What are the benefits of lavender incense?

The benefit you can count on from lavender incense is its smell: clean, herbal lavender in the room. The anxiety and migraine studies Cleveland Clinic describes had people breathe in lavender essential oil or aromatherapy, and its page describes no study of incense. Looshi makes artisanal incense, rolled by hand with real ingredients, with grounding scents from across the world.

What lavender is known for

Lavender's reputation rests on its smell, and Cleveland Clinic says that fragrance is often used in massage oils, essential oils, candles and diffusers.

Cleveland Clinic describes lavender as a type of herb, known for its calming scent and also for its possible health benefits.

The health benefits belong to particular forms of lavender, tested in particular ways, so the form matters more than the name on the label. Lavender incense shares the plant's smell, which is a real reason to burn it.

What the research actually tested

The lavender studies Cleveland Clinic describes for anxiety and migraine had people breathe in lavender essential oil or aromatherapy, and the page never describes a study of incense.

For anxiety, Cleveland Clinic cites a 2020 randomized trial in which breathing in lavender essential oil for 30 minutes helped improve anxiety, depression and stress in older adults, and a 2023 study in which people felt less anxiety before an MRI after inhaling lavender aromatherapy.

For pain, Cleveland Clinic cites a 2012 study that found inhaling lavender essential oil for 15 minutes can help reduce migraine headache pain, which is a separate question from why some incense gives you a headache.

For mood, Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Yufang Lin says essential oil aromatherapy is the way to go.

What a lavender stick gives you

A lavender stick gives you the smell of lavender in the room, and that smell is only as good as what the stick is made of.

Look for one with the scent in the paste it's rolled from, not a coating or a dip, so what you smell is the stick itself. Looshi Vivacity is one lavender incense stick made that way, with a heart of lavender, clean and herbal, lifted by green petitgrain and grounded by dry cedar. Its page says that lit, the room smells like a morning walk on a cedar trail.

Each stick is rolled by hand by women artisans in Karnataka, India, and made with essential oils and natural aromatic oils, with no synthetic fragrance.

New to incense? The Discovery Set lets you choose four of eight scents, Vivacity among them, two sticks of each.

When lavender isn't for you

Lavender isn't for everyone, and Cleveland Clinic says so: for most people lavender is calming and soothing, but for some, the smell may be associated with a negative experience.

Dr. Lin's advice is plain: if lavender is triggering for you, she says, don't feel forced to use or try it. She also suggests limiting how much lavender you use for developing children.

When you light one, burn it in an open, well-ventilated room, secured in a holder. Around pets, keep them out of the immediate area and never burn incense around birds; the guide to incense around pets covers the rest.

When you're ready to choose one, see which lavender incense to buy.

Frequently asked questions

What are the health benefits of incense?

Incense gives you a scent in the room; Cleveland Clinic's lavender page describes no study that tested incense for health. The anxiety and migraine studies the page names had people breathe in lavender essential oil or aromatherapy. So burn a stick because you like how it smells.

What is lavender incense good for spiritually?

Lavender incense gives a spiritual practice its smell: clean, herbal lavender in the room while you sit quietly or breathe slowly. The meaning is the one your practice gives it, and Cleveland Clinic's lavender page describes no study of spiritual use, so the scent is the part you can count on.

Does lavender incense help you sleep?

No study Cleveland Clinic describes tested lavender incense for sleep. The page says many people use lavender-infused fragrances before bed as aromatherapy, and that a 2019 study suggests lavender can improve the body's melatonin levels. If you light a stick in the evening, burn it in an open, well-ventilated room.

Is lavender incense safe around kids and pets?

Lavender incense around kids and pets calls for care. Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Yufang Lin suggests limiting how much lavender you use for developing children. Around pets, burn incense in a well-ventilated room, never leave it burning unattended, and stop if a pet shows any sign of irritation.

What does lavender incense smell like?

Lavender incense smells clean and herbal. Looshi Vivacity, for one, blends clean, herbal lavender with petitgrain, the green twig of the orange tree, and dry cedar. Its page calls it fresh and awake, never perfumey, and a verified customer wrote that "the smell is very accurate to the description provided."

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic