Before I begin to list the different ways of using the Camwood Powder, it is imperative to know the difference between the Red Sandalwood and the Camwood Powder which people often get confused about and use interchangably.
The Red sandalwood otherwise known as red sanders, saunderswood and rakta chandana which carries the botanical name Pterocarpus santalinus. It is a tree with woods rich in red color, native to the South India. It is valuable for its commercial and medicinal purposes.
The lumber obtained from the Red Sandalwood tree can be used to make furniture or carved objects. Oil can also be extracted by pressing the inner bark of the red sandalwood tree using water or alcohol but the most common extracted product of the red sandalwood is in powder form which makes it look a lot like the Camwood Powder.
Various Uses:
- Ayurveda for the treatment of eye disorders, digestive tract problems, asthma, coughs and colds, fluid retention and blood purification
- Furniture & wood carvings
- Culinary uses for coloring agent in canned food products, spice mixtures, sauces, etc.
- Cosmetics for nourishing the skin and clearing blemishes
Camwood Powder also known as Osun or African Sandalwood Powder comes from the core of the shrubby, hard-wooded African camwood tree which carries the botanical name “Baphia nitida” after peeling the bark. The tree is native to the West Africa.
Various Uses:
- Wood carvings, woodturning for making knife handles and similar objects.
- Appease the gods in the olden days because of its uniqueness in color and the expensive market value of the tree.
- Commercially used for non-permanent red dye, which is soluble in alkali.
- Cosmetics for nourishing the skin and clearing blemishes, reducing the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles and temporaily dying the hair.
It is the cosmetic benefits of both the Red Sandalwood & Camwood Powder that have made them to be used interchangably. While they both come in red powder and can easily be added to other natural skincare mixtures, they are still powders obtained from different species of trees found in different continents of the world. The Red Sandalwood has a distinctive aroma while the Camwood Powder has a shrubby smell.
The Red Sandalwood has a counterpart which is the White Sandalwood, both grown in parts of Asia but the Camwood Powder doesn’t have a counterpart or substitute. The Camwood Powder is unique and confined to the West Africa where it has been one of the best beauty secret passed down by our ancestors. A red powder loaded with natural skin soothing properties which helps undo damages caused by the sun, pimples, skin rashes, eczema, acne and skin discolorations. Also contains detoxifying and wrinkle reducing properties. It is used as a beauty regimen in cleansing both the face and the whole body when added to the unrefined black soap powder, giving an after effect which is immediate, leaving the skin smooth, supple and glowing. The Camwood Powder can also be used by itself or added to varieties of natural skincare routine. So far, no oil has been produced from the Camwood unlike the Red Sandalwood but the same aesthetic and medicinal properties of the Camwood Powder can be achieved when infused in natural oils.
Camwood Powder available at: https://lolalongebotanicals.com/products/unrefined-camwood-powder