Sandalwood and Pregnancy: Paste and Incense, Not Essential Oil

Sandalwood (chandana), traditionally used as a paste on the skin or as incense, raises no identified concern during pregnancy at moderate external use. Our article sandalwood: dangers and precautions notes that this substance's general safety profile is fairly favorable — a finding confirmed by a reference study, which nonetheless calls for a clear distinction between traditional paste and concentrated essential oil.

What the reference study on sandalwood oil shows

A safety assessment published in 2008 in Food and Chemical Toxicology, covering sandalwood oil (Santalum album) and its major constituent alpha-santalol, concluded there was low acute oral and dermal toxicity in laboratory animals (see the study on Google Scholar). The oil wasn't mutagenic in the test used, and the authors note a long history of oral use with no reported adverse effect at usual consumption levels, while flagging rare cases of irritation or skin sensitization reactions in the literature.

This assessment covers a general population, not pregnant women: no targeted reproductive data (teratogenicity, placental transfer) exists for vetiver/">sandalwood. It's this absence, more than the fairly reassuring general toxicity, that justifies caution during pregnancy — a principle already applied to other essential oils on this site.

Traditional paste or essential oil: what changes in pregnancy

Form	Assessment in pregnancy
Sandalwood powder paste diluted in water, moderate skin use	Generally possible, a light traditional external use
Sandalwood incense	Occasional use possible, in a ventilated room
Pure sandalwood essential oil	Best avoided as a precaution during pregnancy, despite low general toxicity outside pregnancy

The distinction comes down to concentration: traditional paste exposes users to far lower amounts of active compounds than a pure essential oil, where even low general toxicity isn't enough to rule out specific caution, for lack of reproductive data.

An additional issue: product traceability

As our reference article notes, the sandalwood market includes many products cut with other woods or artificially scented. During pregnancy more than at any other time, it's better to avoid products of questionable traceability, whose real composition is never guaranteed — a safety issue that adds to the question of concentration alone.

What to do in practice?

• Sandalwood paste on the skin: occasional use possible, testing first on a small area.
• Sandalwood incense: occasional use in a ventilated room, as outside pregnancy.
• Pure essential oil: to be avoided both internally and externally throughout pregnancy.
• Check the product's traceability before any extended use.

And while breastfeeding?

Traditional external use as paste or incense isn't called into question during breastfeeding. The pure essential oil remains one to reserve for professional advice, following the same logic of caution as in pregnancy.

Precautions

In short: traditional sandalwood paste and incense, in moderate use, remain compatible with pregnancy according to available general safety data. The pure essential oil, more concentrated and without specific reproductive data, stays best avoided as a precaution. For more, see our Ayurveda and pregnancy guide and the safety and precautions guide.