Re: Incense anyone?

February 15, 2007

> Does anyone make incense here? I have these premade sticks to which I

> understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I think.

> Everything I burn smells of plastic - burning plastic - this worries me

> deeply as I read somewhere that FAKE EOs smell like plastic when they

> burn! I buy all my EO's from the same place which I really trust but

> perhaps I am wrong in that. New Directions is the company by the way.

> (hope I did not break any rules in posting that)

> Any info on this is welcome - including any recipes I could use - maybe

> I am doing it all wrong!

I make a few EO incense sticks. Email me privately and I will give you the

recipe.

Jane

adobesoapworks

February 16, 2007

I only ever made loose incense. I had a recipe book for incense of all

sorts but gave it away. Incense is tricky, as anything that needs to

burn. Not all essential oils burn into a pleasant scent. It's an art

and a science to make incense that burns well and evenly and actually

smells good...

My favourite incense recipe was for kyphi. And also other combinations

of resins for the most part. I can dig up some of the recipes for you.

For making your own incense sticks or cones you will need saltpeter,

which sticks the materials together and also helps for achieving an

even burning.

Best,

Ayala

February 16, 2007

Incense anyone?

> Does anyone make incense here? I have these premade sticks to which I

> understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I think.

> Everything I burn smells of plastic - burning plastic - this worries me

> deeply as I read somewhere that FAKE EOs smell like plastic when they

> burn! I buy all my EO's from the same place which I really trust but

> perhaps I am wrong in that. New Directions is the company by the way.

> (hope I did not break any rules in posting that)

>

> Any info on this is welcome - including any recipes I could use - maybe

> I am doing it all wrong!

>

> Thanks!

I make stick incense by applying essential oil (pure and blends) to a punk

(stick) using an eye dropper. You don't want to apply too much and you

don't want to apply too little. I try to make it look sort of like a

leopard print.

Some essential oils do not lend themselves to being applied to sticks ...

lavender does not do well on a stick - at least I have yet to be able to

create a decent lavender that keeps it scent.

I am not sure where you are getting the plastic odor. Some essential oils

just smell bad when burned on a stick ... oak moss and slippery elm do not

smell great on a stick.

Have you burned a punk by itself with nothing on it?

If not then give it a try - you may have had a bad punk.

I think that I have already posted by Air incense on here. I am not sure

what the feeling is on revealing the exact ratios used in an essential oil

blend ... this is a blend that I sell in my online store and the ratio was

created for magickal use. However, unless you charge the essential oil

blend with the correct energy then you pretty much just have a nice smelling

blend.

The essential oils I used were Lemongrass, Bergamot, Peppermint, Lavender

I was trying to create something that was " light and airy " .

Anyway, I do know that this blend smells good on sticks and lasts a long

time ... I had an extra pack that still smelled great after a year ... after

two years it had lost its scent.

This blend also works well in an oil warmer.

And, I have had people wear it as a perfume and really like it.

February 16, 2007

Edited to trim and correct top post...........

>

> I make stick incense by applying essential oil (pure and blends)

to a punk

> (stick) using an eye dropper. You don't want to apply too much

and you

> don't want to apply too little. I try to make it look sort of

like a

> leopard print.

<Snip>

hello phil

i was surfing the web looking for beeswax absolute and i fell on a

site speaking of incense recipe they say synthetic incense is

dangerous cause when it burns may fill the air with toxic materials;

that for stick to natural. any way visit that web site and look at

the recipe it may be intresting for you

http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/incense.aspe

antonin

February 16, 2007

At 10:21 PM 2/15/2007, you wrote:

>Does anyone make incense here? I have these premade sticks to which I

>understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I think.

>Everything I burn smells of plastic - burning plastic - this worries me

>deeply as I read somewhere that FAKE EOs smell like plastic when they

>burn

Way back in our archives, may 2002 or 2003, Oller, Incense

guru, wrote extensively on how everyone should avoid those punk

sticks. Seems in China and India they use any scrap wood to make

them, and that includes chemically-treated wood like pallets and

railroad ties etc. He regards them as very toxic. He encourages

everyone to make their own incense with herbs and powders and gums,

and there may be some recipes here, not sure.

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

/

February 16, 2007

At 11:19 PM 2/15/2007, you wrote:

> > Does anyone make incense here? I have these premade sticks to which I

> > understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I think.

>

>I make a few EO incense sticks. Email me privately and I will give you the

>recipe.

>

> Jane

>adobesoapworks

Hi Jane

I just posted about the dangers of the recycled wood and wood dust

used in those sticks. I really encourage everyone to try to make

incense themselves, it's very creative and gratifying.

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

/

February 16, 2007

At 04:17 AM 2/16/2007, you wrote:

>I make stick incense by applying essential oil (pure and blends) to a punk

>(stick) using an eye dropper. You don't want to apply too much and you

>don't want to apply too little. I try to make it look sort of like a

>leopard print.

Hi PhilBear -- welcome to the group, and first off I'd love it you

reprinted your intro to us mods here -- you have some great

observations on drydown times I'd love to comment on.

Here's something I pulled out of the archives about incense blanks

(sticks). You've probably seen my two recent posts about the dangers

of them. This was between me and when he wasn't posting much:

>Anya,

>

>Sorry, I just back from Phoenix doing a Kodo Demonstration.

>

>We lost the archives at Alice's a short time back and I wrote ,

>but never found out what happened.

>

>Are you saying that the aroma therapists are endorsing dipped incense?

>

>I think it's pretty clear DPG isn't recommended to heat or flame, and I

>doubt that they have a clue what's in the blanks they use. I personally

>tested incense blanks from every source I could find, and all of them

>contained formaldehyde. If they have a source that claims they are not

>using commercial glues, and using a natural binder like Jigit, I would

>love to check it out. I think I still have a couple of formaldehyde

>test tubes in my kit.

>

>I would recommend they consider the masala method of rolling incense,

>if they can find something like jigit, and if they want it on a stick,

>and there is the method that Fred Soll's has been using of combining a

>resin with an essential oil, and wood powder. I think he uses pinon

>pine, and maybe cedar. It is a little smoky, but it's not formaldaheyde

>or other chemical used in commerical glues.

>

>You can quote me if you like.

>

He's at http://japanese-incense.com and http://oller.net/

>The essential oils I used were Lemongrass, Bergamot, Peppermint, Lavender

>

>I was trying to create something that was " light and airy " .

>

>Anyway, I do know that this blend smells good on sticks and lasts a long

>time ... I had an extra pack that still smelled great after a year ... after

>two years it had lost its scent.

Now if we can only convince you to go " au natural " and make incense

powders, cones, etc. ;-)

>And, I have had people wear it as a perfume and really like it.

Sounds great. Is the bergamot bergaptene-free, or do you warn them

about Berloque's dermatitis (I only wear bergamot perfume at night.)

You can see pics of Berloque's in the photos section. Scary!

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

/

February 16, 2007

Forgot to link to 's group:

AlicesRestaurant/ all about incense.

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

/

February 16, 2007

Edited to correct top post....

> hello phil

> i was surfing the web looking for beeswax absolute and i fell on a

> site speaking of incense recipe they say synthetic incense is

> dangerous cause when it burns may fill the air with toxic materials;

> that for stick to natural. any way visit that web site and look at

> the recipe it may be intresting for you

>

> http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/incense.aspe

>

> antonin

Hi Antonin,

Thanks for providing the link. There is an extra " e " at the end ... if

anyone clicked the link and it didn't pull up correctly ... just drop the

" e " http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/incense.asp

Unless you make your own sticks by hand or you have a dealer that lists

every ingredient in their sticks then I guess it is possible to get an

" inferior " stick made with cheap glue.

As far as releasing toxic fumes when burned ... it may release some toxins

although the big question is " how much " .

Of course, some people will go " do you want to take the risk " ?

And I would reply that even water when consumed in too great a quantity is

toxic as has been recently seen in the news with that radio contest ( " Hold

your Wee for a Wii " ). http://www.nbc11.com/news/10762819/detail.html

Everything, when burned releases one or more " toxic " substances. Burning

plant material releases carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen compounds,

and lots more.

The site did not list sources for this claim about inferior punks. While I

think this is a reputable site it is entirely possible that the material was

taken out of context. For example if we look for pine toxins we find an

article " The toxic and abortifacient effects of ponderosa pine " from

http://www.vetpathology.org/cgi/content/abstract/33/1/22 which is a paper

discussing problems with cattle.

It is important to remember that many of these materials (pine wood for

example) have been burned for as long as man has had fire. Also it is

important to remember that just because something is listed as " toxic " does

not mean it is toxic at all concentrations.

Here is an article from Dr. Weil's website on incense and the possibility of

it releasing toxic chemicals. The particular study referenced was done in a

temple with small rooms where hundreds of sticks of incense were burning at

a time with little ventilation. When was the last time you locked yourself

in closet and lit 30 or 40 sticks of incense?

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QA/QA182725/

But on the other hand many things we like can be " harmful " .

Do you like fires? You know, a nice cozy fire in a fireplace, a campfire, a

bonfire, etc. Well you might think again.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_020507_env_sweeps_toxic_wood_smoke_.55\

11a675.html

(From the article)

Wood smoke contains hundreds of toxic compounds including benzene and tars

similar to those in cigarette smoke. The particles are so fine, smaller than

2.5 microns, they easily pass through human nasal filters and imbed

themselves in peoples' lungs. (A micron is 300 times smaller than the period

at the end of this sentence.)

Many of the toxics pose known risks for causing cancer in humans.

Here is a fact sheet on the contents of wood smoke from Colorado

http://www.kgw.com/frame.jsp?sid=http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/factsheets/06-AQ-\

017wood.pdf

Natural floral (or plant) scents are not a single chemical ... they are a

complex combination of many chemical components. Take for example Jasmine -

a favorite natural scent. One of the components of Jasmine is Terpineol ...

from the safety data for terpineol

(http://www.physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/TE/terpineol.html) it says that it may be

an irritant. Yet, if you go looking up information on Jasmine it all lists

it as non-toxic, non-harmful, etc etc etc. So, is Jasmine going to be a bad

substance because one of its components is Terpineol? Also, what

concentration of terpineol is needed before it becomes an irritant?

If we were to pull out a gas chromatograph and started analyzing various

plant materials that we use in making perfumes, incense, etc. we would find

a whole host of toxic substances, substances that are listed as carcinogens,

and so forth.

Now, when you get into synthetic scents there are a lot of " toxic "

substances that are used. This is a primary reason that a lot of people

prefer " natural " scents. But again, just because there is a substance that

is listed as toxic that is a component of a synthetic scent does not mean

that the scent itself is toxic or that when burned you will get a harmful

level of the toxic substance.

I have been making and using incense sticks since 1992 and so far I am still

alive. I don't burn it every day and I usually don't burn several sticks at

a time. I have gotten headaches from burning incense (especially the cheap

synthetic stuff) but that was usually due to poor air circulation I think

although it could have been some of the chemicals used in the incense.

Incense that I made or that my mentor made using blank sticks and essential

oils did not cause problems unless I burned like eight sticks in a closed

room.

I hope that this has not gone too far astray from the subject of the group -

natural perfumes. I find it hard to separate incense blends, aroma therapy

blends and perfumes when you get to blending essential oils ... it is all

the same thing just different applications and mediums.

-Phil

February 16, 2007

--- Anya <mccoy@...> wrote:

> Forgot to link to 's group:

>

AlicesRestaurant/

> all about incense.

>

> Anya McCoy

's great about incense. I have had the

opportunity to meet him and participate in a

Kohdoh-kai (incense ceremony?) in Berkeley.

really changed the way I make incense; much cleaner,

purer, and pleasant!

Alfred

no longer coughing in San Francisco

February 16, 2007

>

> Way back in our archives, may 2002 or 2003, Oller, Incense

> guru, wrote extensively on how everyone should avoid those punk

> sticks. Seems in China and India they use any scrap wood to make

> them, and that includes chemically-treated wood like pallets and

> railroad ties etc. He regards them as very toxic. He encourages

> everyone to make their own incense with herbs and powders and gums,

> and there may be some recipes here, not sure.

>

> Anya McCoy

> Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

> Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

> Natural Perfumers Community Group

> /

>

That is scary! Well thank you to all who have replied with the great

tips, recipes and pointers! I never thought of making loose insence

but it does seem to have much more flexiablity as well!

Thanks so much!

February 16, 2007

--- jazzrian <azzrian@...> wrote:

> Does anyone make incense here? I have these premade

> sticks to which I

> understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I

> think.

> Everything I burn smells of plastic - burning

> plastic - this worries me

> deeply as I read somewhere that FAKE EOs smell like

> plastic when they

> burn! I buy all my EO's from the same place which I

> really trust but

> perhaps I am wrong in that. New Directions is the

> company by the way.

> (hope I did not break any rules in posting that)

>

> Any info on this is welcome - including any recipes

> I could use - maybe

> I am doing it all wrong!

>

> Thanks!

******************************************

HI Azzrian

I am going to try to put a link here to a page on a

site that has a lot of good information on making

incense and also sells supplies.

http://www.scents-of-earth.com/makyourownna.html

You'll note that they recommend using Makko powder in

your incense to make it combustible. I have also used

Tracaganth gum in the mixture to help bind it. Also

note that they say that if you are using charcoal to

burn it, be careful not to get any that has sodium

nitrate or potassium nitrate because they are toxic on

inhalation. That can be a problem with those pre-made

incense blanks that you mentioned above, too.

Not sure what is causing the burning plastic smell.

Could be the blanks, could be the EO's. I haven't had

much luck with EO's in incense mixtures. They smell

lovely diffused or even heated, but usually seem to

smell bad when they are burned. That's been my

experience, anyway, such as it is.

-Patty

________________________________________________________________________________\

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February 16, 2007

<Does anyone make incense here? I have these

premade sticks to which I

understand I am to dip in EOs (in carrier oils) - I think.

Everything I burn smells of plastic - burning plastic - this worries me

deeply as I read somewhere that FAKE EOs smell like plastic when they

burn! I buy all my EO's from the same place which I really trust but

perhaps I am wrong in that. New Directions is the company by the way.

(hope I did not break any rules in posting that)

Any info on this is welcome - including any recipes I could use - maybe

I am doing it all wrong!

Thanks! >

I used to make incense long ago, never sticks though-seemed to difficult to

deal with, just loose and cones. I noticed that you said that the eo's are

in carrier oils. I think that is your problem. Fixed vegetable oils such as

olive, canola, or whatever smell terrible burnt- like plastic to my nose. It

could also be that the oils are synthetic, but some synthetics smell like

burning plastic but most don't-after all almost all commercial incenses use

synths(like most scented commercial products). I used to use synths and a lot

of them didn't smell like burning plastic. And, like mentioned, some essential

oils just plain stink when burned-ylang ylang is totally not meant for burning!

I have a book called Wylunt's Book of Incense that I used for the recipes that I

made. The basic, general ingredients are a gum or

resin(frankincense,benzoin,etc.), a fragrant wood(sandalwood, cedar,etc.), and

scented herbs, spices, and flowers, and some oils, a binder(gum tragacanth) and

saltpeter, to help it burn. There are also recipes for charcoal-based incense,

which contain some fragrant wood or resin, and to which you add pre-blended

oils.

I was never really totally satisfied with making incense, to me they always

smelled very smoky and less perfumed. Some recipes I liked, but my favorite

thing to burn was sumbul(musk)root, by itself. You don't even need to add

anything, just form the powder into a cone, and light the tip and voila-musk

incense!

---------------------------------

Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels

in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit.

February 16, 2007

(snipped for brevity)

>

> HI Azzrian

>

> I am going to try to put a link here to a page on a

> site that has a lot of good information on making

> incense and also sells supplies.

>

> http://www.scents-of-earth.com/makyourownna.html

>

> You'll note that they recommend using Makko powder in

> your incense to make it combustible. I have also used

> Tracaganth gum in the mixture to help bind it. Also

> note that they say that if you are using charcoal to

> burn it, be careful not to get any that has sodium

> nitrate or potassium nitrate because they are toxic on

> inhalation. That can be a problem with those pre-made

> incense blanks that you mentioned above, too.

>

> Not sure what is causing the burning plastic smell.

> Could be the blanks, could be the EO's. I haven't had

> much luck with EO's in incense mixtures. They smell

> lovely diffused or even heated, but usually seem to

> smell bad when they are burned. That's been my

> experience, anyway, such as it is.

>

> -Patty

>

Thank you Patty this looks to be a very informative site!

February 16, 2007

DPG is a common thinning agent used in a lot of cheap incense.

I do not use DPG at all. That stuff has an icky scent.

As far as going " au-natural " I only do that around other big furry guys at

certain male retreats

(Ok, couldn't resist that. Yes, I know that some of you are gouging your

eyes out trying rid yourself of that mental image.)

I have made cone incense before but that was back in 1992 during my formal

magickal training. It is rather messy and my cones are not that great

looking. I have not had anyone asking for cone incense.

Anya, do you have any material on the concentrations of bergaptene in a

product before it causes skin irritation? Do you know how much bergamot or

bergaptene was applied on this pictures of Berloque's dermatitis?

Also, do you know the percentage of bergaptene in bergamot essential oil

that is not BF?

I am not sure but I think that my bergamot is bergaptene free. I sell my

essential oil blends for magickal purposes - for use on anointing candles,

etc. So far, no one has reported any ill effects due to exposure to

sunlight if they have worn any of my oils with bergamot in the sun. So

far, the only people I have seen that have applied one of my oils to their

skin applied a small amount (a dab on the finger tip) to their wrist or

behind their ears ... they did not slather the oil all over their body.

At times I think that people freak out too much over stuff. It seems that

in today's society there is a trend to freak out if there is the slightest

trace of something " bad " in anything. I also think that some of the fear is

caused by people overreacting.

Do you remember the hysteria over dihydrogen monoxide a few years ago? A

small town in California was about to pass legislation banning all

dihydrogen monoxide from public buildings. It is the primary factor in all

drowning deaths, it causes soil erosion, it is used in all aspects of

manufacturing, it can cause fluid to build up in the lungs and around the

heart, it is a solvent and can eat through stone and metal, it is present in

all our homes and businesses ... everywhere!

There is even a website dedicated to banning this deadly substance:

http://www.dhmo.org/

Sounds like a substance we need to ban right?

Well, for those not chemically inclined, di (prefix for 2), hydrogen, mon

(prefix for 1) oxygen is two atoms of hydrogen bonded to one atom of oxygen

.... in short a molecular formula of H2O ... or by its more common name ....

WATER.

Penn and Teller did a fabulous segment on their show where they went to a

new age/natural/health seminar and collected a good number of signatures of

people wanting to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

There also seems to be a trend that if something is dangerous in specific

conditions it is much better to over generalize. For example, several

essential oils are not consider major " no-no's " for pregnant women.

However, when you find the actual reports (and not just, " DO NOT USE IF

PREGNANT " ) you find the warnings are for late term pregnancy. Of course

this is not to say that all warnings are incorrect ... it is to say that a

lot of warnings are over generalized in today's society.

As asked, here is the email that I sent to the moderators when I applied to

this group.

Since that email I have tried adding some glycerin to my rose, jasmine and

ylang-ylang perfumes to try to increase the staying power. I had

approximately 1/3 of an ounce of each perfume and added 8 drops of glycerin

to each. I don't know why I used 8 ... it just " seemed right " .

I tested the rose perfume on my left arm ... wrist and back of the arm. I

tested the jasmine on my right arm ... wrist and back of my arm.

The rose on my wrist lasted 54 minutes before the scent was not detectable.

This is slightly longer than without the glycerin. The rose on the back of

my arm lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes before it was gone. The jasmine on

my wrist was still detectable after 8 hours though it was faint and I am not

sure about the back of my arm because I fell asleep and it rubbed off

although the last time I noted it was going strong after 4 hours. The

glycerin seems to have added a bit of staying power to the jasmine. I have

not tried the ylang-ylang yet.

Someone from another list suggested that I switch to straight jojoba as a

carrier instead of adding jojoba to grapeseed or almond. This person also

suggested that the scent lasted less time because there was more heat on the

wrist than the back of the arm.

And, to totally confuse things another friend that I gave some samples to (a

white woman) said that she could still smell the rose perfume on her the

next morning after putting some on the night before. Completely opposite of

how most everyone else reacted. And, she said it was the best smelling rose

perfume she had ever smelled. High praise because she is not overly fond of

floral scents.

---

Lets see, I am 39 years old, male, sort of a big and bearish type of guy

similar to Winnie the Pooh.

I am a witch, Eclectic Wiccan to be precise. I was formally trained in

magick in 1992 although I started practicing healing magick in 1988.

I found that I had a natural affinity for the magickal use of herbs and

essential oils and that I was rather good at creating essential oil blends

for magickal purposes.

With the exception of a couple of magickal blends such as curse breaker 1

and 2, affectionately called " stinky on a stick " everyone has remarked over

and over that my oil blends smell great and that I should sell them as

perfumes.

Now, since whoever is reading this is familiar with essential oils you will

know that many oils cannot be applied directly to the skin (such as

cinnamon) and must be mixed with some sort of carrier oil such as grapeseed

or almond.

My magickal oil blends are blended for a specific magickal effect first and

scent is a second thought. With these blends I do not worry about low,

middle and high notes. So, to be honest, my knowledge of the note

relationship of herbs/oils is limited.

A few weeks ago I decided to create a line of perfumes ... two actually ...

one that was purely natural - essential oil, carrier oil, jojoba and another

line that used a perfume alcohol base. Yes, I want to make money with this.

I have several friends that cannot wear synthetic/alcohol based perfumes and

I know a lot of others that prefer all natural blends.

So, I created 3 simple scents of pure essentials/carrier/jojoba ... single

note only ... Jasmine, Rose (created from Rose Absolute) and Ylang-Ylang.

I used a carrier base of grapeseed oil comprising about 92% of the mix,

jojoba as a preservative comprising about 7.8% and the remaining was

essential oil.

Fabulous scents. Yes, I know, these are all top notes.

When I applied the pure essential oil to my body it lasted for a long time.

I thought that same would happen with the grapeseed carrier.

I was wrong. When applied to my wrist the scent lasted between 45 minutes

and 1.5 hours. If applied to the top of the arm the scent lasted for about

3.5 hours.

I found that when the oil was applied over an area with high blood flow the

scent was absorbed into the body fairly rapidly. If applied to an area with

less blood flow the scent lasted longer.

One interesting note, a friend of mine who is black said that he could still

smell the rose perfume after a day and I watched him apply it to his wrists.

So, I am wondering if there is something about his body chemistry or if it

has to do with his skin texture.

A few other people have tried my perfumes and they all experienced short

duration times. The first woman has lupus and is on a ton of medications

and thought it might just be her ... but then I tried them making note of

how long it lasted and a couple of other women reported the same results.

My friend with lupus is into medicinal herbalism and suggested I try a

heavier carrier oil such as almond. I tried that and had the same short

result.

I went searching online and found reference to the use of vegetable glycerin

as a fixative (I don't want to use animal products). I finally found some

glycerin Saturday night but have yet to try it in my perfumes because I am

just recovering from sinus and chest congestion. This is the first day that

my nose has really functioned well.

Well, this is getting a bit long. You wanted to know why I was interested

in

this group. I want to learn more about perfume making, I am hoping to find

an answer to how to make the scent last for several hours, I am hoping to

chat with others who blend essential oils for scent.

Right now I have a large selection of essential oils and am more interested

in the creation of perfumes from essentials than from synthetic ingredients.

I realize that this is not a magickal group. I am not looking for a

magickal perfume group however if one exists I would be interested. You

wanted to know why I was interested and to explain why I am interested in

perfume making then you have to know where my interest started.

I want to learn, I want to make perfume for family and friends, I want to

make money from making perfume, I want to solve my problems with the amount

of time that the scent lasts in the perfumes that I have already created,

etc etc etc etc etc. Hopefully all of this is compatible with the ideas of

the group.

TTFN

(ta ta for now)

Phil

February 17, 2007

Lets see here ... 5% you say.

Well 1/3 of an ounce is approximately 30 ml so 1/3 is approximately 10ml.

1ml is approximately 10 drops ... or at least that is what my chemistry

teacher from high school told me. I have seen some that say 20.

So, with 8 drops ... that is roughly .8 ml ... or .4ml

That would give a voume percentage of either 8% (10 drops/ml) or 4% (20

drops/ml) if my math is right. can't do weight percentage since we aren't

dealing with water and the oils are denser than water. Ouch, my brain

hurts. Need a Venti Tazzo Chai Latte infusion ... or Mt. Dew ... or Dark

Chocolate Almond coffee blend with some apple strudle and vanilla sauce ...

and maybe some bavarian creme filled doughnuts. Yeah, men, predictable ...

wake up, bathroom, food, nap, repeat.

I am just waking up.

As to formaldehyde (methanal ... simplest form is aldehyde ... formula is

CH2O), it is a natural compound resulting from the incomplete combustion of

carbon based materials ... this includes ALL woods, plant materials, (even

humans), etc. You will find formaldehyde in regular fire place fires, camp

fires, forest fires, car exhaust ... anywhere with incomplete combustion

which is more much normal fires. So yes, if you were to do an analysis of

an incense stick while it burned you would see formaldehyde as a result.

Of course, if the wood material used to produce the punk had been pressure

treated wood or had been treated with formaldhyde or had a glue that

contained foraldehyde you would see a greater concentration of this

substance in the stick.

Now, since formaldehyde is a product of incomplete combustion (as well as

chemical compound synthesized by man and used in lots of manufacturing

processes) then any incense ... stick, powder, cone, etc. will have some

trace amounts.

February 17, 2007

Hullo PhilBear,

Thanks for starting this really lively and fascinating topic! I have

a book that has a whole bunch on incense recipes (along with recipes

for potpourri -- both moist and dry, and various old cologne recipes)

that I'll send the info for when I get back home and can pull it out

of my library. I just tried to find it on Amazon.com and can't seem

to remember the title or the author just now -- long hectic day. (I

can see the purple cover -- just can't picture anything else!)

This book had me all het up to start making incense when I first

found it at a local library in around 1982. And of course, life got

in the way and I never got around to making incense yet.... But I

still want to!

So hang tight and I'll get that name to you either tomorrow night

when I get home from Da Big City or Monday when I've had a chance to

catch my breath...

Welcome aboard!

Andrine

February 19, 2007

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