils I have found as well. I am not sure on the oil option as I have not tried it. I would probably suggest using a different oil than olive oil, just because olive oils tend to have their own scent that can be pretty strong. With something like Fractionated Coconut Oil, you get a better shelf life, minimal scent from the oil, and the FCO would even be usable in alcohol perfumes. Jojoba would be another strong possibility, but only for oil based or solid perfumes. I would think it would be somewhat successful, as the resin and oils from the wood should dissolve to some degree in to the oil. Have fun with your tincturing or infusing! There are some great instructions in the files and in the archived messages on the group if you need additional details on either process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Thanks ! I look for the instructions you mentioned since I'm not really sure of the how to's. I assumed placing the wood in a jar and filling it with perfumer's alcohol or everclear would do the trick. Anyway, I'm going back to Quito tomorrow (i'm a flight attendant ) and hope to get some more. Where are you located? I'm in Miami. Thanks again for your response, was nice of you! Have a great weekend! Isis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 Thanks ! I look for the instructions you mentioned since I'm not really sure of the how to's. I assumed placing the wood in a jar and filling it with perfumer's alcohol or everclear would do the trick. Anyway, I'm going back to Quito tomorrow (i'm a flight attendant ) and hope to get some more. Where are you located? I'm in Miami. Thanks again for your response, was nice of you! Have a great weekend! Isis ************** Hi Isis, You have the basic instructions right. If you can break the wood into smaller pieces, it will tincture a bit faster. Otherwise just put the whole piece in a jar, cover with the alcohol, and let it sit a while. Shaking daily helps speed the process too. Anywhere from a week or two to a month is usually pretty good for dried materials. Safe travels! I hope you get the chance to get out and about there between flights to enjoy and explore! I am in Colorado Springs, CO. A nice place, but it definitely doesn't lend itself to growing all the amazing plants I hear Anya and other Floridians talking about in their gardens. Best wishes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Crowe (Floracopeia)sells Palo Santo infused marula oil. It is very nice and he includes a long piece of wood in the bottle! To make it I would try to " sliver " the wood into 1 inch pieces or so and cover with oil. Make sure it is very dry. Keep in dark spot for a few wks or months and it should work great. Fractionated coconut or jojoba will not go rancid. Good luck! Ragna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 > > Crowe (Floracopeia)sells Palo Santo infused marula oil. It is very nice >and he includes a long piece of wood in the bottle! > To make it I would try to " sliver " the wood into 1 inch pieces or so and cover >with oil. Make sure it is very dry. Keep in dark spot for a few wks or months >and it should work great. > Fractionated coconut or jojoba will not go rancid. > Good luck! > Ragna So Ragna would you chop small bits to distill if you wanted to make an absolute? Bb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Hi Isis, Wow Eccuador must have been amazing. I have tinctured Palo santo in perfumers alcohol available from mistral. I used a sharp vegetable peeler, the ones that have the shape of shaving razors. I then blitzed the shavings in a coffee grinder. The coffee grinder coped quite well but some chunks wouldn't break down. The powder has been tincturing for s month now and I think it's nearly ready. Even after a few days it produced a gorgeous scent. I did notice that the finer powder yields much better results and a softer sweeter fragrance overall. I will be grading the fine powder next time to achieve the best results from this gorgeous wood. All the best Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Thanks to everyone! Yes, Ecuador is truly an amazing place indeed! I'll be hitting the streets in a little while to see what else I can find and bring home, but definitely some more of that delicious wood. I have one more trip scheduled for the 28th. I decided to try both methods, oil and alcohol chopping the wood into small pieces into jars with tight fitting lids and see which one gives up the most fragrance.I'll post the results of my experiments here. I cant begin to tell you how much fun this is! Thanks again and have a great day! Isis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 , Isis, can I recommend a good tool for this? The microplane, which is a woodcarver's tool, but used in kitchens as well. I have several, one dedicated to ambergris shaving. Here's a link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en & q=microplane & um=1 & ie=UTF-8 & tbo=u & tbm=shop & sou\ rce=og & sa=N & tab=wf & biw=1227 & bih=559 You'll want the zester if you want really fine shavings, like dust, actually. Choose a larger blade if you want bigger pieces. Anya McCoy http://AnyasGarden.com http://PerfumeClasses.com http://NaturalPerfumers.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Anya wrote: , Isis, can I recommend a good tool for this? The microplane, which is a woodcarver's tool, but used in kitchens as well. I have several, one dedicated to ambergris shaving. Here's a link: http://www.google.com/search? hl=en & q=microplane & um=1 & ie=UTF- 8 & tbo=u & tbm=shop & source=og & sa=N & tab=wf & biw=1227 & bih=559 You'll want the zester if you want really fine shavings, like dust, actually. Choose a larger blade if you want bigger pieces. ************** Thanks Anya! That sure looks like it would beat my method of chiseling of smaller pieces with a screw driver. :-) I will have to invest in one! Have a great Sunday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 You can also buy Palo Santo essential oil from Seidel at the essential oil company http://www.essentialoil.com/product_info.php?products_id=2646 & osCsid=3f923c9ea41\ ba4266427113b7f893847 It's lovely stuff...he sent me some to review a while back.... http://perfumebynature.blogspot.com/2011/03/lilac-and-rose-co2.html Ambrosia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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