Incense & Incense Holders

Choosing incense sticks

Lavender is the one people reach for before bed, and the safest starting point if you've never bought incense. Jasmine is sweeter and floral. Vanilla is warm and works well in a room you spend a lot of time in. Frankincense and dragon's blood are resinous and smoky, more traditional and much stronger. Sandalwood and om blends sit somewhere in the middle.

If you're unsure, start with lavender or vanilla. The resinous scents are wonderful and also the ones people most often find overwhelming in a small room.

Incense for meditation and winding down

The scent matters less than the signal. Lighting incense at the same point each day tells your brain something is starting: a meditation, a wind-down, the end of the working day. That's the same principle behind a bedtime routine, and it works for the same reason.

A stick burns for roughly twenty to thirty minutes, which is a convenient length for a practice or a bath.

Incense holders

You need one. Ash falls, and it will mark a surface. Our wooden holders in lotus, tree of life, flower of life and feather designs catch the ash along a channel and sit flat. The ceramic and brass burners suit thicker sticks and cones.

The backflow burner is a different thing entirely: cones designed so the smoke falls downward like water. More of an object than a tool, and the most given as a gift.

Burning incense safely

Use a proper holder on a heat-safe surface, keep it away from curtains and anything that might catch, and never leave a burning stick unattended. Open a window or crack a door, since incense is smoke and a closed room gets heavy quickly. Keep out of reach of children and pets, and take care around anyone with asthma or respiratory sensitivity.