Mystic Incense

Incense is still one of my favorite things all these years later. As a kid, my mom used to burnt he infamous Nag Champa and sometimes Patchouli or Sandalwood. I guess that's what happens when you are the child of parents that grew up in the 60's!

Incense is cheap and easy to make. It's a great project for a beginner looking to make something for themselves or kids or something that is simple and not time consuming to add to your current product line for added impulse sales! 

Supplies List:
DPG (Incense Solvent)
Incense Sticks
Fragrance (consider some of our Closeout Fragrances!)
Bags or a Tube
A Glass or Metal Pan
An Empty Glass Jar

Directions

1. Mix 1 part fragrance oil to 2 or 3 parts solvent liquid (DPG), and stir well. Do not use straight fragrance oil as it will make excessively smoky incense! Any of our fragrance oils can be used for incense, regardless of flash point or soap/lotion safety, etc. Some popular incense scents are Patchouli, Nag Champa, Sandalwood, Lavender, China Rain, Butt Naked, Jasmine or Frankincense & Myrrh. Some other scent suggestions would be Drakkar type, Mountain Lake, Amber Musk, Cedar Wood, Cinnamon Stick, Sex on the Beach, and Smoke & Odor Eliminator. Or how about some Citronella bug repellant sticks for summer time!
2. Soak stick incense in scent mixture for 24 hours in a glass or HDPE plastic container. Soaking takes patience, but is necessary to allow the incense to fully absorb the oil. A shallow glass baking pan works well to lay sticks in and submerge in the oil (as shown). Or you can soak the sticks while still bundled in a tall glass vase or cylinder. After soaking, pour the leftover oil mixture into a glass or HDPE plastic bottle, such as our fragrance bottles, for storage. You can use this again to make more incense, it doesn't go to waste!
3. Lay the cones or sticks out on a screen or drying rack with a pan underneath to catch any drips. Or if your sticks are still bundled, you can hang them to dry on a hook with bowl or bucket underneath or place them incense side up fanned out in a glass jar (as shown). Be sure to put them where they will get air flow to help them dry (you may use a fan to speed the process). Do not bake the incense in an oven or microwave to dry it! Incense must be allowed to dry completely for at least 48 hours before burning. If incense is still wet or damp, it will not burn properly! Be patient and allow it to dry fully before using for best results. Note: It is also important that you make sure the incense is totally dry with no wet or damp spots before packaging in plastic bags or tubes, etc! Fragrance oils are very strong and can melt or eat through many types of plastic!

• 16 oz. of scent mixture should make approximately 500 or more sticks or cones. Properly made, fully dried incense should burn for approximately 45 minutes to over 1 hour.

As you can see, incense is one of the simplest projects you can make. They take little time to make, are a low cost start up option and a low price point item to sell making it a win/win for you and your customer!

Happy Incense Making!
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