Hinoki Essential Oil (Chamaecyparis Obtusa)
- Hinoki wood oil from Middle Honshu, Japan. Timber distilled, not leaf distilled, from Chamaecyparis obtusa, the Japanese cypress.
- 26.27% alpha-Pinene, the largest named constituent. Ahead of tau-Muurolol and delta-Cadinene in a wood-distilled hinoki. See the chemistry.
- Dry, fine wood with a lemon edge. The bright opening goes first, then the wood settles in and holds.
- An oil we use ourselves. Like everything we sell, this is an oil we use at home.
- Third-party tested. Outside-lab tested, like all of our oils.
- The same oil in every size. Pick the bottle that suits you on the Compare tab, and start small if hinoki is new to you. Compare sizes.
Product specification
Batch transparency
View the full compositionHinoki, the wood oil of the Japanese cypress
6 benefits of Hinoki Essential Oil
The hinoki bath at home
Hinoki is the bath tub wood of Japan, and a few drops in the water bring that scent into an ordinary bathroom. Blend the drops into a little carrier oil first so they spread through the water instead of floating. The scent is the point, the same dry wood that fills a bath house.
Forest air from a diffuser
In a diffuser, hinoki wood oil smells like a cedar forest after rain, and to our nose it runs softer than cypress, without the sweetness some woods carry. It carries a room without shouting, which is why it suits a workspace as much as a room at home. Start with a few drops.
A dry down that outlasts the citrus
The bright opening of hinoki comes from alpha-Pinene, and the part that stays comes from tau-Muurolol and delta-Cadinene, two heavier sesquiterpene compounds. The citrus top fades first and the wood stays. On a wood block or a cotton pad the wood is still there long after the citrus has gone.
A perfumer's anchor under citrus and woods
Hinoki wood oil holds a blend together, keeping lighter citrus notes in place while adding a dry wood of its own. Perfumers use it where other woods run too sharp or too sweet. A drop or two in a citrus accord changes the whole character of it.
Wood oil for the connoisseur
Our hinoki is Middle Honshu wood oil with three named constituents, alpha-Pinene, tau-Muurolol and delta-Cadinene, which is the fastest way to tell it from a bottle that only borrows the name. A hinoki label rarely says what went into the still, yet the oil changes with it. It belongs with the rare oils we stock for people who know the difference.
A woody scent to wear, mixed into a carrier
Mixed into a carrier oil, hinoki makes a quiet personal scent that reads as clean wood rather than perfume. It suits people who find other woods too sweet or too sharp, and it sits close to the skin without turning powdery. By evening what's left is the dry wood, and nothing else.
How to use
Diffuser
In the airStart with 3 to 5 drops in a water diffuser for a medium room, then add a drop at a time until the room smells right to you. Hinoki carries well, so a little goes a long way. Diffuse for 30 to 60 minutes, then give the room a break for the same time, with some fresh air moving.
On the skin
TopicalDilute hinoki to 1 to 2 percent before it touches skin, which is 6 to 12 drops in 30 ml of a carrier like Hawaiian kukui nut oil. Keep to 3 to 6 drops per 30 ml for the face. Patch test a small spot on the inner forearm and wait a day before wider use. We don't apply this oil neat, and it stays out of reach of children.
Bath
In the waterStir 4 to 6 drops into a tablespoon of carrier oil or an unscented bath oil, then add it to the water once the tub is full. Oil and water don't mix on their own, so the carrier is what lets the drops reach your skin diluted, not neat. Swirl the water and get in.
3 recipes using this oil
Tap a recipe to see the full formula and method.
Method. Add the drops to a water diffuser and run it for 30 to 60 minutes. The bergamot lifts the top and the fir sharpens the green edge, so the hinoki sits underneath as the wood.
Method. Stir the drops into the kukui oil, then pour it into a full tub and swirl before you get in. The lavender rounds off the wood without covering it. Rinse the tub after, since oils leave a film.
Method. Mix the drops into the kukui oil in a small bottle and roll it between your palms before use. Apply to the shoulders and the back of the neck, where the wood sits close without carrying across a room. Keep it capped and out of sunlight, and use it within a few months.
Technical information for this batch
At 26.27% this batch is dominated by alpha-Pinene — a monoterpene found in conifer and rosemary oils, hinoki's main constituent. tau-Muurolol sits at 13.58%, delta-Cadinene sits at 10.94%. The oil is clear with straw hue and thin consistency, and it reads as a top note in a blend.
Compare sizes and pick your value
Every size is the same oil. The larger the bottle, the lower the price per ml.
Frequently asked questions
7 answers drawn from the product specification and our own use of this oil.
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