Antonio Mcgowan
Incense has been used for centuries to bring a sense of calm and spiritual serenity to homes and places of worship. Making your own incense sticks is a great way to connect with this ancient tradition and create custom fragrances. The process involves grinding your chosen natural ingredients, such as wood, herbs, flowers, and resins, into a fine powder and mixing them with a binder, scent, and base material. Water is then added to create a dough, which can be rolled out by hand or extruded for more even sticks. The sticks are then left to dry before being burned, filling your home with a wonderful fragrance.
How to roll your own incense sticks
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Natural ingredients like wood, herbs, flowers, resin, essential oils, fragrance oil, water, and natural tree gums as a binder |
| Tools | Grinder, bowl, brush, fine sieve, teaspoon, hands, drying screen, paper, clay extruder, incense squeezing syringe, straightening board, rolling board, bamboo stick, mug or cup |
| Process | Grind the ingredients into a fine powder, mix with water and essential oils to form a dough, roll the dough into thin sticks, let them dry for 1-5 days, then burn |
| Tips | Use dipropylene glycol to prevent black smoke, use distilled water, dry the sticks in a warm area away from direct sunlight, use a straightening board to keep the sticks straight while drying, use a clay extruder for more even sticks |
| Benefits | Custom scent profile, connect to ancient traditions, save money, create natural incense without chemicals |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing your ingredients and tools
Ingredients
- Unscented incense sticks: These will serve as the base for your incense sticks. You can purchase a set of plain, unscented sticks online or from specialty stores.
- Essential oils or fragrance oils: Essential oils are natural extracts from plants, flowers, or herbs and provide a strong scent. Fragrance oils are synthetic but offer a wide range of scent options. Choose scents like sandalwood, pine, cedar, juniper, sage, thyme, lavender, rose, cinnamon, or vanilla.
- Dipropylene glycol (DPG): DPG is added to the oil to prevent the incense from giving off black smoke and helps to carry the fragrance.
- Natural ingredients: You can use natural ingredients such as wood, herbs, flowers, or resins to create unique scents and add texture to your incense sticks.
- Binder: A binder, such as natural tree gums or makko, is used to bind the ingredients together and help the incense burn effectively.
- Charcoal: Charcoal will aid in the combustion process, allowing the incense to burn slowly and evenly.
- Water: Water is needed to create a dough-like consistency when mixing the ingredients. Some makers prefer to use distilled water.
Tools
- Grinder: You will need a way to grind your natural ingredients into a fine powder. An electric coffee blender or a mortar and pestle can be used for this purpose.
- Mixing tools: A bowl, spoon, and teaspoon are essential for mixing your dry and wet ingredients.
- Rolling tools: A rolling board or flat surface is needed to roll the dough into thin sticks. You can use your hands or a clay extruder for more even sticks. A fondant extruder or syringe can also be helpful for shaping the dough.
- Cutting tools: A knife or scissors may be useful for cutting the dough to the desired length.
- Drying tools: A drying screen, wax paper, or parchment paper is necessary for laying out the incense sticks to dry. A paper bag, rectangular box, or cooling rack can also be used to protect the sticks from dust and maintain airflow during the drying process.
- Measuring tools: A fine scale and measuring spoons are important for accurately measuring your ingredients, especially when working with essential oils.
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Preparing the dough
Once you have gathered your dry ingredients, slowly add your chosen essential or fragrance oil. The amount of oil will depend on the desired fragrance strength. As a guideline, start with 20% of the total weight of your dry mixture. For a milder, more consistent scent, dilute your fragrance oil with dipropylene glycol (DPG) at a 1:1 ratio before adding it to the dry mixture. DPG is important as it reduces black smoke and enhances fragrance detection.
Next, gradually add distilled water to your mixture while stirring continuously. The dough should have a dough-like texture and be careful not to add too much water as this can make the dough sticky and difficult to work with. If your mixture becomes too wet, use the remaining powder to absorb the excess water and adjust the consistency.
Once you have achieved the desired dough consistency, you can begin forming it into stick shapes. Pull off a small chunk of incense dough and roll it into a ball with your palms. Then, continue rolling the dough into a long stick, using the bottom of a flat box to help guide you and achieve an even thickness. You can adjust the thickness according to your preference, ranging from thin spaghetti-like sticks to thicker pencil-shaped ones.
After shaping the dough into sticks, place them on a drying screen or parchment paper. The drying process is crucial, and the time required will depend on the humidity and temperature of your environment. It can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, or even longer in more humid climates, for the sticks to fully dry. Make sure the sticks are completely dry and hard to the touch before burning them.
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Rolling the sticks
Preparing the Dough:
Firstly, prepare the incense dough by grinding your chosen ingredients into a fine powder. You can use natural ingredients such as wood, herbs, flowers, resins, and essential oils. Combine the dry ingredients with a binder, scent, and base material. Add distilled water gradually and knead the mixture until it forms a dough. The dough should be moist enough to hold its shape but not too sticky. Adjust the consistency by adding more powder or water as needed.
Now, you are ready to roll the incense sticks. Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a thin, snake-like shape on a rolling board. You can use the bottom of a flat box or a rolling pin to help achieve an even thickness. The sticks can be as thin as spaghetti or nearly as thick as a pencil, depending on your preference.
Next, carefully wrap the rolled dough around a bamboo stick, starting from the bottom and working your way up. Make sure to press the dough evenly onto the stick, creating a uniform layer. Repeat this process for each bamboo stick, aiming for consistent thickness and length among all the sticks.
Drying the Sticks:
After shaping all the sticks, place them on a drying rack or screen. The traditional Chinese method involves pushing the sticks closely together on a drying screen, using a long piece of wood or acrylic to keep them in place. You can also use a straightening board with grooves to keep the sticks straight during drying.
Finally, let the sticks dry completely. This can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, or even up to 5 days, depending on the humidity and temperature. The sticks should be completely dry, hard, and no longer malleable before burning. During the drying process, rotate the sticks occasionally to ensure even drying.
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Drying the sticks
Drying the incense sticks is a crucial step in the process of making your own incense. The drying time can vary depending on the humidity and temperature of your environment, so it's important to be patient and allow them to dry completely before using them. Here are the detailed steps to follow for drying your incense sticks:
- Place the rolled incense sticks on a wax paper-lined cutting board or parchment paper. This will prevent them from sticking to the surface and make it easier to transfer them later.
- Set the cutting board with the incense sticks in a paper bag and tie it shut. The paper bag will help to contain the scent and prevent it from dissipating too quickly.
- Over the next few days, reopen the bag and rotate the sticks slightly to ensure even drying. This step is important to prevent the sticks from becoming bent or misshapen as they dry.
- Let the sticks dry for 1 to 5 days. The drying time can vary depending on the humidity and temperature of your environment. In a more humid climate, it may take closer to 5 days, while in a drier climate, it could take as little as 1 to 2 days.
- Check the dryness of the sticks by touching them. The incense sticks should be completely dry and hard to the touch before you attempt to light them.
- If you are using a drying screen, follow the traditional Chinese method of placing the first stick against one edge of the screen and pushing subsequent sticks right next to it. Use a long piece of wood or acrylic to push the sticks together and keep them in place.
- To prevent the ends of the sticks from sticking up during the drying process, place two shorter pieces of wood or acrylic on top and bottom of the incense sticks.
- If you are using a clay extruder or a fondant extruder, you can use a drying frame or fly screen to place the extruded sticks on. This will help ensure they dry straight and don't bend or curl.
- Once the sticks are completely dry, store them in a dark place until you are ready to use them. Proper storage will help extend the life of your incense sticks.
Remember, the drying process is essential to ensure that your incense sticks burn properly and last longer. Taking the time to dry them thoroughly will result in a better final product.
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Storing the sticks
Storing your incense sticks properly is essential to ensure they stay fresh and effective. The three biggest enemies of incense are moisture, heat, and sunlight. Moisture can make the incense soggy or mouldy, heat can weaken the fragrance, and sunlight can cause the essential oils to evaporate.
To protect your incense from these elements, store your incense in a cool, dry, dark place, away from direct sunlight. Avoid storing your incense near heat sources, such as radiators, stoves, or heaters, as these could expedite degradation.
Select the appropriate container for your incense sticks to ensure their longevity. Opt for airtight containers made from non-reactive materials such as glass, ceramic, or metal. Avoid using plastic containers, as they can sometimes emit odours that could affect the fragrance of your incense. Japanese paulownia boxes are an excellent choice, but it is best to avoid boxes made from strongly scented woods.
Incense sticks should be stored in wax paper, thick paper, rice paper, or cotton fabric wrapping. Paper wrapping may absorb some of the scented oils from time to time, but it will still help the sticks maintain their fragrance. If using a paper or fabric wrapping, store the wrapped incense in a cardboard or wooden box to protect them from breakage and help maintain their scent.
Different incense fragrances can mingle if stored together, compromising their unique scents. Keep different types of incense sticks separated in individual containers or compartments within the same container to preserve their distinct aromas.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need unscented incense sticks, essential oils, a bowl, a rolling board, and parchment or wax paper. You can also add dipropylene glycol (DPG) to your ingredients to prevent your incense from giving off black smoke.
Combine 1 part oil and 1 part DPG in a glass container. Then, slowly add your chosen essential oils or any other kind of fragrance oil to the dry mix. Add distilled water in a gradual manner while stirring the mix continuously until it becomes something close to a dough-like texture.
Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a thin, snake-like shape onto a rolling board. Wrap this carefully around a bamboo stick, starting from around an inch at the bottom, and roll it until it evenly covers the stick. You can adjust the thickness of the stick according to your specifications.
Once the sticks are shaped equally, lay them out on parchment paper and place them in a dry, warm area away from direct sunlight. The drying process can take anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature of your home. The sticks should be 100% dry and hard to the touch before they are ready to be burned.
