Organisations that are actively engaging in building sustainable products and businesses will recognise the importance of technology. Reducing waste, improving production efficiencies and reducing energy consumption are just three possible outcomes of technology enhancements. The beauty and personal care industry in particular is well placed to benefit from such innovation especially when it comes to the sourcing and supply of sustainable ingredients and products.

In its broadest sense, technology is accumulating and using knowledge to make system, product, and skills improvements to solve problems. One of the beauty industry’s greatest challenges is meeting consumer demand for products that have had a positive – or at the very least neutral – impact on the world in their creation. More than ever, consumers are demanding that beauty brands act responsibly and consider local communities and the environment in the product development process.

Today’s beauty buyer is savvy and educated on what a sustainably produced product might look like, using guideposts such as environmentally friendly packaging, cruelty-free practices and ethically sourced ingredients to determine their purchasing decisions. They care about the world – and expect their favourite brands to care too – and they also care about what they are putting on their skin. Consumers are willing to delve right down to the ingredient level seeking natural, non-toxic, and responsibly grown ingredients that are safe and deliver results.

Ingredient producers that are committed to sustainable production can help brands create a compelling product that meets these consumer demands. Quintis Sandalwood is one such producer, offering the world’s largest supply of plantation-grown Indian sandalwood (Santalum album). The business was born over 20 years ago out of a desire to provide an ethical source of one of the most coveted ingredients in history.

In decades past, wild Indian sandalwood has seen some troublesome times. It was listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 1998, after years of illegal trading and overharvesting of the species in its native environment. Recognising an opportunity to save a species, Quintis established the world’s largest Indian sandalwood plantation estate in the north of Australia – in the same equatorial zone as southern India thereby providing the ideal conditions for the species to flourish – planting the first trees in 1999 with seeds sourced from Mysore.

Today, Quintis has over five million trees and is the global leader in the supply of premium and sustainable Indian sandalwood raw materials to the fragrance, aromatherapy, and cosmetics industries. The global sandalwood oil market is projected to reach $196.7 million by 2026 and Quintis is well placed to meet this growth in demand.

Beyond the foreseeable future, the business seeks to create a sustainable supply of Indian sandalwood that can be relied upon for decades, not just years. The three areas that Quintis has identified as focus areas for a sustainable business are: carbon, community and sustainable production.

Technological innovation is what will drive developments in these areas. Ongoing research into the benefits of this ingredient also has an important part to play as Quintis continues to make exciting new discoveries, particularly related to skin care.

How technological innovation has aided in demand and supply

Oil distillation has been done the same way for 3,000 years. However, as market demand grows for certain highly volatile oils, more resources and energy are needed to produce them.

Quintis understood that to meet the growing demand for sandalwood oil in a more sustainable way and retain the purity of the raw ingredient, a change to antiquated distillation processes was needed and technology was the way forward. As a result, the company developed a ground-breaking, commercial Continuous Steam Distillation plant at the company’s 60,000 square metres distillation facility in Albany, Western Australia.

The fully automated process was inspired by continuous in-feed and out-feed systems commonly used in papermaking, and the benefits of this process have been remarkable as Quintis can now produce greater volumes of oil at greater speeds. This new technology enables the business to produce four times more oil with the same volume of steam, reducing the company’s water and energy requirements by 75%.

A-grade sandalwood oil now takes two days to distil instead of nine days, reducing the company’s carbon footprint per kilogramme of oil produced. The reduced retention time has also improved the oil quality, with the shorter time in the cooling pot reducing the likelihood of off-notes developing, while highlighting the woody, creamy notes sandalwood oil is renowned for.

Quintis had previously processed the oil in batches using the traditional method of steam distillation, a process which was uneconomical for the larger volumes, and would increase its energy requirements and emissions as throughput increased.

Steam distillation is the most popular method to extract essential oils from plant and wood material and is carried out by passing pressurised steam through the plant/wood material forcing pockets of aromatic compounds to escape and evaporate into the steam. The steam condenses into a liquid consisting of essential oil and water. The oil floats to the top and is separated from the water

In the continuous steam distillation process, a conveyor system transports chips into the top of the unit where the distillation process starts. The chips are continuously fed, enabling the technology to be 100% efficient with steam use due to the counter current flow of steam versus wood through the system.

The continuous steam distillation production line, which was a partnership with the Western Australian government’s Value Add Investment Grants programme, is the first in a series of projects that aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of Quintis’s sandalwood oil production and is a promising step for more sustainable oil distillation. Using technology to innovate this ancient system of distillation has allowed Quintis to further advance sustainability of this species and work to meet the demand of Indian sandalwood oil.

Proven benefits of Indian sandalwood oil

Indian sandalwood oil is widely recognised for its scent in fragrance. However its powerful role as an active beauty ingredient is only scratching the surface of what it can truly offer as a single ingredient, or as a complement to other skin care ingredients

Indian sandalwood oil is a multi-functional cosmetic ingredient that provides multiple benefits to a cosmetic preparation. While it is an excellent candidate to be a key active ingredient, it can work synergistically with other active ingredients in cosmetic formulations, going far beyond being just a wonderful scent in products.

Research into the pharmacological effects of Indian sandalwood has been extensive in recent years. Quintis recently commissioned in vitro and in vivo research into the efficacy of Indian sandalwood oil and its effect on the skin, which is proving to be the most thorough insight into the oil’s antioxidant and anti-collagenase properties to date. These results are driving demand for the ingredient even further, proving the importance of a resilient, sustainable supply.

In vitro cellular research in 2021 found that Indian sandalwood oil is a more potent antioxidant than the known lipophilic antioxidant vitamin E (alpha tocopherol). In the study, skin cells were exposed to a source of solar blue light, and those cells produced reactive oxygen species, which begins a cascade of reactions detrimental to healthy skin.

However, when the cell cultures were treated with sandalwood oil, production of reactive oxygen species reduced by up to 76%. This was measured against vitamin E with sandalwood oil performing 30-40% better at a recorded reduction.1

The study also found that Indian sandalwood oil is capable of significantly decreasing the damage to collagen in skin tissues caused by stressors such as blue light from solar, and pollution from cigarette smoke. Most recently, in vivo clinical research released in 2022 has reinforced the cellular study findings that Indian sandalwood oil is a powerful antioxidant and offers protection against blue light damage

To evaluate the effects of Indian sandalwood oil on skin, the level of oxidised squalene was monitored as a measurement of skin oxidation. The study assessed the protective effect of a cosmetic product containing Indian sandalwood oil against cutaneous oxidative stress induced by environmental pollution such as ambient dust and blue light at a wavelength of 412 nm.

The study is the first clinical trial proving that Indian sandalwood oil at a concentration between 1% and 10% protects the skin against the oxidative stress induced by ambient dust and blue light exposure.2

The results indicated that there was a dosedependent decrease in the levels of free radical damage, with a concentration of Quintis Indian sandalwood (1%) representing a 24% decrease in squalene monohydroperoxide (SQOOH) compared to non-treated study areas.

Given these ongoing reinforced results, the benefits of Indian sandalwood oil are clear. There is a significant opportunity for cosmetic brands to consider incorporating Indian sandalwood oil into their formulations as a protective and active anti-ageing, multi-functional ingredient in cosmetics and dermatology, opening up the potential to offer those benefits to consumers through a range of topical products

The benefits even stack up against other trending oil ingredients that have recently been coveted in formulations over the last couple of years, like cannabidiol (CBD) oil as an example. Until recently, CBD and other cannabis ingredients were restricted globally as they were considered a narcotic substance, however they have become more mainstream off the back of research suggesting they can help manage pain and inflammation.

Cosmetic application, however, is a newer use-case of CBD. The effectiveness of the oil as a cosmetic ingredient is mostly anecdotal, with claims around skin brightening, anti-ageing and anti-acne properties not substantiated by research or correlating concentration levels. While there have been some studies conducted on the antioxidant activity of CBD, these studies are based on gene expression, rather than actual cellular or clinical evidence, unlike Indian sandalwood.

One of the main advantages of Indian sandalwood oil is the volume of research that has been conducted into its efficacy – it has proven antioxidant, anti-microbial, antityrosinase and anti-inflammatory benefits

Secondly, it is recognised internationally as a safe ingredient – it is an approved ingredient on the Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients in China (IECIC), is considered safe for skin application by International Fragrance Association (IFRA), and Quintis’ oil meets standards set by bodies such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the British Pharmacopoeia.

CBD oil, on the other hand, is not required to meet national or international standards and seems to be mostly self-regulated by the producers. The lack of a regulatory framework is one of the reasons China has recently banned CBD oil for use in cosmetics, while other industry bodies in the EU and North America are expressing their concerns

In addition to its benefits for the skin, Indian sandalwood oil can also be used as a fragrance in cosmetic formulations. It has a soft, woody scent with organoleptic qualities in its own right and combines well with other fragrance. The low vapour pressure grounds other fragrance ingredients and increases longevity of fragrance. It can also bring the therapeutic qualities of aromatherapy to a preparation, offering calming and improving attentiveness in the mind.3.4

Overall, this multi-functionality and the fact that these qualities are realised at low concentrations – typically around 1% – place sandalwood in its own unique category. It is a single ingredient that can replace a number of ingredients within a formulation, enabling brands to tap into beauty trends around lessis-more cosmetics or ‘skinimalism’, and waste reduction.

There is a clear and continued need for finding ways to supply this ancient ingredient sustainably and ethically into the future, and Quintis is committed to continuing to invest in studies and trials to explore Indian sandalwood oil as a multi-purpose and highly effective antioxidant ingredient in cosmetics.

A commitment to the sustainable supply for the long term

Quintis has developed a 10-year sustainability plan to ensure the future of the species, which is explored in its recently published Hands on the Future report.5

The sustainability report highlights the actions the business will take to prioritise the long-term supply of Indian sandalwood and the viability of the communities and environments in which it operates. The report looks at some of the key achievements Quintis has already made and identifies three key focus areas of community, carbon and sustainable production underpinning the sustainability vision.

Within these three focus areas, Quintis is committed to reducing its impact on the environment, improving wellbeing for all, educating the leaders of tomorrow, championing equal opportunity for all, and maintaining a strong and transparent corporate governance for the industry more broadly, while empowering local communities to be sustainable. There are specific initiatives that have been highlighted within the report, all of which align to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the international sustainability standard.

Reducing carbon emissions is one such initiative. Quintis’ plantations already remove an estimated 195,000 tonnes of CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere each year. To improve on this, Quintis has initiated the Biomass Pyrolysis project, which involves creating biochar made from host trees and waste biomass.

Biochar is a carbon-rich material created by slowly ‘baking’ the host sandalwood trees and waste biomass in a pyrolysis kiln. Inserted into the soil, the benefit of biochar is twofold – it stores carbon that would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere and it enhances the soil’s structure and productivity. Pending a feasibility assessment, the plan is to turn at least 50% of biomass material produced from the plantations into biochar by December 2026.

This is just one of the initiatives driving Quintis’ sustainability vision. As global leaders in the supply of Indian sandalwood, we take seriously the responsibility we have in securing its future. What a bright future it is: one paved with investment in innovation and technology, and a commitment to unearthing all there is to know about this ancient wellbeing ingredient.

References

1. Francois-Newton V et al. Antioxidant and Anti-Aging Potential of Indian Sandalwood Oil against Environmental Stressors In Vitro and Ex Vivo. Cosmetics 8(2): 53. 2021
2. Lutchmanen Kolanthan V et al. Clinical Evaluation of Indian Sandalwood Oil and Its Protective Effect on the Skin against the Detrimental Effect of Exposome. Cosmetics 9(2): 35. 2022
3. Hongratanaworakit T, Heuberger E, Buchbauer G. Planta Med. 2004. 70, 3-7
4. Hongratanaworakit T, Heuberger E, Buchbauer G. Planta Med. 2006. 72, 792-800 5. Quintis, Hands on the Future. https://quintis. com.au/about/sustainability/