What is palo de rosa?

Palo de rosa is the wood, and mainly the oil, of the Amazon tree Aniba rosaeodora. The oil is steam-distilled from the wood chips. It is best known in perfume for its soft, sweet, woody-rose scent.

In Latin American folk use the wood was burned, steeped or rubbed on the skin. People used it to calm the nerves, to scent a room and to dress small skin problems. Long use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.

Here is the honest verdict. There are no good human trials of palo de rosa for any health problem. What we have is lab and animal work on linalool, its main scent chemical.

The name is shared by other trees, such as Bulnesia sarmientoi and some Dalbergia woods. Labels do not always say which plant is in the bottle. Look for the botanical name Aniba rosaeodora.

How does palo de rosa work?

No mechanism for palo de rosa has been shown to work in people. The ideas below come from the lab bench, not from patients.

Most of the oil is linalool, a fragrant alcohol. In rodent studies, breathing in linalool lowered activity and eased signs of stress. Whether that happens in humans is not established.

In test tubes, rosewood oil slows the growth of some bacteria and fungi. A test tube is not skin. These results do not show that the oil treats an infection.

Part of any calming effect may be the smell itself. A scent you enjoy can shift mood and slow your breathing. That effect is real, but it is not special to this oil.

What forms does palo de rosa come in?

You will mostly meet it as an essential oil in a small dark bottle.

Other forms include:

- Wood chips, shavings or sawdust, burned or steeped as a scent - Incense sticks and cones - Hydrosol, the scented water left after distilling - Perfumes, soaps, lotions and other scented products - Blended massage oils, where it is already diluted

True Aniba rosaeodora oil is scarce and costly. Many cheap bottles labelled rosewood hold synthetic linalool or a different plant.

Where it comes from:

Amazonian and wider Latin American folk practice valued the scented wood for calm, for cleansing a space and for minor skin care. The wood was also burned in ritual settings.

From the late 1800s, traders in Brazil, Peru and French Guiana distilled the wood on a large scale for the perfume trade. Rosewood oil became a famous perfume note in Europe in the early 1900s.

That trade cut down vast numbers of wild trees. The species is now treated as endangered and its trade is controlled. Most modern perfume linalool comes from other plants or from a factory.

What does palo de rosa help with?

• stress and tense feelings (as a room scent): This is the main traditional claim, and the evidence is weak. Folk use burned the wood or rubbed the oil on the chest and wrists to settle nerves. In animal studies, inhaled linalool lowered signs of stress. No trial has tested palo de rosa oil in stressed people. Most aromatherapy trials used lavender, not rosewood. A pleasant smell may help you relax, but that is not a drug effect.
• poor sleep: There is no human evidence that palo de rosa improves sleep. Tradition used the scent in the evening to wind down. Linalool has shown sedative-like effects in rodents at high exposures. If a calm bedtime scent helps you settle, that is fine. It should not replace treatment for insomnia that lasts weeks.
• low mood: Not supported by human trials. Treat this as tradition only. The wood was burned in homes and in ritual to lift the mood of a room. Scent and mood are linked in people, but the link is personal and short-lived. Do not use it in place of care for depression. Lasting low mood needs a doctor.
• dry or dull skin, in diluted cosmetic products: Used mainly for fragrance, not for a proven skin benefit. The oil is added to lotions and balms at low levels. Any softening you feel comes from the base cream or carrier oil, not from the scent. The main risk here is an allergic rash, which gets more likely as the oil ages.
• minor skin blemishes: Lab tests only. In test tubes, the oil slows some bacteria and fungi. That has not been shown to clear spots or treat a skin infection on a real person. Strong undiluted oil can irritate skin and make a blemish look worse. For a spreading, hot or painful skin infection, see a doctor rather than reaching for an oil.

What are the side effects of palo de rosa?

• Itchy, red allergic rash where the oil touched skin
• Stinging or burning from undiluted oil
• Worse reaction from old or badly stored oil
• Eye pain and watering if oil gets in the eye
• Headache or nausea from a strong scent
• Wheezing or cough in people with asthma
• Serious poisoning if the oil is swallowed

Good to know:

Used as a diluted scent on adult skin, problems are uncommon and usually mild.

The most common problem is allergic contact dermatitis, an itchy rash. Linalool is a recognised fragrance allergen in Europe for this reason. Risk rises as the oil oxidises with age.

The serious risks come from misuse: swallowing the oil, using it neat, or getting it in the eyes. Essential oils are concentrated and small amounts matter.

How much palo de rosa should you take?

• Recommended daily: This page gives no personal dose. What follows is the kind of limit a product label or industry guide carries. For adult skin, labels put rosewood oil in a carrier oil at roughly 1 to 2 percent. That is a few drops in a tablespoon of carrier. For a room diffuser, labels usually suggest a few drops in water, in a room with fresh air. The oil is not meant to be swallowed in any amount.
• Best time of day: Timing does not change any proven effect, because none has been proven. People who use it for calm tend to pick the evening. People who use it as a perfume use it any time.
• With or without food: Food does not apply. Palo de rosa oil is used on skin or in the air, never swallowed. If a product tells you to drink or swallow the oil, do not follow it. Check the ingredients with a pharmacist first.
• Time to effect: If a scent shifts your mood, it does so within minutes. That is the honest ceiling of what to expect. For skin products, any change in feel comes from the base cream, not the scent. It may do nothing at all. There is no human evidence of a lasting health effect.
• How long to take it: There is no evidence base for a course length, because no human trials exist. Scent use is short term by nature. Diffuser use is usually limited to short sessions of 15 to 60 minutes, with the room aired after. If you are putting a diluted oil on your skin daily, stop at the first sign of itch, redness or rash.