How to light incense at home

Even though it comes from 100% natural elements, smoke is not without being harmful for the lungs. In this case, the smoke that the incense gives off can be more harmful to our body than that of tobacco, since it also penetrates our lungs and, therefore, harms them. Some of the consequences of incense smoke can be serious diseases, such as cancer.

The published studies on smoke conditions of incense in people were carried out on few tests that, in addition, were not carried out in humans, but in animals, so it would not be a decisive alarm. However, experts point out a series of recommendations for putting incense at home:

• First of all, ventilate the spaces well before setting the house with incense. Proper ventilation is the best way to keep the air in your home clean and free of toxins.
• What’s more, avoid exposing yourself directly to incense smoke for a long time. An hour and a half is an amount of time more than enough to not miss any of the properties and benefits of incense without exceeding the limit harmful to health.
• Take a good look at him color of the smoke that comes off. If the smoke is too dark, it means that the incense is too concentrated, so it could be harmful to our body.
• Finally, always check that the incense you are going to buy have a quality certificate. Optionally, you can be guided by the price: the cheapest, surely, will be the ones that contain the most toxins. Additionally, colorless incenses will always be more natural, as they will contain fewer coloring chemicals.

You should also know that there are different varieties of incense according to its origin. Japan, Nepal or Tibet are known to be the best and most expert producers of natural incense which, in addition, are usually of very good quality. In India, however, both natural incense of excellent quality and other more synthetic varieties are produced. It also occurs in countries like China, Thailand or Indonesia. As we mentioned, you can guide yourself according to the price of the products. And if you find natural fair trade incenses, don’t hesitate, it is always the most recommended option.

One of the main incense properties It is its relaxing power, since it positively affects the nervous and endocrine systems. So it makes sense that since ancient times, incense has been used for spiritual and religious purposes, both in ceremonies and in private homes.

To this day, although the perception of certain household accessories has varied, the use of incense seems to be very similar to that of its origins. In many homes incense is lit to accompany wishes and attract good energies, for example, in rituals to attract good luck. Also, in many homes it is accompanied for the purpose of provide a space with a welcoming aura, intimacy and peace. Incense can be very stimulating, therefore, in intimate moments, its use is recommended to take advantage of all its aromatic and aphrodisiac properties.

If you want to know more about the uses of incense, we invite you to consult our article What is incense for?

The most common and convenient way to burn incense at home is to use the rod format. The appearance of incense sticks is similar to that of a sparkler: it is a stick of about eight inches, made of fine wood, which is almost entirely covered with incense powder. Only the part of one end will be free, where we will hold it. Although there are also some that are completely incense powder.

We will only need the incense wand and a censer or incense holder. There are many forms, the important thing is that it is a container where the wand can be punctured or supported and that, in turn, collects the ash that falls as it burns. We recommend you consult our article How to make a container with incense at home to make your own container quickly and easily.

1. Place the wand puncturing its uncovered part in the small hole that the incense holder has for this purpose.
2. Light it at its upper end with a lighter or match. You will see how the wand begins to change color in the heat of the fire.
3. Put the incense away and let the stick burn out.
4. Relax and enjoy.

You’ve seen how easy it is to burn incense. We only hope that these tips have helped you to decide which procedure to choose yourself. Remember: the quality of the incense is important to your health.

You can also use a incense burner. They are very easy to find in the market and very practical when lighting incense at home.

The steps to burn incense grain they are fairly straightforward, but are often unknown. In the event that you are going to burn incense with charcoal, it will be enough that you have a container that withstands high temperatures. If you are going to do it without it, you will need to get an essential oil burner or an electric burner.

1. Prepare the container to burn the incense. There are specific ones, but you can use any small container you have on hand, as long as its material is suitable for it. It must be a material that withstands high temperatures, such as metal, glass or clay. It is recommended that you find another container in which to place the one that you will use as a burner, since it will reach too high a temperature and you will not be able to touch it. Thus, in case you want to move it, you can always do it by grabbing the container that you have placed underneath.
2. Light the charcoal pill. It is best to hold it with a clamp as sometimes these pills come with gunpowder and in those cases they burn very quickly.
3. Place the grain incense on the charcoal and fan with your hand or with a small piece of paper or cardboard, so that the smoke begins to give off. Like when we light a barbecue. When the incense you have burned is consumed, you can add more.

In the case of burning incense alone, you can use a electric burner, whose mechanism will replace coal when heated. You can also use an oil burner; this way is more traditional. This way you will know how to burn grain incense without charcoal:

1. Pour some vegetable oil On top of the superior part. It is better that this oil is odorless, so that it does not mix with the aroma of the incense or cancel it.
2. Add a few grains of incense in the oil. In the case of powder, the amount will be one teaspoon.
3. At the bottom of the burner, place a candle turned on. The oil that will give off the aroma of the incense will immediately begin to heat up.

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• Organization of Consumers and Users (2013). Some air fresheners, incenses, and oils emit more benzene than tobacco. Organization of consumers and users. Available at: https://www.ocu.org/organizacion/prensa/notas-de-prensa/2013/ambientadores. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
• Jia-Chen Tung, Wei-Chien Huang (…) (2017). Auramine O, an incense smoke ingredient, promotes lung cancer malignancy. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28722353/. Retrieved March 8, 2021.