As many of you know, we offer the spent biomass of frankincense, post-distillate. After the distillation, we dry the leftover plant material in the sun, break it into smaller pieces, dry a couple more days, break it again, and eventually we mill it in our small but precise German mill, to get a fine, dry, light and uniform powder. 

We've tested it plenty, and it contains Boswellic Acids, which don't come over in the distillation, in anything more than  trace amount. I know people like to argue this, but frankincense essential oil does not contain Boswellic Acids. These heavier molecules remain behind, and they are present in the powder. 

So how to use the powder? I was obsessed, for much of the active part of the pandemic, into making supplements, but the Boswellic Acids will have to be extracted to be reasonable to encapsulate and I couldn't find anyone to do this. At least no one I trusted. 

I managed to extract it using coconut/almond/jojoba oils. Any oil will do. This will work (again, provable by science--we had it tested) but it takes time. Yes, you can coax those boswellic acids out, but it will take months, and it's not a commercially viable product. We do it on a very small scale but we are a tiny company specializing in insane natural aromatics. You can find it on our shelves as Frankincense concentrate. (You can also order from our website)

The powder itself is a bit tricky to work with--it's stickier than you might think. I didn't know what to tell people. 

Until now!

Allow me to introduce NYC Aromatica by Amy Anthony--a New York City based oasis for Aromatherapy Consultations and Classes.

https://nycaromatica.com/

Amy makes our Pommades, which I continue to be obsessed with.....using South American Floral Enfleurages. If you can swing by the store, we just received a new batch of White Flowers Pommade. 

She's also come up with a sugar scrub, and has been kind enough to share the recipe; I'll post it here. 

This recipe is enough for roughly one generous cup of Sugar Scrub.

Ingredients:

• 30 total drops of essential oils
• A recent blend I’ve been enjoying contains:
• 10 drops Frankincense (Boswellia sacra)
• 10 drops Frankincense (Boswellia papyrifera)
• 5 drops Opoponax
• 5 drops Black pepper
• 3-4 tbsp fixed (i.e., nut/seed) oil
• I prefer Sunflower in the warmer months and Sesame in the colder months
• 14 tbsp sugar
• I prefer the texture of Turbinado sugar
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp frankincense powder
• I liked this ratio, adding 1 tsp more of the powder. Play around!
• 1 tbsp coconut milk powder
• 1 tbsp rosehip seed powder

Equipment:

• Small non-reactive (e.g., glass/enamel/stoneware) mixing bowl
• Spatula for mixing
• Measuring spoons
• Container with lid for storing the scrub

Instructions:

• Combine your chosen essential oils into the mixing bowl, swirling to combine.
• Add your chosen fixed oil to the mixing bowl, starting with 3 tablespoons.
• Stir to combine the fixed oil with the essential oils.
• Add the dry ingredients, stirring as you go to combine.
• Check the consistency of the scrub. It should feel and look like “damp sand”
• Add more of the fixed oil (i.e., the remaining tablespoon of Sunflower) if you prefer a “wetter” scrub.
• Transfer your scrub into your chosen lidded container.
• Notes: avoid getting water into the scrub to avoid mold and bacterial growth and consider using a spoon to take the scrub out of the container.

Links to NYC Aromatica:

Homepage: https://nycaromatica.com/

Link to DIY Aromatherapy Scrubs video-based class: https://nycaromatica.com/online-classes/diy-series-aromatherapy-sugar-scrubs/

Photo courtesy of T. Harris/Enfleurage Private Collection/Oman