Ancient Materials.
Enduring Chemistry.

Resins are among the oldest aromatic materials on earth — traded across civilisations, burned in ceremony, and now understood at a molecular level that only deepens their significance. They are fixatives, foundations, and medicines all at once.

Frankincense✦ Myrrh✦ Benzoin✦ Labdanum✦ Peru Balsam✦ Galbanum✦ Elemi✦ Opoponax✦ Styrax✦ Dragon's Blood✦ Oleoresins✦ Balsams✦ Frankincense✦ Myrrh✦ Benzoin✦ Labdanum✦ Peru Balsam✦ Galbanum✦ Elemi✦ Opoponax✦ Styrax✦ Dragon's Blood✦ Oleoresins✦ Balsams✦

What Are Resins?

The plant's own
protective chemistry.

Resins are not a product we make — they are something the plant makes, in response to injury. When a tree's bark is wounded, it secretes a thick, sticky exudate that hardens on contact with air, sealing the damage, repelling insects, and protecting against infection. That exudate is a resin, and it contains within it a chemical record of everything the plant uses to defend itself: terpenoids, diterpene acids, sesquiterpenes, phenolic compounds, and volatile aromatics that have evolved over millions of years of biological pressure.

The aromatic industry has worked with these materials since antiquity. Frankincense — the resin of Boswellia trees — was traded along the Incense Route for three thousand years. Myrrh, benzoin, labdanum, and galbanum appear throughout the ancient world as medicines, ritual materials, and perfumery ingredients. The fact that they remain in widespread use today is not nostalgia. It is a reasonable response to chemistry that works.

Resins are the fixative backbone of natural perfumery and a grounding element in aromatherapy blending. Their heavy molecular weight slows the evaporation of lighter aromatic compounds, extending the life and depth of a blend. Their own therapeutic profiles — anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cicatrisant, and deeply calming — make them active participants in formulation rather than passive supports.

Why They Matter in Blending

Resins are natural fixatives — their large molecules anchor a blend and slow the diffusion of lighter top and heart notes. Even a small percentage of frankincense, benzoin, or myrrh in a blend dramatically extends its aromatic life and adds depth that light essential oils alone cannot achieve.

Species and Origin Are Everything

Frankincense is not one thing. There are over twenty species of Boswellia, each with distinct chemistry, character, and therapeutic profile. The same is true of myrrh, benzoin, and styrax. Sourcing from a supplier who understands this distinction — and stocks accordingly — is the difference between working with a material and approximating one.

Forms: Raw, Tincture, Absolute, Essential Oil

Resins are available in multiple forms for different purposes. Raw resin tears are for burning and tincturing. Absolutes capture the full aromatic spectrum. Essential oils provide the volatile fraction only. Oleoresins and balsams are natural mixtures of resin and essential oil still in the plant's own matrix. Each form carries different chemistry and suits different applications.

Sustainability Is a Real Concern

Wild-harvested resins face genuine sustainability pressure. Frankincense trees in particular are under documented stress from over-tapping and habitat loss in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. We source from suppliers who prioritise sustainable harvest practices and can evidence their supply chain. Ask us about specific origin ethics if this matters to your practice — it matters to ours.

Understanding the Terminology

Resins, Oleoresins & Balsams

These terms are often used interchangeably and incorrectly. The distinctions are chemically meaningful — and practically important when choosing the right material for formulation.

True Resins

Non-volatile · Hard or semi-solid · Insoluble in water

True resins are the solid or semi-solid secretions produced when a plant's resin ducts are damaged. They consist almost entirely of non-volatile resin acids, esters, and alcohols — primarily diterpenic in structure. They do not readily evaporate or diffuse in air, which is precisely what makes them such effective fixatives in blending.

When used in aromatherapy, true resins are most often encountered as raw tears for burning, or dissolved in alcohol as tinctures. In perfumery, they appear as resinoids — extracted with solvent, similar in process to an absolute.

Examples: Mastic, Dammar, Sandarac, Colophony (pine resin)

Oleoresins

Natural mixture · Volatile + non-volatile · Complex

Oleoresins are natural plant secretions that contain both volatile essential oil components and non-volatile resin fractions — in the plant's own proportions, as they occur in the source material. They have not been separated or fractionated; what you receive is the complete aromatic and chemical profile as the tree produced it.

This makes oleoresins particularly interesting for formulation — they offer the aromatic diffusivity of an essential oil combined with the fixative depth and therapeutic density of the resin fraction, in a single material. They tend to be thicker and more complex than either component alone.

Examples: Frankincense oleoresin, Elemi, Galbanum, Pine oleoresin, Copaiba

Balsams

Resin + essential oil + benzoic/cinnamic acids

Balsams are a specific class of oleoresin characterised by the presence of significant quantities of benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, or their esters. This chemistry gives them their distinctive warm, sweet, vanilla-like aromatic character — and also their elevated allergen profile. Balsams flow more freely than true resins and often have a syrupy consistency at room temperature.

The term "balsam" is sometimes applied loosely to any aromatic plant exudate — but in technical use, the benzoate/cinnamate chemistry is what defines the category. This distinction matters for formulation, as these compounds carry specific sensitisation risks at higher dilutions.

Examples: Peru balsam, Tolu balsam, Styrax (Liquidambar), Benzoin

Our Collection

Notable Resins in
Depth.

Each carries a history measured in centuries and a chemistry that rewards serious attention. These are the resins that anchor our collection — and our practice.

01

Frankincense

Boswellia sacra, B. carterii, B. serrata, B. frereana & others

The most studied and widely used resin in aromatherapy — and the one where species distinction matters most. Boswellia sacra from Oman produces the most coveted sacred frankincense, with a crisp, green, almost citrus-bright quality and high alpha-pinene content. B. serrata from India is the species most researched for its boswellic acid content — compounds present in the resin but largely absent from the steam-distilled essential oil, making the resin, oleoresin, or CO₂ total extract the appropriate choice when boswellic acids are the therapeutic target. B. carterii from Somalia is the most widely traded and offers a classic, warm, balsamic frankincense character. B. frereana — the "king" of Somali frankincense — contains no boswellic acids but has exceptional aromatic purity and clarity. Understanding which species to choose, and in which form, is one of the more nuanced decisions in aromatic practice.

Primary uses: Grounding, meditation, skin regeneration, immune support, respiratory. Essential in both aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Available from us as raw tears, essential oil, oleoresin, and CO₂ extract depending on species.

02

Myrrh

Commiphora myrrha / C. molmol / C. guidottii

Myrrh has accompanied frankincense through three thousand years of trade and ritual use, and the pairing is not accidental — their aromatic and therapeutic profiles complement each other with an almost designed precision. Myrrh's chemistry is dominated by sesquiterpenes (curzerene, furanoeudesma) and terpenoids that give it a distinctive earthy, bittersweet, slightly medicinal character very unlike frankincense's brightness. It is one of the most important resins in traditional medicine across multiple cultures — Egyptian, Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Western herbal traditions all use it for wound healing, oral health, and anti-inflammatory applications. The essential oil is heavier and less diffusive than frankincense; the raw resin and oleoresin are the forms where its full therapeutic character is most accessible.

Primary uses: Wound healing, oral care, skin conditions, emotional grounding, respiratory. Excellent base note in natural perfumery. Pairs with frankincense, sandalwood, labdanum, and cistus.

03

Benzoin

Styrax benzoin / Styrax tonkinensis

Benzoin occupies a unique position in both perfumery and aromatherapy — warm, sweet, and distinctly vanilla-like without containing any vanillin. That impression comes from its high benzyl benzoate and benzoic acid content, which gives it an unmistakable character and also places it in the balsam category. S. benzoin from Sumatra has a richer, more resinous, slightly smoky quality; S. tonkinensis from Laos and Vietnam is lighter, sweeter, and more diffusive. Used as a fixative, it extends and sweetens a blend beautifully. As a therapeutic material, benzoin is valued for skin-soothing, warming, and emotionally comforting properties. Available most commonly as a resinoid dissolved in ethanol — far easier to work with than the raw resin, which is extremely sticky.

Primary uses: Skin soothing, warming, emotional comfort, fixative in blending. Excellent with rose, sandalwood, vanilla, and spice oils. Note: high allergen potential — dilute conservatively.

04

Elemi

Canarium luzonicum

Elemi is the freshest, brightest resin in the aromatherapy palette — a complete contrast to the warm, heavy character of most resins. Native to the Philippines, it produces a soft, pale oleoresin with a piney, lemon-citrus, and slightly spicy character driven by high levels of elemicin, limonene, and phellandrene. It bridges the gap between a resin and a fresh green essential oil in a blend — and is one of the more versatile and underused materials in the category. Historically used in plasters and ointments for wound healing and skin repair; in modern aromatherapy it is valued for its skin-regenerating, respiratory-supporting, and mood-lifting properties. Its lightness makes it easier to work with than most resins and more compatible with citrus and herbal blends.

Primary uses: Skin regeneration, respiratory support, stress relief, mood lifting. Bridges resinous depth with citrus freshness. Pairs with frankincense, lemon, rosemary, and cedarwood.

05

Galbanum

Ferula galbaniflua / F. gummosa

One of the most challenging and rewarding resins in natural perfumery — intensely green, sharp, and almost aggressively herbal at full strength, but a transformative ingredient at low concentrations. Galbanum is one of the oldest known perfumery materials: it appears in the Book of Exodus as one of the sacred incense ingredients. Its green, bitter, slightly rubbery character comes from a distinctive monoterpene profile including pinene, myrcene, and the characteristic green note compound (Z)-1,5-undecadiene. Used sparingly, it adds a naturalistic green depth that synthetic materials have never convincingly replicated. In aromatherapy it is valued for its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and wound-healing properties.

Primary uses: Green anchor in perfumery blends (very low %), anti-inflammatory, wound healing, muscle tension. Use with restraint — powerful at even 0.5% in a blend.

06

Opoponax

Commiphora guidottii / C. erythraea

Often called "sweet myrrh," opoponax is a close relative of myrrh with a markedly different and more approachable aromatic character — warmer, sweeter, softer, with a distinctive coumarin-like undertone and none of myrrh's medicinal bitterness. It has been somewhat overlooked in modern aromatherapy, where myrrh's reputation tends to dominate the Commiphora conversation — but in perfumery, opoponax is considered a significant material in its own right, particularly in Oriental and amber-family compositions. Its warm, slightly spicy, balsamic quality makes it an exceptionally useful base note that bridges resins, ambers, and spice accords. The therapeutic profile overlaps with myrrh — anti-inflammatory, calming, skin-supportive — but the aromatic personality is gentler and more versatile in formulation.

Primary uses: Grounding, anti-inflammatory, skin support, emotional warmth. A more approachable alternative to myrrh in blends. Excellent with rose, labdanum, cedarwood, and spice oils.

Practical Guidance

Working with resins
requires patience.

Resins are some of the most rewarding aromatic materials to work with — and some of the most unforgiving if you approach them without preparation. Their physical properties are unlike essential oils and absolutes, and they demand a different handling discipline.

The most important practical shift is time. Resins do not rush. A blend incorporating a resin needs time to marry — often days or weeks — before its full character reveals itself. A formulation that smells harsh or unbalanced at day one may be extraordinary at day ten. This is not a flaw; it is the nature of chemistry at work. Build rest time into your evaluation process.

The second shift is temperature. Most solid and semi-solid resins need gentle warming before they become workable. This is not a sign of poor quality — it is the expected behaviour of a material that was designed to harden on contact with air. Patience and a warm water bath solve most handling challenges.

Dissolving Raw Resins

Raw resin tears do not dissolve in carrier oils — they need alcohol. A resin tincture made with food-grade ethanol (95%) will dissolve most resins fully over 2–4 weeks with occasional agitation. The resulting tincture can be used directly in formulations that tolerate alcohol, or the ethanol can be allowed to evaporate to concentrate the resinoid.

Working with Thick Oleoresins

Warm the bottle in a water bath at 35–40°C until the oleoresin becomes pourable. Use a pre-warmed pipette or glass dropper for accurate measuring. Wipe any excess from the bottle neck immediately — dried resin residue around the cap will seal it shut permanently. Never use direct heat.

Resin as Fixative — Ratios

Even at 1–3% of a blend, a resin component will measurably extend longevity and add depth. You do not need large quantities. For a 30ml roller blend, 2–4 drops of frankincense or benzoin resinoid at the base of your blend before adding lighter oils is often sufficient to anchor and extend the whole composition.

Allow Time to Marry

Resin-containing blends change significantly over time. After combining ingredients, seal the bottle and leave for a minimum of 48 hours before final evaluation — 1–2 weeks is better. The resin molecules interact with lighter components in ways that transform the aromatic character substantially. Evaluate, adjust, and rest again.

Safety & Use

Safe practice with
resinous materials.

Most resins are among the gentler aromatic materials at appropriate dilutions — but several carry specific sensitisation concerns, and a few are restricted under current IFRA guidelines. Knowing which is which is part of working with them responsibly.

Dilution Guidelines

General adult skin use: 2% in carrier (as part of overall blend)
Balsams (benzoin, Peru balsam, styrax): 0.5–1% — higher sensitisation risk
Galbanum and opoponax: 1–2% — well tolerated at standard dilutions
Frankincense and myrrh essential oils: standard 2% adult dilution
Raw resin tinctures: use the tincture at 5–10% of total blend

Sensitisation & IFRA Notes

The following require particular care:

Peru balsam — high IFRA restriction; use with caution or avoid on skin
Benzoin — benzyl benzoate is a recognised allergen; patch test essential
Styrax/Liquidambar — cinnamate content; IFRA restricted for leave-on products
Oakmoss and treemoss absolutes — heavily restricted; atranol content
Always patch test balsamic materials before widespread skin use

Special Populations

Pregnancy: avoid galbanum, myrrh, and elemi in first trimester; frankincense generally considered safe from second trimester at 1% dilution
Children under 6: avoid most resins topically; low-concentration diffusion of frankincense generally considered safe
Kidney conditions: use all Boswellia products with professional guidance — diuretic compounds present
Blood thinning medications: frankincense may have mild anticoagulant effects — seek professional advice

Frequently Asked

Questions About Resins

Does it matter which species of frankincense I use?

Significantly, yes — and this is one of the questions we are most pleased to be asked. Different Boswellia species produce genuinely different chemistry and aromatic character. If your interest is boswellic acids and their documented anti-inflammatory properties, you need B. serrata resin, oleoresin, or CO₂ total extract — those compounds are present in the resin but largely absent from steam-distilled essential oil of any species. If your interest is the aromatic quality most associated with sacred incense traditions, B. sacra from Oman or high-grade B. carterii from Somalia will serve you differently than Indian serrata. If you want exceptional aromatic purity and clarity without boswellic acids, B. frereana is extraordinary. We are happy to help you match species and form to purpose — this is exactly what we mean by "aromatics concierge."

Can I use raw resin tears directly in a blend?

Not effectively in a carrier oil blend — raw resin tears do not dissolve in fixed oils. They are best used as they have been for millennia: burned on charcoal or a resin burner, where heat releases the volatile aromatic components and fills the space with smoke. For topical or skin-safe applications, you need the resin in a soluble form — as an essential oil, absolute, resinoid (solvent-extracted), or a tincture you make yourself using food-grade alcohol over 2–4 weeks. The tincture route is accessible and rewarding if you want to work with the raw material directly. We're happy to advise on the process.

What is the difference between a resinoid and an absolute?

The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they describe slightly different materials. Both are produced by solvent extraction — typically hexane followed by an ethanol wash, as with absolutes. The distinction tends to lie in the source material: absolutes are typically extracted from fresh or dried plant material (flowers, leaves, roots) to capture aromatic compounds. Resinoids are extracted specifically from resinous exudates — raw resin tears, balsams, gums — to create a soluble, workable form of the resin's aromatic profile. In practice, the processing is nearly identical; the distinction is more about the source than the method. For formulation purposes, treat them similarly.

I've read that frankincense can cure cancer. Is this true?

This is a claim that circulates widely and deserves a careful answer. Boswellic acids — compounds found in Boswellia resin — have demonstrated anti-tumour activity in laboratory settings (in vitro studies and some animal studies). This is genuine and interesting science. The leap from "demonstrates activity in a petri dish" to "cures cancer in humans" is not supported by current clinical evidence, and making that claim does a disservice to both the science and to people who may be navigating serious illness. What the research does support is a meaningful anti-inflammatory profile, some evidence of benefit in specific conditions including certain brain tumour-related oedema, and genuine interest from oncology researchers. That is worth knowing and worth following. It is not a cancer cure. We will always give you the honest answer, even when the simple one is more exciting.

How do I store resins and prevent them from hardening?

Raw resin tears: store in an airtight container away from heat and humidity. They will harden further over time regardless — this is their natural state and does not affect quality for burning. For liquid oleoresins and resinoids: store in dark glass, tightly sealed, at room temperature or cool. If an oleoresin has thickened in the bottle, warm in a water bath at 35–40°C. The most common mistake is leaving a bottle partly open — resins oxidise on air contact and the volatile fraction escapes. Always reseal immediately after use and wipe the neck and cap area clean. Most well-stored resins have excellent longevity — two to five years for oleoresins, indefinitely for raw tears.

Explore Our Resin Collection

Three thousand years of
proven chemistry.

Our resin and oleoresin collection spans multiple species, origins, and forms — chosen for practitioners and enthusiasts who want more than a single generic offering.

Browse Our Collection Back to Learn Hub

Ancient Materials.Enduring Chemistry.

The plant's ownprotective chemistry.

RESINS & OLEORESINS