Labdanum Resin

Description

Latin Name: Cistus Creticus

Origin Country: Greece

Labdanum obtained from the Cistus creticus is also known as ladanum or ladan. The sticky brown resin has been used for a very long time as a medicinal remedy as well as an important ingredient in the perfume industry because of its similarity to ambergris – the compound that is collected from sperm whales, which is today an endangered species.  The Labdanum is what gives a perfume the deep scent of amber.

The resin is known for its astringent, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects.

Medicinally the resin has been used from ancient times as an expectorant and antibiotic.  When inhaled or taken internally, it is an effective treatment for bronchitis, common cold, fungal respiratory infections and loosens mucus to provide quick relief from cough.

When applied externally it heals wounds, burns and inflamed skin and alleviates pain and swelling. It helps skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema and eve more serious skin infections such as ulcers, tumours, eruption and tubercular skin infections.

To make an oil infusion you firstly have to bain Marie the resin. Weigh your lump of Labdanum, place it in the jar and add an oil of your choice at 3-10 times its weight. A 1-10 ratio will give you a fragrant but less potent oil and a 1-3 a stronger smelling product.Bring the water to a boil, stir the Labdanum and oil till the Labdanum is completely dissolved.Some people let this mix sit 4-6 weeks to extract all the fragrance compounds from the resin, others simply let it sediment well and pour off the liquid.You can pass the liquid or the sediment through a pillowcase with a tight weave to rescue any oil left in the spent resin.

Labdanum may be safe when taken by mouth in food amounts or when used on the skin. It is not known if taking labdanum by mouth in medicinal amounts is safe or what the possible side effects might be.

Additional information

Weight	N/A
Quantity	50g, 100g, 200g, 300g, 400g, 500g, 600g, 750g, 1000g (1kg), 2000g (2kg), 3000g (3kg), 4000g (4kg), 5000g (5kg)