Burning incense appeals to your sense of smell with its irresistible aromas. Incense plumes appeal to the eye with their mesmerizing flow. What really catches your attention is the beautifully designed incense holder that the misty plumes emerge from. It is an elegant home décor piece on its own. However, a high quality incense holder, apart from looking spot on, should also serve as a safety net to prevent fires and burns. Learn more about how to choose the best incense holder.
What is incense?
Humans have a long history of using incense. Incense is a type of aromatic material made out of plant-based components that often include various barks, seeds, flowers, and resins. Once burnt, it gives off a unique fragrant scent. Today, there are three main categories of incense on the market. This includes stick incenses, coil incenses, and cone incenses.
There are different incense holders for different types of incense
As mentioned above, one of the primary functions of incense holders is to collect the hot ashes after burning incense. Therefore, designs for holders of corresponding types of incense are slightly different to ensure they properly collect all the hot ashes.
Stick incense is one of the most popular types. It is probably the one that comes to your mind when you think of incense. The stick is burned upright, and because it has a uniform thickness, its fragrance is released continuously and evenly. The burning time is proportional to its length. You can decrease burning time by cutting the stick.
The designs for stick incense holders are very diverse. For example, some holders come in a disc shape and the stick incense is inserted into the middle of the disc. This way, ashes will form a neat pile on the disc. Other holders are designed to look like a vase. Stick incense is burned in the vase and ashes accumulate at the bottom of the vase.
Coil incense, as its name suggests, is available in a coil shape. It has a long burning time, so it is often used in larger areas or spaces with many passageways. Most coil incense holders are shaped in a disc, bowl, or pot to match the width of the coils. All the ashes dropped from burning incense will collect on or inside the holder. This minimizes the risk of ashes falling out and inadvertently setting flammable objects on fire.
Cone incense starts burning from the tip of the cone. Fragrance grows stronger as time passes because the base of the cone contains more aromatic material than the tip of the cone. One subtype of cone incense is called backflow incense cones. Normally, incense smoke rises up into the air. However, backflow incense cones produce smoke that flows to the ground.
They have small, hollow tunnels through the centre that direct the plume to escape from holes through the bottom. The downward flow of the incense plume creates mesmerizing scenery that is unique to backflow incense cones when lit in an incense holder. There are special burners designed to look like a pot pouring hot tea, a dragon breathing smoke, a castle shrouded in mysterious fog, or a cascading waterfall surrounded by light mist.
Factors you should consider when purchasing an incense holder
All types of incense extinguish themselves after they finish burning, but leftover ashes can cause fires and burns. As a result, the most important factor to consider before purchasing an incense holder is its capability of collecting ashes. Based on which type of incense you like burning, you should purchase an appropriate holder that will ensure all the ashes are stored safely during the burning process. In other words, the holder should be big enough such that ashes will not overflow.
It should be stable so that it will not tip over and accidentally spill ashes. The holder should also allow you to dispose of hot ashes in a safe and convenient manner. Many holders have metal trays that can be safely extracted. Ashes on the metal trays can then be easily disposed of. It may be difficult to pour out ashes from certain poorly designed holders, which increases the risks of burns and injuries.
Another thing to consider whether the design of an incense holder can match the surrounding décor. A tastefully designed incense holder that matches the style of your home can be a great accent piece. A backflow incense cone burned in a special holder can also create beautiful scenery itself.
Overall, the best incense holder depends on your personal preferences. However, elegant design and fire safety are the two factors you should always keep in mind when choosing an incense holder.
