Santalol has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 1.00 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. Santalol is isolated directly from sandalwood essential oil by distillation, not petrochemically synthesised. An NOI of 1.00 means 100% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

Is Santalol natural? NOI 1.00

How we scored it

Principal odorant fraction isolated by steam distillation of sandalwood essential oil; no significant petrochemical route for true Santalol. 1.0

What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Obtained by steam distillation and fractionation of sandalwood oil, Santalum album/spicatum. Synthetic sandalwood substitutes exist but are sold under different INCI names, not as Santalol.

In plain English

A fragrance ingredient with a creamy, woody sandalwood scent, obtained directly from distilling sandalwood essential oil. It's the natural aromatic component responsible for sandalwood's characteristic smell.

Structure

(E)-2-methyl-5-(2-methyl-3-methylidene-2-bicyclo[2.2.1]heptanyl)pent-2-en-1-ol

PubChem CID 5368798 ↗

References

1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
2Santalol. PubChem CID 5368798. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
3SANTALOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
4SANTALOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SANTALOL