SACRED FRANKINCENSE

Oh Oman. Home to our fragrant 'Royal Horaji' Frankincense Sacra resin.

Here, the ancient Frankincense trees grow on limestone instead of soil at high elevation and greater humidity, which makes Omani Frankincense resin so spectacularly unique and sought after. I have a sizeable stash of Frankincense resin from different corners of the world, in all colours and size - nothing comes close to the milky white Royal Horaji Frankincense Sacra tears harvested sustainably in the Dhofar region without bark stripping and over tapping. 

In Spring, while the sap is rising, the resin is harvested from the side of the tree that faces the setting sun. During the Autumn season, when the life forces draw back into the roots, the resin is taken from the sunrise side of the trees. This ancient biodynamic practice simply follows the cycle of Nature and allows the trees to rest and recover between harvesting seasons.

There is such a dramatic rise in the demand for Frankincense (and Myrrh) resin which, sadly, ignites the dollar signs in peoples eyes and extinguishes all regard for ethics and the bigger picture. Our obsession with essential oils, where disproportionate amounts of resin yield just a fraction of aromatic essence, results in mature Frankincense trees being bled dry, and ultimately killed. 

And the sad irony is that Frankincense essential oil doesn't even contains the compound we all want for wrinkle free skin and lifting depression: Boswellic Acid. It's molecules to large to pass via the distillation process, it must be extracted by first separating the gum from the resin, then dissolving the resin - in our case into biodynamic Olive oil. It's a long, incredibly rewarding process, my sacred ritual.