What Are Natural Incense Sticks?

What goes into a natural incense stick

A natural agarbatti starts as a dough of wood powder and plant resin, which binds the stick and helps it smoulder evenly. Fragrance comes from flower extracts, woods, resins and oils worked into that dough, and it is then rolled onto a thin bamboo stick. A dhoop stick is the same dough shaped without any bamboo at all.

How natural sticks differ from mass-market agarbatti

• Base: wood powder and resin, not charcoal powder.
• Fragrance: blended into the paste, not only sprayed or dipped on a plain black stick.
• Smoke: noticeably less of it, without the harsh, burnt undertone of charcoal.
• Ash: pale grey or beige, rather than dark.

How to recognise one when you shop

• Look for brown or tan sticks; very black sticks are usually charcoal-based.
• Read the box: a charcoal-free claim and a short ingredient list are good signs.
• Smell the unlit stick. Natural sticks smell of the fragrance and of wood; dipped sticks often smell strongly of perfume and little else.

How Aadhya makes its sticks

Our incense sticks are hand-rolled on a bamboo core and our dhoop sticks are bambooless; both are made without charcoal or synthetic fixatives. Each product page lists its fragrance notes, burn time and pack sizes.

Frequently asked questions