Castoroleum. An Oil extract of aged Beaver Castor-Perfume and Beard oil ingredient. Aphrodisiac-Pheromones-Musk

Description

Castoroleum-An oil extract of cured beaver Castors for oil-based/solid perfumes, beard oils and Moustache waxes. Like the alcohol tincture of Castor, the oil extract helps fix a fragrance and adds deep soft and enduring leather notes.

The animal essences and aromatic materials do not lend themselves to distillation so we will find no essential oils of Castor, Civet or Muskrat. This is one of the factors that limit their use in oil-based perfumes, solid perfumes, beard balms and moustache waxes. Tinctures and absolutes of the animalics often do not dissolve readily in alcohol or oil, dropping substantial residue in the solution and not delivering the full potency or spectrum of their aromas.

After a few years of experimenting and exploring various processes, I have finally found a method that yields consistently high-quality perfume oil from Beaver Castor.

This product is made using a hot oil infusion and extended maceration of the resinous material found inside cured Castors in warm Fractionated Coconut oil.
When full Castor sacs are properly cured, one finds within them a solid, brittle, aromatic resin which will mostly dissolve in alcohol and warm oils.

It is made at a concentration of 1:3 using 1-2 year cured, Canadian Beaver Castors infused/extracted in Fractionated Coconut oil which has an extremely long shelf life.

I used a small amount of Benzyl Benzoate to first loosen up the material and draw out some of the compounds that were reluctant to dissolve in Fractionated Coconut oil. Benzyl Benzoate is an aromatic compound and solvent that is found in abundance in Benzoin resin, Ylang Ylang flowers, Beaver Castors and other aromatic materials. It has become my go-to solvent for resins and compounds that need a little help dissolving in alcohol or oils. Benzyl benzoate has a slight vanilla-ish odour and acts as a fixative in perfumery. It dissolves in both alcohol and oils.

Once upon a time, most, if not all our perfumes were oil based. We had developed sophisticated methods and techniques for producing high-quality and enduring perfumes from the natural materials around us. Unfortunately, we have lost much of this knowledge.

The Castor glands used to prepare this aromatic oil are purchased from Canadian trappers who are licensed by the Provincial government to cull a specific number of Beavers each year. The culling is part of a program to maintain an optimum number of beaver colonies, a healthy Beaver population and avoid conflict between animals and man. Beavers cannot be transported to new areas since they are HIGHLY territorial and do not take well to the proximity of other beaver clans. The use of illegal leg traps is banned by Canadian provincial governments.

Dan