Red Sandalwood (Lal Chandan)

Red sandalwood — lal chandan, raktachandan — is a different wood from white chandan, and it serves a different purpose. It carries almost no fragrance. What it has instead is a deep natural maroon, which has made it the wood of red tilak and given it a long place in traditional Ayurvedic skin preparations.

White or red — which one do you need?

Choose red when you want the colour: red tilak in Vaishnav and Devi traditions, or a face pack for oily skin, blemishes and uneven tone. Choose white sandalwood when you want the fragrance — daily pooja, meditation, and the classic cooling chandan paste. Many households keep both.

What to look for

Genuine raktachandan is a deep, earthy maroon, never a bright artificial red. Mix a pinch of the powder into water: dyed powder releases bright pink almost immediately, while real red sandalwood gives up its colour slowly. Our guide to identifying pure sandalwood covers this in more detail.