What is Oud?

Background:
Agarwood, Oud. This is one of the most legendary fixings of perfumery. Oud is found on Aquilaria trees, originating from Assam, a providence in India. These trees have spread all over South East Asia but are now the rarest. Oud is created from the tree becoming infected by a fungi called Phialaphora Parasitica’.
It then forms a thick brown resin. This resin is now known as ‘Oud’ 
The resin can be distilled to create pure Oud oil, or the infected wood with the resin can be cut up into little wood chips. These trees are critically endangered, only 1 in 10 trees are infected by this fungi & it takes years for the infection process to occur. The rarity is increasing but at the same time the demand is also increasing.
Pure Oud, 1 KG, is approximately £50,000 - £75,000 depending on it’s type.

What it smells like?:
Natural Oud has a variation in smell. It is all dependent on the species of the Aquilaria tree & the technique of extraction. The smells range from sweet to earthy, some are also leathery or spicy.

How it can be immediately used:
Oud oil can be used as fragrance for the skin. The fragrance lasts for hours on end. The wood chips can be burnt as incense. The smoke created from this has a deep woody aroma. The fragrant aroma created by Oud wood, makes the house smell royal, it’s often burnt before special occasions such as family gatherings. The aroma can also stay within clothing making them smell nice, throughout the day, if not several.

The purpose of Oud in fragrances is usually to enhance & intensify the other ingredients/fragrance notes.

Health Benefits:
Pure Oud also has many health benefits. Here are the main 3 benefits.

  • It has many psychoactive properties, which can help aid nervousness, anxiety & stress

  • It is used a lot for meditating, enhancing peace & tranquility

  • Prompting healthy sleeping patterns

Skincare:
Pure Oud is known as ‘Liquid Gold’ for a reason. It’s an amazing resource. The price of Pure Oud is just as much as gold & it will only soar further.

For all your skincare fans, it has a lot of skincare related benefits too.

  • It seals in moisture of the skin, helping hydration & restoring brightness of the skin

  • Oud contains many anti oxidative properties, helping to reduce premature ageing & regenerating healthy skin cells

  • Oud contains plenty of anti inflammatory & anti bacterial properties, reducing the frequency of pimples

  • Oud contains multivitamins, Zinc, Iron & Calcium, promoting skin health

Pure Oud oil based products as part of your skin care routine? That’s a yes from me! Note: Just be careful when buying Oud based products & make sure it’s pure & suitable for skincare use.

Many perfumers do use Oud accords in their perfumes, but just imagine how much actual Oud they are putting in? Synthetic versions of Oud are coming out as you read & this is because of the rarity & price of pure Oud.

Agarwood, Oud, an amazing resource to this Earth. If you ever do want to buy pure Oud oil, please be careful that you are buying the original pure oil & not a synthetic version as many people will be fooling & misleading, especially because it’s a high price.

Check out our Dehnal Oud Oil. It is perfect for those wanting to start an Oud collection.

Dehnal Oud fragrance oil with Kalimatan Oud wood chips