Mistakenly thought to be sperm whale semen by the 16th and 16th century whalers, it is a white translucent mixture of oil and wax found in the spermaceti organ or "case", located in the top portion of a sperm whale's head.
Spermaceti (from Latin sperma, seed, and cetus, whale) is a wax present in the head cavities of the Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and in the blubber of all whales. Spermaceti is extracted from whale oil by crystallisation at 6 °C, when treated by pressure and a chemical solution of caustic alkali. Spermaceti forms brilliant white crystals that are hard but oily to the touch, and are devoid of taste or smell, making it very useful as an ingredient in cosmetics, leatherworking and lubricants.