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Palo santo has been sacred for many years in places like Peru and Ecuador. It translates to “holy wood,” and shamans have and continue to use palo santo in rituals and events held in the community. With so many people interested in palo santo, it has exploded in popularity over the years. One of the difficulties people face today is telling whether their palo santo is real or fake.

This article will talk about how to tell if your palo santo is authentic or a counterfeit item. It is surprising how many people accidentally buy counterfeit items! But first, here are ways to tell if your palo santo is authentic.

About Palo Santo

Palo santo varies in quality because it is natural. The natural world changes in the ways that it creates palo santo around the globe. No two pieces of palo santo wood will be alike because of biological diversity in plant life. These plants are usually different in quality and can take anywhere from four to ten years to develop the scent necessary for aromatherapy treatments and uses as incense.

In terms of wellness, many suppliers end up holding onto their plants for many years because people don’t buy these items as much as previously thought. It takes a long time for palo santo to lose its beautiful fragrance, luckily, meaning that the length of time a supplier has the plant generally does not mean the quality has been lost.

Palo santo is a beneficial plant because of the benefits that it provides you for wellness and sustainability. Despite the long growth time, there are many reasons to use palo santo. However, there are also concerns with encountering fake palo santo. Here are some tips to figure out whether or not your palo santo is real.

How to Figure Out if Your Palo Santo is Real

If you struggle to figure out whether or not you found authentic palo santo, then you’re in luck! Here are some tips to see the quality and authenticity of your palo santo.

Real Palo Santo Isn’t Overpowering

If your palo santo has a powerful smell, don’t get too excited. Many people might think that this is a sign of authenticity, but the scent of the palo santo is more subtle if it is accurate. Sometimes, suppliers put more oil on the palo santo wood to pass it off as higher quality. It is hard to tell if suppliers are selling fake palo santo or simply trying to make the palo santo more attractive to their customers.

Look Out for Black Smoke

One way that you can tell if your palo santo is authentic is the color of the fire. When you burn your palo santo, the smoke should be white when you put the fire out and allow the stick to smolder. If the smoke begins as black when you burn it and continues to burn black even after you have put it out, this can be a sign that your palo santo is of lower quality than others.

Watch for Oils

When you burn your palo santo, some natural oils rise to the wood’s top because of the burning process. It might appear glossy or even drip sometimes. If there is no oil, you are likely dealing with either stale palo santo or another type of wood that happens not to be palo santo at all. This can be an essential way to figure out whether or not your item is genuine.

Find the Source of the Smell

With palo santo, the fragrance is usually within the wood rather than from another source. If you aren’t sure if you have real palo santo, the easiest way to tell is to shave some wood. This incense is used in aromatherapy because the wood smells so pleasant to the individual. If you can smell the scent within the wood, then you likely have real palo santo. If the fragrance is not on the wood, you probably have lower quality palo santo or another wood entirely!

The Softer, the Better

Palo santo is known for being a softer wood. The density can vary, but your palo santo should be lighter than other woods you find. This means that you would be able to easily shave off the pieces of wood, carve it, or even chisel it if you desire. It is still wood so that it won’t be breakable through more accessible methods, but you can still see how palo santo differs from other types of wood. If you’re able to carve into your wood with ease, you can trust that you purchased authentic palo santo.

What Should I Do If I Have Fake Palo Santo?

There’s nothing inherently harmful about using counterfeit palo santo, other than the fact that you will not receive the same results with a different wood piece. If you have a selection of counterfeit palo santo and can return it, you are welcome to return the item and seek palo santo out elsewhere. There are many people and suppliers that you can turn to for authentic incense and aromatherapy items, including our shop, Reed’s Handmade Incense.

Reed’s Handmade Incense prides itself on natural and handmade incense. We have various products, ranging from local items to imported goods, such as incense sticks from India’s temples. We hope to help you with your incense needs to further your wellness and aromatherapy practice.

We hope you learned more about palo santo and found new ways to make sure your purchases are authentic and helpful for your wellness practice! To learn more about palo santo and other forms of new-age wellness, visit our website to discover, invest, and stock up on your aromatherapy necessities.