Agarwood Essential Oil Benefits and Uses In Aromatherapy

Agarwood oil (Aquilaria malaccensis or Aquilaria crassna) is rare and expensive, but you may decide agarwood essential oil benefits, especially the deeply calming and meditative uses, are worth the cost.

Basic Agarwood Facts

Agarwood also goes by other names, including aloeswood, eaglewood, kyara, oud, and oudh. Wild trees are endangered but sustainable plantations grow the trees. If you buy the oil, make sure it's from a sustainable source.

Plant family: Thymelaeaceae.

Production: Steam distilled from wood infected with a particular type of mold. The tree reacts to the mold by producing a dark, scented resin that's absorbed by the wood. This oil is very thick. (A CO₂ extract, which may have different properties, is also available.)

Aroma: Bittersweet, woody.

Perfume/Aromatic note: Base. The essential oil is often used in high-end perfumes.

Is agarwood safe to use during pregnancy? Consult a professional.

Is agarwood essential oil safe for children? For kids age 2+, according to Eden's Garden. Consult a professional for details.

Main components are benzylacetone, beta-agarofuran, and other sesquiterpenes, according to Kathy Sadowski. "Woodland Essential Oils Sourced from Wood." NAHA Aromatherapy Journal, Winter 2022.4, p. 69.

Caution: Because agarwood oil is a rare and expensive oil, it is frequently adulterated.

Agarwood Essential Oil Benefits and Uses

Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art: Agarwood is a bitter digestive tonic that relieves indigestion. This essential oil is also a skin tonic and useful for easing joint, muscle, and nerve pain.

Salvatore Battaglia: Agarwood may help alleviate anxiety, nervous tension, and restlessness. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the cooling nature of this essential oil suggests it calms the Heart and soothes agitated Shen. The scent is spiritually elevating and reminds us that we are not alone on our journey. 

Suggested essential oils to blend with agarwood:

• To soothe and relax: vetiver, spikenard, sandalwood, patchouli, or lavender
• To promote courage and resilience: sandalwood, ginger, atlas cedarwood, or yakusugi
• To ground and nurture: vetiver, spikenard, patchouli, atlas cedarwood, or myrrh
• To connect with nature: vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss absolute, lavender, or galbanum
• To connect with the divine: spikenard, sandalwood, myrrh, or frankincense

Essential Oils in Spiritual Practice: Agarwood is a catalyst for introspection, revelation, and deep wisdom. The oil supports the second and fifth chakras. The oil's vibration helps the mind perceive circumstance and environment as a whole and also promotes open-mindedness and positive boundaries. This balancing essential oil helps you take inventory of your personal reality with the intention to understand your emotions.

Use the essential oil to support communication, effective listening, and expression and also to purify inharmonious emotional states, access timeless wisdom, and support artistic expression. The oil also supports wholeness in mantra, prayer, and meditation practices.

Healing In The Bible With Essential Oil: Agarwood is uplifting and may help relieve anxiety, stress, and depression. The fragrance is grounding and useful for meditation and may work as an aphrodisiac. The oil may also help relieve menstrual problems, nervous tension, and skin problems.

Ayurveda and Aromatherapy: The rasa (taste) of oud is sweet and astringent and the virya (energy) is warming and balancing. The oil balances vata, pitta, and kapha and affects all tissues. This essential oil purifies and balances energy, relaxes, rejuvenates, supports clairvoyance, and has transcending and transforming properties.

Agarwood Blends

To use agarwood essential oil benefits for skin care, make a 1% dilution by blending 6 drops of the essential oil into 2 tablespoons high-quality carrier oil. Use this blend as a body oil, facial serum, or cologne. (Eden's Garden)

Grounding Roll-on Blend

• 2 teaspoons carrier oil
• 4 drops agarwood essential oil
• 2 drops frankincense essential oil
• 2 drops myrrh essential oil
• 2 drops patchouli essential oil

Mix together all the oils in a glass bowl. Pour into a roll-on bottle. Label. Use as needed. Source: JennScents

Inhaler Meditation Blend 

• 2 drops agarwood essential oil
• 4 drops frankincense essential oil
• 4 drops copaiba essential oil
• 4 drops bergamot essential oil
• Blank aromatherapy inhaler
  

Place wick in the inhaler. Drop essential oils onto the wick. Put on the end cap. To use, place under nose and inhaler the aroma.

Source: Loving Essential Oils

Relaxing Bath Blend

• 1 teaspoon rosehip oil
• 2 drops agarwood essential oil
• 3 drops jasmine absolute
• 5 drops ylang ylang essential oil

Blend all ingredients. Stir blend into bath water.

Source: Miracle Botanicals

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Carol Wiley is a retired massage therapist and freelance writer. She has used her deep interest in aromatherapy and essential oils to research their benefits and uses and bring you summaries with links to more detailed resources.

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Photo Credit: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons