Table of Contents

Lighting incense

The purpose of the incense holder

Extinguishing the incense

Fire safety

Does incense give you a headache?

Quality incense

People burn incense for many reasons. Others use fragrance producing incense to support meditation, as the fragrance relaxes mind and can help with concentration. Some use incense for aromatherapeutic purposes to relieve stress, ease depression or increase motivation. Some people use incense as an air freshener as incense produces a rich fragrance.

Whether you use incense for relaxation, religious purposes, or simply for the good fragrance, it is important that you know how to use incense correctly. Using incense is not difficult, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Lighting incense

Almost always incense is lit from the end of the incense stick. When the incense is lit, let the flame burn for a few seconds and extinguish the flame by blowing, for example. After this, the tip of the incense glows red and produces fragrant smoke. Lighting cones and incense pressed into other shapes is done in the same way.

Burn incense in a safe place and in an incense holder made for incense. Make sure that the smoke can flow freely and that the incense is not close to walls or shelves. Also, make sure there is nothing flammable near the incense, such as curtains or carpets. Since incense releases smoke, you must ensure that there is sufficient supply of replacement air. For example, incense placed near an open ventilation window mixes well with the fresh replacement air.

Use incense holder

Place the incense in the incense holder. If you are burning incense with a bamboo stick, place the wooden end of the incense in the holder. Most incense holders hold the stick vertically or at a gentle angle. Incense cones and incense pressed into other shapes must be burned on a fire-resistant base, and in addition, the base must be placed on a heat-resistant surface.

If the incense holder is holding the incense at a slight angle, make sure the tip of the incense is still on top of the incense holder. If the tip extends beyond the incense holder, you can break the bamboo stick by pressing it against the incense holder, and then you can make the incense stick better above the incense holder.

If you use a container filled with rice, salt or sand, place the incense in the material so that it stays upright. You can place the incense stick straight up or tilt it slightly. However, make sure the tip of the incense is still inside the rim of the container. In this way, the ashes of the incense fall directly into the container.

Extinguishing incense

Let the incense burn until it goes out. The burning time of incense varies depending on the shape, length and thickness, but on average an incense stick burns for about 30-60 minutes. Once the incense mass has burned, it will extinguish itself.

Of course, you can extinguish the incense before it burns out. The easiest incense is extinguished by tumbling, for example, in sand. The glowing red tip can also be rotated against the incense holder and pressed a little at the same time. After the procedure, you can light the incense again when the moment is right. Incense can also be extinguished with water, but after this it cannot be lit again.

Fire safety of incense

When using incense, we are dealing with high temperatures together with flammable materials. In this context, it is worth remembering that burning incense must always be supervised. Make sure that the incense holder is on a heat-resistant surface, that the burning incense is not near flammable materials, and that the incense is out of the reach of children and pets.

Remember that the Incense Cones and the coals used for burning incense resin burn very hot after the incense burns. So always make sure that the incense and coal are completely extinguished before you put the ashes and other fire waste in the trash.

Headache from incense?

Incense can sometimes cause a headaches for a few reasons. The most common reason is that incense is burned in the room without sufficient supply of replacement air. Burning incense produces combustion by-products that worsen the quality of breathing air. Usually, for example, opening the ventilation window when burning incense is a sufficient measure to provide replacement air.

Another reason could be that the incense may contain benzene or other harmful substances. Benzene has a sweet smell, but it can also irritate the nervous system. When the nervous system becomes more sensitive due to the effect of the chemical, the after effect is a headache.

It can be difficult to determine which incense is natural and which contains questionable substances. The language used by large companies is often vague, and it is not always clear whether popular brands are made with synthetic or natural fragrances.

The biggest problem of mass production is the low quality of the end result; incense are produced mechanically and dipped in a liquid saturated with chemicals and dyes. Burning this kind of incense usually does not smell good, but mostly smells bad, smoky or chemical-like.

Another concern is the carbon used in incense, which can be harmful to inhale. Coal is used in incense as a binding agent and as a combustion promoter. As a rough rule of thumb, the darker the black incense, the more likely it is to contain carbon.

Relief of headache

The easiest way to relieve a headache caused by incense is to improve the air circulation in the area where the incense is burned. Open the ventilation window or door. You can even get a fan to improve air circulation, but often opening windows and/or doors is sufficient.

If you get a headache when burning incense, it probably won't do you much harm. However, the longer you expose yourself to incense, the more troublesome the headaches can be. You may notice that the headaches feel more intense and occur more often. If you suffer from severe headaches or headaches often occur when burning incense, you should replace incense with other fragrant alternatives, such as essential oils or potpourri. There are plenty of options available and there is sure to be something for everyone.

Choose a quality incense

The surest way to avoid a headache caused by incense is to choose the highest quality incense and also take care of good ventilation. The best incense are made by hand rolling. In addition, the raw materials are naturally fragrant or the fragrances are made from essential oils and are already mixed into the incense mass. After drying, the incense is ready for use. High-quality incense can be recognized by the text natural, organic, masala, agarbatti or hand-rolled found on the package.

Incense can also be made mechanically. In this case, the rolling of the incense is done mechanically with a machine, and the fragrance ingredients of the incense are added by dipping the incense in a scented liquid. This method is quite common in mass production, where quantity replaces quality.

The quality factor with the production method in question is however not completely unambiguous, because Maroma, known for quality incense, manufactures the incense mechanically and dips the incense in a mixture made from essential oils. The advantages of mechanized production are the uniform production of products and larger production quantities.

Finding high-quality incense can be difficult from time to time, because often the companies that make incense share very little information. In addition, there are thousands of incense manufacturing companies in India alone, so it is clear that there are many types of entrepreneurs. The best quality products can be found by boldly experimenting and comparing products with each other. In addition, you can search for more information and reviews about the products online.

Masala incense

Incense made using the traditional masala method are the most famous Indian incense. They often contain naturally scented ingredients such as herbs, flowers and resins. The incense is rolled by hand and the fragrance ingredients are mixed into a ready-made mass that is rolled around a bamboo stick.

Masala incense are finer in structure and may also burn more unevenly, but they are nevertheless among the best quality incense in the world.

Masala incense is made from dried natural ingredients. Incense are of excellent quality and their quality is unlikely to deteriorate over time. The fragrance of incense is often strong in intensity and their burning time is about 30-45 minutes. The aroma of masala incense creates an atmosphere that is hard to compare with others.

Of the incense sold in the Suitsukekauppa, the Golden Nag product line and the incense made by Goloka and Satya are made using the Masala method.

The term Masala in connection with incense usually refers specifically to the traditional method of making incense. In other contexts, the term may refer to a unique Indian spice mix.