What is palo santo used for? How to light it, and what to use without smoke

Palo santo is a wood. You light the tip, blow out the flame, and it gives off a sweet smoke, somewhere between citrus and wood, that stays in the room for a while after the stick goes out.

Here's what it's used for, how to light it properly, and the other ways to have that scent at home, with smoke or without it.

What palo santo is

It's the wood of Bursera graveolens, a tree from the dry forests of South America, mainly Ecuador and northern Peru. It belongs to the same family as copal, myrrh and frankincense, the resins that have been burned as incense for centuries.

Good wood comes from branches and trunks that fall on their own and stay on the forest floor for years. It's said that this resting time is when the wood picks up its scent.

What palo santo is used for

In Peru and Ecuador it has been burned for generations, and tradition gives it a very specific role: it comes after sage. Sage is used to clear the air in the room, and palo santo to seal it. In the end, the room is left smelling sweet.

That's why it's usually lit after tidying up, not before. The most common uses today:

• After cleaning the house, as the last step.
• When you get home from work, so the house smells different from how you left it.
• To mark the start of some time for yourself: your morning coffee, a book, or a few minutes of meditating at home.
• To scent a room without a candle or a diffuser.

How to light palo santo, step by step

1. Hold it by one end, tilted about 45 degrees, with the other end pointing down.
2. Light the tip with a candle, not a match, and let it catch a flame for 30 seconds to a minute.
3. Blow gently to put out the flame. The ember stays, and that's where the smoke comes from.
4. Move the smoke around the room: the corners, the door, the windows. Around the room, not over your body.
5. Rest it on a heat-proof dish or burner. Palo santo doesn't stay lit and keep burning like incense: it's normal for it to go out quickly. If it's still smoking and you want to put it out, press the tip against the dish.

One stick can be lit many times, until it's used up. Leave a window slightly open so the smoke can move, and keep it away from curtains, paper, children and pets while it's lit.

Without smoke: the Anima Mundi spray and the essential oil

Some places you can't light anything: the apartment with a smoke detector, the office, the car. For those, there are two ways to get the same scent.

The Anima Mundi Palo Santo Myst is a 4 oz (118 mL) spray made with palo santo essential oil, filtered water and under 3% cane spirits. According to Anima Mundi, they work with a family from the Chiclayo area, in Lambayeque, northern Peru, who collect fallen trees and replant. The oil is distilled on their own land. Shake well and spray 3 to 5 times around the room.

Plant Therapy's palo santo essential oil comes in a 5 mL bottle, steam-distilled from fallen wood. A few drops in a diffuser bring the scent of palo santo to the room.

Incense on a palo santo base

A wooden stick smokes for a short while. A stick of incense lasts much longer. If you want palo santo in the background for a long stretch, that's the way to go.

Ispalla makes its sticks in Peru, on a 100% palo santo base. They're organic and vegan, come 10 to a box, and each one burns for about 50 minutes. Its scents include palo santo with honey, coconut, lemon, tangerine, rosemary, roses or myrrh.

Sagrada Madre's Palo Santo line comes from an Argentine brand that works with palo santo wood from Peru. The sticks are hand-rolled, and each one crosses palo santo with another plant or resin, like jasmine, frankincense, champa or copal.

The MAYA line from Soul Sticks is also made in Peru, on a palo santo base, with sandalwood, copal, lavender, cinnamon, eucalyptus or rosemary on top.

If you want to build a daily routine with these, the guide to the three fixed points explains which one goes at what hour.

How to choose palo santo

Check that the brand says where the wood comes from and that it's from fallen branches or trees. Anima Mundi and Plant Therapy say so in their descriptions, and Sagrada Madre says its wood is from Peru.

You'll find palo santo sticks in the shop, and in the smudge sticks and palo santo collection they sit next to the sage.

Summary

1. Palo santo is the wood of a tree from Ecuador and Peru, in the same family as copal and myrrh.
2. Traditionally it comes after sage: sage to clear the air in the room, palo santo to seal it. That's why it's lit after tidying up.
3. Light the tip with a candle, let it catch a flame for a bit, blow it out and move the smoke around the room, not over your body.
4. Rest it on a heat-proof dish. It's normal for it to go out quickly, and one stick can be used many times.
5. Without smoke: the Anima Mundi spray or a few drops of essential oil in the diffuser.
6. For a long stretch: stick incense on a palo santo base, like Ispalla or Sagrada Madre.

Never leave palo santo or incense burning unattended. Keep away from children, pets and anything that can catch fire. Aromatic and decorative product; no medical or therapeutic benefit is attributed to it.