Palo santo is used primarily for relaxation, pain relief, insect repelling, and spiritual cleansing. The wood comes from Bursera graveolens, a tree native to Mexico, Central America, and the western coast of South America. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have burned the wood, extracted its resin, and pressed its oil for both medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Today, it’s most commonly sold as small wooden sticks that are lit and allowed to smolder, releasing a distinctive citrus-and-pine scent.
Stress Relief and Relaxation
The most popular modern use for palo santo is promoting a sense of calm. The wood’s aroma is rich in terpenes, particularly limonene and alpha-terpineol, which give it a warm, citrusy, slightly sweet scent. Smelling these aromatic compounds activates the brain’s olfactory system, which can trigger the body’s relaxation response. That’s why palo santo has long been burned during meditation and in religious settings.
The scientific evidence specifically linking palo santo smoke to measurable reductions in anxiety is still thin. What is well established is that pleasant aromas in general can lower perceived stress, and many people report that palo santo’s particular scent helps them unwind or transition into a calmer mental state. If you already use candles or incense to set a mood, palo santo fills a similar role with a more complex, resinous fragrance.
Pain and Inflammation
Traditional healers in South America have used palo santo to treat arthritis, headaches, and throat pain. The limonene in the wood’s essential oil has demonstrated both pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory settings, which may explain why these traditional applications persisted for centuries. Some people apply diluted palo santo essential oil topically to sore joints or muscles, while others simply inhale the smoke as an aromatic remedy.
It’s worth noting that most of the pain-relief evidence comes from studies on limonene as an isolated compound, not from clinical trials on palo santo specifically. The concentration of limonene you’d get from burning a stick is far lower than what’s used in controlled research.
Insect Repellent
One of palo santo’s most practical traditional uses is keeping bugs away. Indigenous communities have long burned the wood to repel mosquitoes, ants, termites, and flies. The same terpenes responsible for the pleasant smell are compounds that many insects avoid. In rural areas of Ecuador and Peru, smoldering palo santo is still used as a natural alternative to chemical repellents, particularly during evenings when mosquito activity peaks.
Spiritual and Energetic Cleansing
The name “palo santo” translates to “holy wood” in Spanish, and spiritual use is central to the wood’s identity. In many South American traditions, burning palo santo is believed to clear negative energy from a space, much like white sage is used in some North American indigenous practices. People burn it before prayer, yoga, or meditation, or simply to reset the energy of a room after conflict or illness.
Whether you view this as literal energy work or simply a calming ritual, the practice follows a consistent pattern: light the tip of a stick, let it burn for about 30 seconds, blow out the flame, and walk through the space as the wood smolders and releases fragrant smoke. The stick self-extinguishes after a few minutes, which makes it easier to control than traditional incense.
How to Burn It Safely
Hold the stick at a 45-degree angle and light the tip with a match or lighter. Let the flame burn for 20 to 30 seconds, then gently blow it out. The wood will continue to produce a thin, fragrant smoke. You can place it in a fireproof dish or ceramic bowl and let it smolder, or carry it through different rooms.
Burning any organic material indoors produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemicals that have been linked to cancer at high exposure levels. In normal amounts, the risk is minimal, but good ventilation makes a difference. Crack a window or burn palo santo in a well-aired room rather than a small, sealed space. If you have asthma or other respiratory conditions, the particulate matter in any kind of smoke can be irritating.
For those who want the scent without the smoke, palo santo essential oil is available for use in diffusers. If applying the oil to skin, dilute it with a carrier oil first, as undiluted essential oils can cause irritation or allergic reactions.
Sustainability Concerns
Palo santo’s surge in global popularity has raised questions about overharvesting. The tree is currently classified as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List, meaning the species as a whole is not considered endangered. However, Colombia lists it as “Near Threatened” nationally, reflecting regional pressure where demand is highest. Ecuador has regulations requiring that only naturally fallen trees be harvested, since the wood develops its full aromatic profile only after the tree has died and cured on the forest floor for several years.
If sourcing matters to you, look for sellers who specify that their wood comes from naturally fallen trees and who can name the region or community where it was harvested. Ethical suppliers often work directly with indigenous communities or reforestation programs in Ecuador and Peru.