Incense burning instructions
This page contains information about how to burn Frankincense, Myrrh and other incense using a Charcoal Incense burner or a Thermostat Controlled Incense Burner.
1- Instructions on burning incense using OUD COLLECTION’s supplied Charcoal Incense burner:
To burn incense, you will need an incense burner, charcoal tablet and incense.
The first step is to light the charcoal:
- Take one charcoal tablet and light it - you can do this by holding the charcoal with a tong and by using a candle, lighter or a blowtorch which can burn the charcoal. You can also put the charcoal tablet on the gas stove top to burn it.
- Once you see that charcoal is burnt from the edges, put it on the incense burner. The charcoal will take another few minutes to light completely and you will see white ash forming on the top, this is when charcoal is ready for incense burning. Hint: Some people will light the charcoal for a minute or two on the flame and then place it on the burner and blow air at it to make it burn quickly. You can also try it if you think it is safe to do so.
- Do not cover the charcoal while burning, it will deplete the oxygen supply and charcoal will cool down.
- When you see that there is a grayish ash on the surface of the charcoal disc, this is the time to place resin such as Frankincense, Myrrh, herbs or any other incense on top of the disc. There are different type of incense, each one has its own burning rate, some are dry while some leave a melted residue behind.
- If using resin, place small pieces on top. Large pieces may carbonize before the essential oil has been fully released, resulting in a bitter smell. Once a piece of resin has fully burnt, knock it off with your tongs and replace it with a fresh piece. Each disc should burn for at least 30 minutes and can often be made to burn longer by knocking off the coating of ash as it builds up.
- Never hold or touch burning charcoal with your fingers. Do not check if it is extinguished by touching it. You can ensure the charcoal is extinguished by pouring some water on it.
2- Instructions on burning incense using electric thermostat controlled burner:
There are different types of incense, each one has its own burning rate, some are dry and some leave a melted residue behind. For the dry incense, you can put it directly on the burner’s tray and after the burning session, the left over blackish-coloured burnt incense residue can be thrown away easily off the tray.
While for other incenses, such as Frankincense and Somali Bakhoors, that are sold by OUD COLLECTION, when they are burnt completely, you will see the melted residue left behind on the tray. Most of the time, it is easy to take it off with a stainless steel spoon or something similar but sometimes you need to scrub it hard under running water with a stainless steel scrubber. To burn such incense, we recommend you to use an aluminum foil on top of the tray, make sure when you put the foil it touches the tray surface properly so that heat can pass through. Put your incense on top of the foil layer, once your burning session has completed then you only need to take off the foil and you are set for another session.
Controlling incense burner heat comes with the experience. If you are a beginner and it is your first time burning frankincense, then use the above tip to use foil on the tray. Take a little bit of frankincense, say about two or three pieces or a tea spoon quantity, and put on the burner tray. Start the burner on the lowest heat setting and wait for a little while till you feel that burner has warmed up. At this time you will start smelling light fragrance coming out of the incense. Wait a little bit more, if the temperature is right then the strength of fragrance will increase gradually and you will see smoke coming out of the incense. If you don’t see it, then you have to raise the temperature until you start smelling light fragrance and can also see smoke rising gradually from the incense. But if the fragrance starts getting too strong quickly then you have to reduce the heat setting. The key for incense burning is to burn incense slowly and gradually. With some experience you will know the exact setting for each incense, all you need is a couple of tries. When you see that the incense has burned about 80% or so then you can raise the heat setting to high and burn the remaining incense quickly for couple of minutes. Once you see that incense has almost burned then switch off the burner, the idea is to only have beautiful incense smoke and not the burnt smell.
Follow the above tips and try it a couple of times, you will get a hang of it. If you still face any difficulty then reach out to us via email and we will help you with your question.