Posted by Sue Landsman on Jul.19, 2010

ⓒ iStockPhoto - KonradLew

Aromatherapy is very well-known these days, and there is a multitude of scented candles and incense sticks and cones on the market available for any preference or mood. If you’re looking for a little bit of a challenge, however, or want to experiment in a new way with the range of fresh herbs available during the summer, making your own incense could be just what you’re looking for.

Below is an overview of making your own incense. There are numerous wonderful sites on the internet describing specific methods and ingredients for incense production. Scents of Earth has good information on incense making and the ingredients you’ll need.

Kinds of incense and burning methods

The kind of incense you make will depend on how you want to burn it. Generally, the easier it is to burn, the harder it is to make. It’s a trade-off: you’ll either need a few more steps and utensils to make it, or to burn it.

The incense you find at the store is called combustible incense. These are dry cones or sticks that you light, and then blow out until the tip is just barely glowing. This kind of incense travels well and is easy to use. It’s very easy to find an incense burner or to rig one up out of natural or household materials.

Oddly, the other kind of incense is called “non-combustible.” This is because the incense itself doesn’t catch fire. Instead, you rest the incense on a special burnable substrate, specifically that heats the incense and releases its scent. Non-combustible incense is made of loose ingredients mixed together or roughly shaped into pellets. You want to be careful that you choose a substrate that will not release any toxic compounds when burned. Many charcoals contain saltpeter, which releases toxic fumes.

Ingredients

All incense is made up of ingredients from three main categories: Herbs, Resins, and Woods. The combinations are endless. When you start though, keep it simple and use only a few ingredients. This way you’ll identify what you like, and also begin to understand how the ingredients mix together so that you’ll be able to experiment in a knowledgeable way. If you mix too many things together, you’re likely to come up with a “mushy” scent (kind of like ending up with a disappointing brown when you mix one too many paint colors). Resins are highly-scented rock-like materials that will have to be ground up, and Woods are bits of wood that will also have to be powdered. Alternately, you can purchase powdered resin and wood.

What you’ll need

If you’re using intact resin and wood, you’ll need a way to pulverize both of them into powder. You can grind resin with a mortar and pestle. Scents-of-Earth recommends a Mexican Molcajete for this, a rough rock mortar and pestle used to make guacamole or grind corn. It’s arguable whether there’s a great way to grind the woods or whether you should just save yourself the trouble and buy powdered wood. Most sites agree that an electric coffee grinder, which most people would be tempted to try, will either break or destroy the chemicals in the resin and wood due to the heat they release.

You’ll also need the accoutrements for burning your incense, whether you just need a standard incense burner or special charcoal or powder for “burning” your loose incense. If you want to make cones or sticks, you’ll need distilled water or some other special, scented water as well as special powder such as charcoal or something called makko. To bind your loose incense into pellets, you can use dried fruit, and/or honey.

Obviously you will also need measuring instruments, mixing bowls and spoons, and a kitchen scale that can measure very small amounts. Be sure to also keep a notebook to keep track of your methods and experiments. You can either try one of the hundreds of recipes available on the net, or experiment with a basic resin and wood and whatever’s coming out of your garden. If you find something you like, make sure you know how to make it again!

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