All About Frankincense

Let’s learn all about Frankincense shall we. Frankincense is one of the oldest essential oils in the world, has been used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years, and is considered the “holy anointing oil” in the Middle East. Still revered today for its ability to connect us to our Creator it continues to be used today during religious ceremonies and during time of prayer and mediation. It was well known during the time of Christ and was one of the gifts given to Christ at his birth. Its a popular addition to many high end skin lotions and products. In ancient times, the Chinese used frankincense to support overall health. More recently, it has been the subject of substantial research. Literally HUNDREDS of studies have been done on it.. over 1700! It is one of the most studied essential oils of all time.
 

 

Determining the Quality Frankincense Resin

Gary Young has spent 25 years learning and traveling to the countries where frankincense is harvested. He has spent this time learning and researching the physical, emotional and spiritual applications of frankincense essential oil so he can know which species of frankincense and other oils are of the highest quality and benefit.

You must know which quality of frankincense resin is being used… #1 is freshest and is the highest quality, with #’s 2-4 being older. The first cut of the Frankincense tree produces the white resin called “hojari” and was selected just for the kings and queens because it was the purest of the frankincense.

The lower grades of resin are a brownish color and have a lot of particles in them because of being on the tree and not harvested quickly. This lower grade of resin is what most companies use since it is more easily available.

Notice the pictures below. The Boswellia frereana has dark spots in it. That is because it has remained exposed to the elements for a long time and things get caught in the resin. It also is exposed to extreme heat conditions and loses its potency.

“Young Living does not buy frankincense resin on the open market. They purchase from reputable suppliers that they have long term relationships with. Young Living has trusted partner distilleries for frankincense that are located in Spain (15 years – George Fernando), Nairobi, Kenya (Satqa Haq) and recently a distilling operation was established in Oman.”

Harvesting Frankincense Essential Oil

“The process of collecting frankincense happens two times a year – once in the spring (March to May) and then in the fall (September to October). To harvest the resin, you have to take a little axe and chop the hardened resin crystals off the branches – but there’s a process that comes in the week before that. To begin the process, you cut the bark of the frankincense tree and then it allows the liquid resin to ooze out onto the external part. Then, when it hits the oxygen, it starts to crystallize and harden. Naturally, the longer it is left on the tree, the longer it is present in the oxygen and the harder it gets. It takes about a week before you can actually come back and cut it off as a hardened resin crystal. So this is a week to two-week process from when you go in and you cut the tree to when you come back and collect the crystal resin. Then the crystal resin goes into the distillery where it is crushed into powder, put into an oil bath, and steam distilled to extract the oil from the crystal resin.

The longer the frankincense resin is left before harvesting, the lower quality it becomes. Most frankincense resin sold today is as much as 4 years old. The boswellic acid, polysaccharides and incensol have been flashed off with extreme heat, then followed by monsoon conditions.

Side Note: Frankincense needs to be distilled for 15 hours to get the incensol out. This constituent has a heavier molecule and it takes longer to get the incensol out. Most distillers cut off the distillation process too soon and don’t get all the valuable properties out.

Distilling Frankincense Essential Oil

Having a Young Living distillery at the farm in Oman guarantees no shortcuts are being taken on the quality of the frankincense resin received through the distilling process. In fact, Gary even hand picked the specific frankincense trees to source from!

Whenever any oils are not produced by Young Living’s own farms and distilleries, Gary and a team trained by him travel to these distilleries to make sure that every step of the process, from growing, harvesting, distilling, meets YL standards. Companies who want to sell their oils to YL are surprised when Young Living representatives show up because other companies take the vendor’s word for it instead of personally inspecting their operation.

Gary says, “If you don’t travel to the distillery yourself, you have no way of knowing if they are doing it right.”

Gary Young’s comments on distilling frankincense essential oil:

“I have found after distilling oils on five continents around the world, above and below the equator, that most of the time the [best most powerful] molecules are some of the last molecules to come out, which may take 1½ to 3 hours more. For example, in our distillery in Spain, we use full-agitation to distill frankincense essential oil for 12 hours minimum. In Salalah, we use partial agitation and distill frankincense for 16 hours.

Agitation is a process that grinds the resin into coarse powder. It is similar to the agitation of the old-time washing machine, where the paddles move back and forth, beating the clothes. In this case, the paddles break down the resin, which is very gummy and will easily stick together, impeding the release of the oil. For this reason, the constant agitation is important to keep the powder from clumping at the bottom of the cooker. This agitation also ensures greater steam saturation for greater essential oil extraction as the steam travels up through the powdered resin.

Incensole acetate, which is a very important compound found in frankincense resin, only shows up after 11 hours of distilling with agitation and 15 hours without agitation. Incensole acetate is considered a major constituent, which is sought after to support many body functions.”

 

No other company in the world can claim to be so intimately involved in their frankincense product.
From “Seed to Seal,” you know that Young Living’s expertise begins at the source and extends to the final product.

 

Types of Frankincense essential oils offered by Young Living

SACRED FRANKINCENSE (boswellia sacra)

Item No: 3550 ~ 5 ml

The Boswellia sacra frankincense tree which grows ONLY in Oman or southern Yemen, and Young Living is the ONLY company legally authorized to export it from Oman. Young Living’s Frankincense (boswellia carteri) contains a significant amount of boswellic acid, but their Sacred Frankincense (boswellia sacra) has double the amount of boswellic acid as boswellia carteri. Some species of Frankincense do not contain boswellic acid. Of the ones that do, the resin has to be distilled very quickly after harvest in order for the boswellic acid to show up in the oil. That’s why Young Living has a distillery right in Oman. Brokers don’t have the ability to do this and therefore erroneously believe that it’s not supposed to be there because they don’t find it present in theirs after distillation. Sacred Frankincense is distilled from wild growth frankincense trees (Boswellia sacra) at the new Young Living distillery in Oman.

Sacred Frankincense essential oil supports and maintains the appearance of healthy-looking skin, and has a grounding, uplifting, and inspiring aroma. Apply this oil topically to enhance meditation. Sacred Frankincense includes the naturally occurring constituents alpha-pinene, limonene, and boswellic acid.

Item No: #3548 15 ml

It has been sought after since ancient times. The complex aroma of this oil can elevate many aspects of your life. Diffuse Young Living Frankincense oil to refine your sense of purpose or add it to your beauty routine for a luxurious experience.

Frankincense essential oil has an earthy, uplifting aroma that’s perfect for grounding and spiritual connectedness. Create a safe and comforting environment when you diffuse or inhale this empowering oil—a perfect opportunity to collect your thoughts. When you seek purpose or engage in prayer or meditation, use this oil to enhance your experience.

In addition to elevated spiritual experiences, the benefits of Frankincense essential oil include maintaining radiant skin. Its ability to smooth the look of healthy skin makes this oil a key part of our Boswellia Wrinkle Cream™.

FRANKINCENSE FREREANA

Boswellia frereana is highly fragrant with a lemony, bright aroma which makes it good for diffusion and is found in our Slique Gum. Young Living occasionally offers it during the Christmas holidays, in limited quantities.

Frereana Frankincense is high in monoterpenes, lupeols, and alpha thujene, making it different from Boswellia sacra and Boswellia carteri. It is derived from the Boswellia frereana tree, native only to northern Somalia. Gary Young spent eight years trying to get into Somalia to procure this treasured and only true source of Frereana Frankincense oil from local clans of harvesters, continuing Young Living’s legacy as the global expert in frankincense. The resin is popular for burning as incense.

It’s highly fragrant, lemony aroma is uplifting, and promotes calmness and relaxation making it a good choice for diffusion. Traditionally, Frereana Frankincense was used to promote energy flow, increase spiritual awareness, deepen meditation, improve attitude, and uplift spirits. Frereana Vitality can be used to support normal cellular function when taken internally. You can use it in a capsule or take in water. Boswellia frereana is used in the perfume industry. Most essential oil companies are selling Boswellia frereana.

All three types of Frankincense oils are AMAZING for the skin.

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“We don’t tell you it is a good oil, we prove it.” D. Gary Young.

For 25 years our Seed to Seal® quality commitment has been both a promise to you and a reflection of our sense of global stewardship and accountability. We believe you want only the best for your family and yourself—products that are genuine, free from harmful synthetics, and of unmatched purity. Our proprietary Seed to Seal promise is our pledge to you, the earth, and ourselves that Young Living products will be the best available, now and always.

Seed to Seal and its three pillars— Sourcing, Science, and Standards are infused into every aspect of our exacting essential oil production processes, both on our own farms and our carefully curated family of partner farms. Seed to Seal is infused into our painstaking quality testing and retesting to ensure that your family enjoys the highest quality essential oil products on the planet. Ultimately, Seed to Seal is infused into everything we do. We know that for us—and for you—simply nothing else will do.

Respected worldwide for it’s integrity and commitment to quality!

You know a company is doing something right when the Sultan of Oman donates 400,000 acres to Young Living as well as offering exclusive rights to it’s trees and aromatic plants. The Peruvian government also thought this was a good idea and granted them 12,000 free acres also. Only when you have integrity and respect for the land does this happen.