Resins, plants and woods
Resins are the dried sap or fluids from plants, and the most well-known are frankincense, myrrh and dragon’s blood.
When burned the resins have an extremely powerful smell, so when experimenting always use a small amount, otherwise it might take over the entire fragrance of the blend, and even leave you with the wrong impression on the resin smell.
Plants include hundreds of types that produce pleasing scents, mainly the roots, bark or the leaves of trees: lavender, rose, Saffron, sage, patchouli, and even tea leaves (the list is indeed never-ending).
Some Woods can also be included in our list as aromatic agents such as sandalwood, Agar-wood, pine and cedar.
The woods need to be dried before use otherwise they will be hard to burn.
When the wood’s odor is strong it can be used as an aromatic, but when its weak it should be used as a base.
It's difficult to map out the scents of all the common ingredients, mainly because smell is subjective and even an identical ingredient can smell differently, depending on its quality and source. Feel free to refer to the ingredient fragrance list we gathered for your use.
Using the Base Materials
After you experimented and decided that “these are the ingredients I want to try out”, you need to choose your base materials.
The base material is usually wood powder, and we would recommend softwoods rather than hardwoods. The most popular woods used for bases are sandalwood, quassia, vetiver, willow and evergreen needles, but the list is by far not restrictive.
The base materials are essential for two main objectives:
They aid the burning of all the ingredients together
Many aromatics are hard to burn without a good catalyst. Most likely, when using leafy plants as aromatics they will not burn well without a flammable base.
They add more scents to the incense blend, or mild strong fragrances that come from the herbs.
So how do we decide how much of the base to put in the incense blend?
It's all about the balance between the fragrance that you wish to produce, and the ability to produce that fragrance as you burn the incense.
Binding it all together - with the Binder
The binder serves as a glue that holds the incense together and allows you to determine the form and shape of the incense. Binders are usually plants or gums, and there are dozens (possibly hundreds) of resins and gums that can be used as an incense binder.
The glue is usually made simply by mixing the binder with liquid to create the glue. The liquid can simply be water, but can also be olive oil, beer and even wine.
The most common ancient binder used is the arabica (acacia) gum, t is a white powder sometimes with a mild minty smell and when mixed with water it forms a glue. It’s not so easy to handle this binder due to its stickiness.
The Gum Tragacanth is an excellent binder for incense, and probably one of the best binding agents there is. it is a light- tan to cream- colored powder and it has a very mild scent that is reminiscent of sweetened flour. It is strong and easier to work with.
Karaya is one of the least expensive binder agent, and because of that its used by most incense makers. It usually comes in small chunks that must be ground to powder and dissolved, as the other gums, in boiling water.
Your first Incense formula
There are infinite combinations of incense formulas, but for your first formula we would suggest using a proportion of
2 Aromatic substances >= 1 base Material = 1 binder
By that we mean that you should keep the proportion of aromatic substances at least twice as large as the base. You may only use one binding material for the incense (there’s usually no reason to use more than one).
*Exceptions to this rule are when working with extremely strong or bitter herbs, or if you’re only using aromatic substances that can burn without a base material.
When shaping the incense to your liking (cone, cylinder, stick or any other form), all the ingredients should be ground is finely as possible. Keeping this guidance will make incense easier to work with and it’ll burn in a more uniform smell throughout its entire burning period.
The incense mixture should be that of a moist dough. It should be easily workable, yet not too wet. In cases the mixture is too wet, the incense will run and sag, if it's too dry, it will be crumbly and hard to shape.
Wet incense is a lot like wet clay and can be artistically formed into virtually any shape desired. You can even buy cookie cutters and cut your wet incense dough into any desired shape (the shape might not completely burn, but they often do. If I find myself with extras after making a supply, I usually give them away as presents to friends and family.
On that note, I would suggest that before letting our artistic skills go wild, the first focus should be on the incense and its smell! The shapes are really fun to create, but it's more important to make a good, pleasing incense before all that. After you pass that stepping stone - artistically the sky's the limit :)
Stages in making your incense
Prepare the glue:
First, prepare the glue: place a teaspoon of the ground gum in a glass of warm water and mix completely until dispersed; this natural glue is highly absorbent: allow your gum mixture to absorb the glass of water until it thickens to a paste.
Meanwhile - prepare the incense base:
the fundamental wood powder- the one of your choice- and ground spice, dried herbs and flowers, or any combination thereof. At this stage, add the base materials and all the aromatics of your choice (once you have defined your base, an essential oil may be added for additional scent).
Waiting is done - Start mixing the base and the glue:
Add one spoon at a time of gum- glue, mixing with your hands as you go. Add only enough of the glue to achieve the consistency of model clay or play dough from the entire mixture.
Create Fun shapes of incenses:
The incense dough is as fun as actual dough, and can be shaped as you like (though I would suggest reading below general guidelines) <we can sell here patterns for incenses>
Let your incense dry for a few days, and of course- Enjoy both the process and the end-goal!
Few things to know when making your incense
Burning time:
The burning time of your incense is primarily determined by the length of its shape, as longer shapes of incense (or the taller the cone), will burn longer. Furthermore, thick incense will burn slower than thin, but be wary of making incense that is too thick (you should never make incense thicker than an unsharpened pencil).
Proper Drying:
Improperly drying your incense might ruin the entire incense, so drying the incense correctly is really important.
Suppose you’re making incense cones, the phases to dry them are as follows:
place them in a vertical position for about an hour
lay the cones flat, turning them occasionally (the best surface to dry incense on is wood)
In warm weather, cones can be easily dried when placed near your window at home (or the balcony), and it usually takes about two days for them to dry. On the other hand, incense dries very slowly when the humidity is high or on rainy days. Proper ventilation is a must when drying incense (or anything in fact - drying anything in a closed box might produce mold).
How do I know that the incense cones are dry?
Testing whether the incense is dry really depends on the binder you used. When using tragacanth gum for example, you’ll know if its dry if you squeeze them as hard as you can and they don’t break or change their shape. However, this method won’t work if you used arabic gum binder because the binder is not strong enough to be tested that way.
After the cones are dry, you can simply store it in any container, and a dark and dry place.
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Any plant, resin or wood can be used as an aromatic (the part that primarily supplies the scent) as long as you like its scent when it is being burned (and you can be reasonably certain it is not harmful).
Also, it is sometimes surprising that an aromatic with a very strong scent alone may add well to another scent when used carefully. Many aromatics don't smell all that great when burned alone (turmeric for example) but can add a wonderful scent when used in combination with other aromatics. Many herbs smell quite pleasant in their natural state, yet can be very offensive when burned: a good example of this is mint, because, when burned, it smells awful!
To test an aromatic, always burn it (if you open a bag of myrrh granules you'll smell very little and even in powder form myrrh has very little scent. Once you add heat to it, however, you are greeted with a wonderful warm scent that is hidden in the resin): testing with burning is the only way to know with certainty how an aromatic will smell while being burned in your incense.
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Resins are the dried sap or fluids form plants and, more often, trees: frankincense, myrrh and dragon's blood are all resins. Resins are usually very powerful and, as a result, they should be used sparingly (when using a resin for the first time or when experimenting with one, use caution and only add a small amount to your blend: don't underestimate their strength!).
Plant materials would include the roots, bark, or the leaves of trees; patchouli, sage, lavender and many other aromatics are plant materials. Luckily for us, there are hundreds of plants that work very well and produce great scents.
There are also the fragrant woods to be included in the list of aromatics: sandalwood, pine and cedar are all good examples of these type of woods (it should be carefully dried before using it, otherwise you will have trouble to burn it).
As long as the wood has a strong fragrance, it can be used as an aromatics, but if a wood has a weak scent, then it can be used as a base.
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Base materials serve two basic purposes. The first is to improve the burning properties of the incense; many aromatics are reluctant to burn and the base aids in the burning process (leafy plant materials in particular can be very hard to burn: one of the first ways to improve the burning properties of a mixture is to increase the amount of base material).
The second purpose is to improve its scent: it does this by mellowing the scent or muting it (if your blend produces too strong a scent when burned, increasing the amount of base material will help a great deal). Moreover, the base also helps take the bitterness out of an herb, or makes its fragrance milder and it is necessary because many herbs are too strong, pungent, bitter or overpowering when burned by themselves: a good base will correct these faults, while still retaining the basic scent of the herb.
The base material is usually wood powder; many types of wood can be used, but in general I get better results from soft woods rather than hard woods (although it is not a wood, clove is also an important base material: adding clove to an incense blend causes it to burn hotter and thus help you use aromatics that are harder to burn). The most popular and easy to obtain bases are: sandalwood, quassia, vetiver, willow and evergreen needles (if you know people who cut their own firewood, you may be able to get some wild cherry or cedar sawdust, which will add a pleasant scent).
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The final component of incense is the binder: the binder serves as the glue that holds your incense together and allows you to shape and form the incense as you please. Binders range from plant gums to animal dung! In fact, the are dozens of resins and gums which can be used for this purpose.
The most common and the most ancient binder is gum arabic or acacia, one of the first incense binders used in the West (it is a little easier to find than many other binders). It is a white powder sometimes with a mild minty smell and when mixed with water it forms a glue. You must use caution because it is very sticky that makes it hard to handle and, in general, it's tough to work.
Gum Tragacanth is an excellent binder for incense, it is by far the best available bonding agent; it is a light- tan to cream- colored powder and it has a very mild scent that is reminiscent of sweetened flour. It is strong and pliable and it is also fairly forgiving for the novice incense maker: it works very well for hand rolling, molding and extruding (it is rather expensive but a little will last for months).
Karaya is the least expensive gum, for this reason is widely used by incense makers. It usually comes in small chunks that must be ground to powder and dissolved, as the other gums, in boiling water.
(Remember: you need a liquid to turn the bonding agent into a glue. The best and easiest liquid to use is simply water, but almost any fluid may be used and even wine, brandy, honey, rose water, olive oil and beer can be used!).
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There is no such thing as the perfect incense formula, however an excellent basic formula to begin your incense making with is one of twenty parts aromatic substance, four part base, and one part bonding agent. This general formula can be used as a kind of stepping- stone to more elaborate formulas. Always keep the proportion of aromatic substance at least twice as large as the base (the only exceptions to this rule are when you are working with an extremely strong or bitter herb, or if you are using only scents).
When making incense- be it cone, cylinder or stick- the ingredients should always be ground as finely as possible; this will make the incense easier to work and the finished product will burn cleaner and more evenly.
The consistency of the incense mixture should be that of a soft lumpy putty or of moist dough. It should be easily workable, yet not too wet (if the mixture is too wet, the incense will run and sag; if it's too dry, it will be crumbly and hard to shape).
Wet incense is a lot like wet clay. It can be formed into virtually any shape desired: that gives the incense maker a lot of flexibility and allows for some creative efforts.
In addition, you can buy inexpensive cookie cutters and cut your wet incense dough into any shape you desire- the shape might not completely burn, but they often do.
Since incense dough is so easy to work with, you'll find that you can make most anything from it. You're only limited by your own artistic skills (don't start out trying to craft sculpture: learn to make good incense first, then try your hand at sculpture!). Incense can be shaped in a wide variety of ways: from the humble but beautiful cone to the longest coil, all offer us pleasure and joy...personally, I like to make incense in many different shapes and forms- try them all and find the ones that suit you the best!
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How you intend to use the incense: will you require a long burning time or will a short one do? Keep in mind that the burning time of your incense is primarily determined by its length: the longer your incense (or the taller the cone), the longer it will burn. Moreover, thick incense will burn a little slower than thin, but be wary of making incense that is too thick (never make incense thicker than an unsharpened pencil).
Proper drying is very important because improperly dried incense takes much longer to dry and may even be ruinated. I will describe the drying of cone incense, but the methods and techniques used can be readily adapted to the drying of other types of incense as well.
When you have finished making the cones, place them in a vertical position for about an hour; next, lay the cones flat, turning them occasionally (the best surface to dry incense on is wood). In warm weather, cones can be easily dried on a windowsill and it usually takes about two days for them to dry. On the other hand, incense dries very slowly when the humidity is high or on rainy days (check the weather forecast!). Proper ventilation is a must when drying incense (it should never be covered or placed in a box to dry). The cones are finally dry if you can squeeze them as hard as you can and they neither give way nor break (this method only works when using tragacanth gum; cones made of gum arabic will be too fragile to be tested in this way). After your incense is completely dry, it should be carefully stored in a glass can, in a dark and dry place.
First, prepare the glue: place a teaspoon of the ground gum in a glass of warm water and mix completely until dispersed; this natural glue is highly absorbent: allow your gum mixture to absorb the glass of water until it thickens to a paste.
In the meanwhile, create your incense base: the fundamental wood powder- the one of your choice- and ground spice, dried herbs and flowers, or any combination thereof. At this stage, add the base materials and all the aromatics of your choice (once you have defined your base, an essential oil may be added for additional scent). Finally, add one teaspoon at a time of gum- glue, mixing with your hands as you go. Add only enough of the glue to achieve the consistency of model clay or play dough from the entire mixture. Now let's shape the mixture into the forms you like the most (cones, blocks etc.). Then, let your incense dry for a week, following the above mentioned rules...
When it is ready- burn and enjoy!
