Is Palo Santo Worth the Hype?
Palo santo has become one of those trendy spiritual items like Himalayan salt lamps, found in lifestyle magazines and all over Instagram. You’ve probably seen them used in smudging to cleanse negative energy. Its scent has been made into expensive candles.
But is it worth the hype?
Palo santo is a wood derived from the tree species bursera graveolens which grows across the Americas including Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, the Galápagos, and Ecuador. Once the tree dies of natural causes, it’s left for a minimum of five to eight years for the oils to mature enough to make the wood capable of burning quality incense.
Though palo santo isn’t endangered, its habitat, tropical dry forest is threatened: because dry tropical forests have a dry period unlike rain forests, they are more hospitable to ruinous human activity like logging or cattle ranching. Some regions have small populations of palo santo-producing wood, so improper harvesting could erase that specific, regional group of palo santo. That’s why any purchase of palo santo must be bought from a supplier where the wood is sustainably and ethically produced.
We tried it out for ourselves hoping to imbue a space with that all-elusive ‘woodsy’ scent most guys pine for (pun intended). When it did smolder out, our place was left with that disconcerting smell that something was burning. After a while, a faint hint of wet mulch lingered.
The whole thing is aesthetically beautiful (who doesn’t like a campfire?) but the sticks have the potential to come from unsustainable sources and we didn’t feel it did anything for the air that a candle like Good & Well couldn’t. We recommend leaving it to those who incorporate it into their spirituality rather than burning it for its own sake and try out these below picks instead.
Buy these alternatives (L)
Pass on the palo santo
Aura Cacia 100% Pure Eucalyptus Essential Oil, $6.59; Price Point: Low
National Park Candle - Sequoia, $25.00; Price Point: High
Red Cedar Incense, $16.50; Price Point: High