Hyraceum or Africa Stone: The Ethical Animal Note in Perfumery

Origin and History of Animal Notes

Animal notes were discovered by Alexander the Great around 330 BC. From then on, they became very useful to perfumers. Indeed, they possess powerful aromas, resisting evaporation particularly well.

Animal notes, used in small doses, can be associated with more delicate scents, thus bringing a smoothness to the perfume, subtly and without betraying their presence.

At the beginning of the century, the majority of perfumes were composed of animal notes, then qualified as fixatives. These animal notes, very tenacious, participated in the base notes, but above all gave great sensuality to perfumes.

Hyraceum and Animal Notes on the Perfumer’s Organ

Hyraceum is therefore part of the 1,000 natural notes available to the perfumer. There are also 3,000 possible synthetic raw materials. The independent perfumer is very free in the choice of their raw materials. They will generally select 1,000 (natural and synthetic), according to their tastes and training.

On the other hand, if they work for a larger company, the perfumer will have to comply with the cardex (reference work of products usable in perfumery) of the latter, and use the raw materials made available to them.

Moreover, certain tribes used, and still use today, pure animal raw materials, or mixed with plants, to perfume themselves. Indeed, the smell of hyraceum is initially aggressive, but softens once mixed with other substances such as rose, jasmine, or ylang-ylang (cf. Floral family).

Its scent can even sublimate the orchestration of the perfume, and thus bring a sensual, almost aphrodisiac note.

Hyraceum: Definition and Origin

Hyraceum is an essence coming from an animal, commonly called Rock Hyrax or Cape Hyrax. It is a rodent of the ungulate family, the size of a hare and resembling a large marmot, which possesses two characteristic small tusks and lives in caves.

Hyraceum is created from the excrement of this animal, which is carried by rainwater into very porous soil, and is then decomposed with urine rich in pheromones.

Once mixed with earth and roots, these excrements fossilize in the caves of the hyraxes. The liquid petrifies during a very long process that sometimes lasts hundreds of years, until the rocks are totally impregnated with it.

A Perilous Harvest

The harvest of hyraceum essence has existed since Antiquity in East Africa, and is carried out in fairly rudimentary conditions. Hyraceum gatherers, who are responsible for recovering the stones soaked in this liquid, must climb into caverns using a ladder (a rather perilous exercise).

They will then break the stones using chisels and hammers, then pick them up and transport them on camelback to the city to sell them.

According to ancient texts, the Egyptians also harvested hyraceum, which then participated in mummification techniques, hence its other name the “Stone of God” or the “Africa Stone”.

The Healing Virtues of Hyraceum

Besides its use in perfumery, hyraceum also possesses healing virtues. It is used by certain tribes in Africa to stop hemorrhages, and can even disinfect wounds, relieve migraines, anxiety, and treat certain skin problems, as well as convulsions linked to epilepsy.

Hyraceum Transformation Process

The harvested stones, which have become brown and brittle, are then crushed. The dark oil that flows from them is treated with hexane (a hydrocarbon), then chilled and filtered. This is followed by a concentration step, until obtaining a resinoid absolute (an extract of a dry raw material, vegetable or animal). The oil can also be worked in the form of infusion in alcohol.

Hyraceum is a rare product, therefore quite expensive. It is also the only authorized natural animal product, apart from ambergris (also natural, and even more expensive than hyraceum).

Olfactory Description: An Authorized Animal Note

Following this transformation process, hyraceum allows obtaining a particular note, very animalic (even scatological), with a leather facet. The scent of hyraceum could be situated between that of civet and castoreum.

You should know that hyraceum is an authorized natural animal raw material, because no suffering is caused to the animal to obtain it. The trade of hyraceum is therefore subject to fair trade.

Other Animal Products to Replace Hyraceum

If the perfumer does not have hyraceum on their perfume organ, they can use, as a choice:

Synthetic notes, such as:

• Animal notes contained in jasmine: indole.
• Paracresol, civettone, or skatole.

Or natural products, such as:

• Vegetable musks like ambrette.
• Vegetal notes with slightly dirty notes, like cumin, costus, cistus labdanum, sage, Atlas cedar, hyssop, osmanthus, leather notes, etc.