Things You'll Need:
- Money
- Incense Burner
- Patience
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Step 1
Avoid synthetic scents. A quick indicator of cheap incense is the scent. If the incense is grape, strawberries and cream, or root beer scented, then it's not authentic incense. Avoid these gimmicks unless you want to purchase a letdown.
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Step 2
Try to avoid "hand-dipped" incense sticks. Though the advertiser uses this wording to make it sound authentic, hand-dipped simply means that a "blank" incense stick was dipped into synthetic oils in order to produce the scent. Once again, these oils are most likely what causes irritation and headaches while burning incense.
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Step 3
Look for imported brands. Incense from India is often the most popular, and is usually made with authentic ingredients that wont cause irritation. One of the world's most popular incense scents is Nag Champa, and the most popular brand is by Satya Sai Baba. This incense, which comes in an iconic blue box, can often be found in health food stores and international markets worldwide.
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Step 4
If you want to ensure authenticity and purchase an incense with only natural solid earthly ingredients, consider purchasing Tibetan, Nepalese, or Bhutanese incense. This incense, often made solely from spices, is usually presented in the form of a slightly thick stick with no bamboo core. It produces an earthy fragrance, much different from the floral scents of Indian incense.
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Step 5
If you want to be extremely authentic, raw incense materials (such as frankincense, cedar, sage, etc), can be burned over charcoals to produce a fragrant smoke, though this method is often much messier than using traditional prepared incense.
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Step 6
Don't forget the burner! Many big-box retailers that sell cheap unauthentic incense also overcharge for incense burners. Simple wooden incense holders can often be found for only around a dollar at local international markets.
