Nag Champa is a heavenly Indian scent, popularly used for incense, although you may also find it in soaps, lotions, aroma candles, perfume oils amongst other things.

The name is derived from the champa flower and it is quite popular world over. Westerners know this fragrance by the name Plumeria. The fragrance is closely associated with the hippie counter – culture, since lot of people travelled to India in the 1960s, where they acquired a taste for its distinctive smell.

This incense is part of a family of Indian scents known as champa which is characteristically rich and heavy scent. Nag champa also traditionally includes a resin extracted from the Ailanthus tree, an Asian native, along with sandalwood.

A People’s Favourite:

Despite the more popular aromas like Rose, Jasmine, etc. people who have smelled nag champa often comment on its very heavy, earthy aroma. It also has lighter notes from the sandalwood. Because the scent of this incense can be very heavy, many people like to burn it in a well ventilated room to ensure that it does not become cloying. Many Indian companies manufacture sticks that include this scent, which tend to burn for around 30 minutes, and the incense is also available in the form of coils and cones for people who prefer these formats.

Nag Champa is a fragrance of Indian origin. It is used in incense, soap, perfume oil, essential oils, candles and personal toiletries, and is common in ashrams. Introduced to the U.S. by the hippies in the 1960s, it has become one of the most popular and recognizable incense fragrances.

In India, nag champa is used in many temples as a joss stick, Indian term is agarbatti. Joss sticks are burned as offerings in front of statues of gods, and they tend to create a very distinctive atmosphere in temples. Worshipers also typically leave offerings of food, crafts, and flowers when they pray, to further cultivate the goodwill of the gods. Joss sticks are also burned on home altars.

Because this is such a well known incense, it is typically very readily available. Health food stores and other establishments that cater to the counterculture typically carry it, and it is also available in Indian and Asian markets. Shoppers can recognize good quality incense by its grayish color and strong earthy scent, which is evident even before the incense is burned.

Benefits of Nag Champa:

Aromatic Incense:

Any popular import gift store, yoga studio or the home of a well-traveled person who appreciates exotic aromaswill have the scent of Nag Champa. This well-known incense uses a bouquet of flowers and raisins which many of its fans say creates an olfactory replica of traveling to India. For connoisseurs of incense, Nag Champa is the standard by which other scents are judged.

Masks Unpleasant Odors:

Nag Champa blends several rich scents including sandalwood and halmaddi, a product native to the Indian subcontinent. The combination of scents gives the area where Nag Champa is burned a scent instantly recognizable to incense fans. When people wish to cover another, less desirable odor, such as sweat, Nag Champa provides a more exotic alternative to the air freshening products of western corporations. Nag Champa’s scent lingers longer than many other incenses, continuing to perfume the air hours after the last stick or cone has expired.

Aphrodisiac:

A state of relaxation is conducive to amorous activities as well as inner peace. The sandalwood scent prominent in Nag Champa also frequently appears in both men’s and women’s personal fragrances because of its ability to evoke a state of arousal. In fact, sandalwood’s medicinal uses include treating impotence.

Health Benefits: 

Although best known for in incense form, Nag Champa is also found in soaps and other body products containing the same popular combination of essences. When applied on the skin, sandalwood offers antiseptic, fungicidal and insect-repelling benefits. It also has anti-inflammatory qualities, making it useful against acne and eczema. Sandalwood stimulates the immune system and promotes healthy functioning of liver and kidneys.

Aids in Relaxation:

Sandalwood, one of the principle ingredients in Nag Champa, offers many aromatherapy benefits. It creates a calming effect, dispelling stress and thus opening access to deeper meditative states. The combination of masking sweat odors and aiding in relaxation makes Nag Champa very popular in many yoga studios where students move vigorously in addition to practicing meditation.