Collection: Palo Santo Sticks, Wood & Incense

What You'll Find Here

Palo Santo Sticks. Split sticks of the wood, about 3.5 to 4 inches long, are the traditional form, lit at one end for a few minutes of smoke. They come as a set of 6, a 2 oz bag, a 100 g bundle of 10 to 12 sticks, and a 1 kg bag of larger sticks for shops, covens, and people who burn it every day.

Incense Sticks and Cones. Palo santo incense is ground wood or scent pressed onto a stick or into a cone, for a steady smoke without lighting the wood. The collection has sticks and cones from HEM, Escential Essences, Artisan Hand Made Incense, Madre Tierra, and Sonavi, blends with white sage, sandalwood, or frankincense, and backflow cones from Sree Vani.

Resin. Palo santo resin is burned on a charcoal tablet, like frankincense, for a thicker, sweeter smoke.

Scent Without Smoke. The palo santo spray, the Murray & Lanman cologne, and the Escential Essences perfume oils carry the scent into rooms where smoke is not allowed, such as offices, dorms, and cars.

Dip Sticks. Sets of 25 palo santo sticks soaked in a second scent, such as dragon's blood, cinnamon, jasmine, lavender, white copal, or frankincense and myrrh.

Smudge Kits and Bundles. A sage and palo santo smudge stick, a sticks and oil set, and the Love, Money, and Protection Manifest smudge kits put palo santo beside white sage and other cleansing tools.

Bracelets and Necklaces. Bracelets of palo santo wood beads, some paired with tiger's eye or lapis, and palo santo pendant necklaces carry the scent on the skin, where it warms as you wear it.

How to Choose and Burn Palo Santo

For cleansing a room, choose the sticks. A set of 6 is enough to learn with, and a single stick can be relit many times over about a month of daily use. For scent without the ritual of lighting the wood, choose incense sticks or cones. For a space where smoke is not allowed, choose the spray or an oil.

To burn a stick, hold the tip in a candle or lighter flame for 30 to 60 seconds, let it flame for about 30 seconds, then blow it out. It will smoke for one to three minutes and go out on its own. Set it in a heatproof dish or an abalone shell, open a window, and never leave a glowing stick unattended.

For what palo santo is used for, what to say when you burn it, and how it compares with sage, read our full guide, Palo Santo: Meaning, Uses, and How to Burn It.

Explore Related Collections

A palo santo stick needs somewhere to rest, and Abalone Shells & Smudge Burners has the shells and dishes for it. Palo santo is often burned with sage, so White Sage Smudge Sticks & Loose Leaf Sage and Smudge Sticks sit beside it. Spiritual Cleansing Kits and Cleansing Herbs & Bundles gather more cleansing tools, and Resin & Powder Incense carries frankincense, myrrh, and copal, palo santo's relatives, for burning on charcoal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is palo santo?
Palo santo is the aromatic wood of Bursera graveolens, a tree that grows wild from Mexico to Ecuador and northern Peru. It belongs to the same plant family as frankincense, myrrh, and copal. The fragrance comes from resin that builds up in the heartwood after the tree dies, which is why the traditional harvest takes fallen wood that has aged on the forest floor for years.

How do you burn palo santo?
Hold the tip of the stick in a flame for 30 to 60 seconds, let it flame for about 30 seconds, and blow it out so the tip glows and smokes. Rest it in a heatproof dish or shell. It goes out on its own after a few minutes, and you can relight it as often as you need.

What does palo santo smell like?
Palo santo smells like smoked bacon with a bright edge: sweet, savory, resinous smoke with a fresh note at the top. Unlit, a stick smells like a softer, sweeter cedar.

How long does a palo santo stick last?
A stick smokes for one to three minutes each time it is lit and can be relit dozens of times, so one stick lasts about a month of daily use.

Is palo santo endangered?
No. Bursera graveolens is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Peru protected it by decree from 2006 to 2014 because of illegal cutting there, and a different tree that is also called palo santo, Bulnesia sarmientoi of the Gran Chaco, is listed under CITES. That second tree is not the incense wood.

Is palo santo a closed practice?
Burning palo santo to cleanse a room is not a closed practice. The wood has been sold in markets and burned in households across Latin America for centuries. The limpia and other curandero ceremonies, in which palo santo is one tool among many, are best learned from practitioners within those traditions.

Is palo santo safe around cats and dogs?
Keep burns short, open a window, and let pets leave the room, since any smoke can bother sensitive lungs. Keep birds away from the smoke entirely. Never diffuse palo santo oil in a room a cat cannot leave, and never put the oil on a pet.