Make a Cleansing Aromatherapy Incense

Making a cleansing incense (for mind, body and surroundings) is not as hard as you may think. Incense and soaked oils were likely the first ways humans explored Aromatherapy. When certain botanicals are burned, their essential oils burst and are carried via steam and smoke throughout your environment. For many years, certain botanicals such as sage and rosemary were burned to cleanse sick rooms. Why people today use incenses created with cheap punk joss sticks (which are actually supposed to be used in the making of firecrackers) and chemical fragrance oils is beyond me. Especially when raw materials are relatively easy to obtain.

Incense created of chemical scent, glue and punk sticks will do nothing but pollute your air. Perhaps compromising your lung’s ability to stem off infection. True incense materials such as sandalwood, myrrh, frankincense, etc., can actually disinfect your surroundings and add a true sense of calm. The Fragrance Foundation has already done numerous studies to assertion if chemically manufactured scents are able to be used as effectively as real essential oils. All of the findings provided very unstable results, leading to the conclusion the answer was no.

One simple way to create your own incense is to blend together resins and add essential oils to heighten their effect. A very popular blend is myrrh, frankincense and benzoin. Other resins such as copal and Dragon’s blood may be added as well or instead of one of the above three. After you have combined equal mixtures, add 10 to 20 drops of essential oils such as sandalwood, cedarwood, rose, jasmine, etc. Store this mixture in an airtight container for a few weeks. When cured, burn a bit on a charcoal disk (or as I like to do, over some powder combustible incense).

Another way is to take a few chips of fragrant wood such as cedarwood, sandalwood (or if you really feel like splurging, agarwood aka aloeswood) or pine. Then take about 10 to 20 drops of myrrh, frankincense, sandalwood, rose, juniper, etc. Let this soak into the chips for over a week in a glass container. When ready, light and burn. These can also be used in your fireplace for a wonderful experience. Remember that not all essential oils smell very aromatic when burned. Peppermint is a fine example. A good way of seeing what can be used is to look what other natural incense blends incorporate. There are also many recipes listed on the net. A bit of searching can be quite fruitful.

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