Last Updated on November 27, 2023 by David Michael
Best Sandalwood Incense
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Sandalwood – The king of fragrances. Sandalwood’s warm, sweet, woody aroma has been used for thousands of years.
Sandalwood is obtained from the slow growing trees in the santalum genus. One of the remarkable traits of wood from a sandalwood is that it’s fragrance can last for decades. The essential oil derived from the wood is also long lasting and is highly prized in the perfume and fragrance industry.
I love a sandalwood home fragrance, and incense is an easy way to add sandalwood’s rich scent to your space. We specifically look at what we feel are the best sandalwood incense sticks, most of these high quality incense brands also offer sandalwood incense cones. Please use whichever form you prefer.
Benefits of Sandalwood Incense
Sandalwood incense benefits are varied and numerous. Sandalwood has also been used for meditation and ritual use for thousands of years. According to traditional aromatherapy texts the scent of sandalwood has a calming and centering effect. These qualities alone make for an ideal incense.
More esoteric teachings describe sandalwood as opening the third eye. The third eye is known as the 6th chakra in the chakra system of energy flow.
The fragrance of sandalwood even helps to deter mosquitos. Aboriginal Australians have burned sandalwood to repel mosquitoes for years.
Sandalwoods warm fragrance also lingers in incense. I personally love the scent of sandalwood incense and use it to fragrance my home just because I love the scent.
We look at a few different sandalwood incense choices. All of these are high quality incense brands. They differ slightly in aroma strength, burn time, and manufacturing methods. I feel these are the best quality incense sticks and recommend all of them. Let’s look at the differences.
Gonesh Extra Rich Sandalwood Incense
This is my go to, every day sandalwood incense. The fragrance is concentrated and long lasting. The burn time is about 45 minutes. You need an incense holder to catch the ash residue. These are made on a bamboo core, so any standard holder should work. I love the strong sandalwood fragrance of this incense.
Natural Choice Sandalwood Incense
This is a nice, long burning incense stick – about an hour. The fragrance is medium strong. I sometimes had trouble keeping this lit when I used a vertical incense holder. Switching to a holder that keeps the incense horizontal fixed that issue. This incense stick is also made on a bamboo core and requires a holder. I would recommend a horizontal holder.
HEM Sandalwood Incense
HEM is another traditional incense stick from India. Made on a bamboo core, you’ll need an incense holder for this. This one had a medium strong sandalwood fragrance, and burned for about 40 minutes. This one was a little more smoky than the others, but not unpleasantly so.
Shoyeido Overtones Sandalwood Incense
Shoyeido is a Japanese incense maker. The biggest difference is the Japanese incense has no bamboo core. The incense burns into a fine white ash that can be collected and used to hold burning incense. This is a more subtle sandalwood incense. This burns about 35-40 minutes and leaves a delicate fragrance. Coreless Japanese incense also burns without creating a lot of smoke. If you like your fragrance on the lighter side I would recommend the Shoyeido.
Nippon Kodo Kayuragi Sandalwood Incense
Nippon Kodo is another Japanese incense maker. This is also coreless and clean burning. The fragrance is also subtle, but more pronounced than the Shoyeido. The burn time is only about 25 minutes, making this perfect for a quick dispersal of fragrance. The packaging is also exquisite and sturdy. Packaged in the handsome wooden box is a small ceramic holder. The fragrance is long lasting despite the more subtle intensity. I would even consider giving this as a gift because of the packaging and included incense holder.
In Conclusion
I’m certain that you will be able to find a sandalwood incense from our choices that will suit all of your needs. Bring the fragrance of sandalwood into your home using incense. Please use an appropriate holder and never leave burning incense unattended.
Looking for an incense burner? See our post Best Incense Holder