This article will answer the question, “what is incense made of?” There are many different types of incense, and each type is defined by what ingredients it is made from. Incense ingredients include natural plant-derived or animal-derived materials, essential oils, and now with the advances in technology, some incense includes artificial fragrances. The incense purist usually prefers incense made from natural materials over incense made from essential oils, and incense made from essential oils over incense using artificial fragrance.
Incense made from artificial fragrance is generally the cheapest incense. Incense made from natural materials is generally the most expensive and valued incense, with one particular natural incense (Agarwood) being worth more than its weight in gold. Essential Oil incense generally falls in between natural incense and artificial incense in terms of cost and desirability. Incense made from essential oils is sometimes considered to lack the aromatic complexity or authenticity of incense made from raw materials.
Natural Incense
Natural incense materials can be separated into plant-derived materials and animal-derived materials. These materials can be used in either direct or indirect burning incense. They are commonly used in religious ceremonies, and many of them are considered quite valuable.
Plant-derived incense can be further separated into woods and barks, seeds and fruits, resins and gums, leaves, roots and rhizomes, and flowers and buds.
| Plant-Derived Incense | ||
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| Woods and Barks | Seeds and Fruits | Resins and Gums |
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| Leaves | Roots and Rhizomes | Flowers and Buds |
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| Animal-Derived Incense | ||
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Essential Oil Incense
An essential oil is any concentrated, hydrophobic liquid, usually having the characteristic odor or flavor of the plant from which it is obtained. Essential oils contain volatile aroma compounds and are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the “oil of” the plant material from which they were extracted. There are many different essential oils and, therefore, many different types of essential oil incense. Below is a partial list of essential oil incense:
| Essential Oil Incense |
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Artificial Incense
Artificial fragrances are usually added to a base formed from charcoal powder, and are usually used in the cheapest forms of incense. Typically, artificial fragrance is used when there is no essential oil available from the plant that has the desired aroma. Below is a list of artificial fragrances used in incense.
| Artificial Fragrance Incense |
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