When the St Palo necklace first launched, we had to introduce the concept as something that at the time nobody was really familiar with.

I thought this time around that I could share my insider knowledge as I have had some time to get to know the St Palo Wood Burner after having developed its design.

Firstly I would advise that you read the safety instructions on the packaging, as while this is much safer than having the wood itself to the flame, there are still always hazards to consider.

Our Palo Santo wood has been selected specifically to work with the wood burner. You can absolutely use your own palo santo sticks but some of them may not be the optimal shape.

Placement is an important thing to consider as the larger the room, the more mild the aroma will be. If you place it by a window, the scent may get a little lost.

Carefully light your tea light and place in the centre of the base of the burner. Please only use metal cased tea lights. This burner essentially turns into its own oven so plastic cases are not suitable!

It takes a few minutes for the burner to warm up, so be patient if you can! The colder the room, the longer it will take as it’ll have to fight the cold as well as heat up.

Every stick of Palo Santo has its own unique formation designed by our dear mother nature, so intensities may vary and even sometimes the aroma comes in waves. If you can imagine the oil in the wood being heated up and making its own way out, it has to find its own path!

If you’d like a boost to the senses, simply lift the wood out and pop it back in.

If you feel like it’s run out of its scent, I flip the wood around and burn the other end but make sure you check on the candle first! The other ways to renew the wood are to shave the ends which often draws out more oil.

Clean your burner when it is cold and use a damp cloth and water only and we advise to burn for no more than an hour at a time.

Don’t forget the sticks can still be used for burning traditionally!

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The Palo Santo tree is commonly known as a native species of the dry-tropical forests of Ecuador. The inhabitants of the surrounding communities live off the trade of Palo Santo. This means that if they do not find clients for it, they will have to cut it down to use the land for livestock or developments etc which has already happened in many other places.

So contrary to what is currently being portrayed in social media about all Palo Santo, the real threat to this wood and also many communities will be if theres no use for it anymore. Rather than avoiding Palo Santo we need to make sure its being sourced ethically.

The vision of the project our wood and oil comes from is the sustainable use of this resource, Palo Santo Bursera Graveolens. They focus on what they can control. One aspect is an educational project, to involve the communities and to teach them not to cut the tree while alive or cause its death unnaturally.  A cut tree has no value, since it does not contain the medicinal properties of the Palo Santo, nor does it have aroma.

We process only naturally dead branches and trunks, without cutting down any living trees, damaging the surrounding area or making new paths. Really the wood isn’t harvested but collected/foraged.

Annually and for 5 consecutive years they have been reforesting Palo Santo trees in a pilot project of 50 hectares. Moreover, for over 10 years they have been reforesting and donating plants to several institutions. 

The national government of Ecuador has also been involved. We are currently waiting for them to declare this 50-hectare area as a "protective forest", to prevent logging, invasions and damages.

Once protected, this forest will be open to universities and communities to learn the experience, and mirror it in other areas of the dry-tropical forest of Manabi.

We are doing our part to contribute to the care of the environment and the preservation of this sacred wood, Palo Santo Bursera Graveolens. Please support the cause and spread the positive projects so the negative stories don’t stop its trade all together.

When it comes to the world of essential oils and aromatherapy, intuition is a powerful tool. But it’s important that we research the basics too. First off, the basic guidelines are key to staying safe with essential oils and ensuring good quality and practice. You can read more about safely using essential oils on our FAQs page.

There are more than 90 essential oils by name and so many variants of each, it can get overwhelming but if you stick to a small group to begin with, you will find life much easier. I first learned about essential oils from a book my mother left me that I remember from my childhood. Finding a point of referral is important, be it from the internet or a sentimental old dusty book, just make sure it’s a reputable source.

Some of us know immediately to ask for the blends that help with stress or anxiety, others don’t mind at all about the purpose but would prefer to choose with their senses. I once even had a lady who had lost her sense of smell but tested the oils all the same and found an ingredient that she could actually sense with her nose!

I decided to play a game with some passers by and offered to hide the blend info until they had chosen their favourites (intuition is a powerful tool) what happened next was wonderful as it turned out that out of 5 women, each and every single one found that their chosen blends were not only a match in terms of smell, on paper the properties of the oils provided exactly the things they felt they were missing.

As long as you know the basics and you have made an informed choice on your set of oils, why not let yourself experiment with intuition and see where it takes you.

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— What has inspired you the most in your life?

If I have to choose one, it would be nature (and its life force as whole).

— And with that in mind, how do you cope living in a busy city like London?

I still find tiny hints of nature everywhere in London and enjoy them, even in an artificial green space. Plants grow wherever they have soil to grow roots underneath, and insects and birds are coming to those plants no matter if they are in an artificial environment or not. They are all fulfilling their purpose, and I find it quite powerful. It would be very difficult to cope if we focus on negative side of living in London (all kinds of pollution from the air to wifi/radio waves!).

— How can we learn to switch off our brains?

Meditation is a wonderful tool to keep inner peace and calmness.

Many people find meditation hard to practice. If so, I recommend to stay in the present moment and be mindful, like I do with my lunch. Otherwise, use our ability to imagine. Visualisation can be very powerful, so I normally recommend people to go to their favourite place in their mind and feel it for a while, when they feel stressed. For instance, if you like to be on the beach, feel the sand, sunshine, and hear the sound of waves. Doing this would bring a sense of peace or might energise you.

If this is still difficult, just focusing on deep abdominal breathing would be beneficial. Practicing any of those will help to push other things out from your head. Some essential oils are particularly useful for inducing parasympathetic nervous system (= relaxing nervous system), so they would assist you to relax and switch off more easily.

— How do you integrate aromatherapy into your day to day life?

There are so many ways I do...

I always put some oils in my oil burners, but I often pour some lukewarm water and don't normally use tea lights. I keep a bottle of my favourite blend in a foam base in the bathroom, and have a bath with Epsom salts. I also use essential oils in my homemade tooth paste (powder), face toner, cream, room spray, and in cooking (baking and chocolate making, otherwise salad dressings).

— Why is it important for people to know and understand their essential oils?

We all have a complex network of data storage system in the brain storing any information we experience including smell (I call it smell library). How you respond to certain smell can totally be different from other people, if the smell triggers your memory. For this reason, your favourite smell may not be your friend's favourite. Essential oils, which are attracting you, can also indicate your state/condition. For instance, if you are feeling low (consciously or unconsciously), you are more likely to pick up cheering and uplifting smell than sedating ones.

Another important point would be safety. Some essential oils can be too stimulating for people with certain health conditions such as epilepsy. Pregnancy needs extra care with choosing oils, too. The body can be unstable, particularly during the first trimester (all the citrus oils are fine, and may help nausea and emotional instability). Again, stimulating oils may activate the brain (and this could end up in circulating adrenal hormones, which can be passed to the foetus through the placenta = not ideal situation).

— So when choosing a blend for instance, its ok to use your intuition from the smells alone?

Yes, it would be great to use your own sense. You would pick up some oils, which would normally suit you. Sensitive people (particularly, who have multiple allergies) and those with certain health conditions need extra caution. If you are not sure, it is always a good idea to check oil properties for your own safety.

— What’s something most people overlook?

It would be the power of nature. For instance, essential oils are not just things with nice smells, but they are powerful plant chemicals. Basically the smell has purpose. Nature designed it for plants to protect themselves from their predators, or draw insects to pollinate for survival. But it seems the story doesn't stop there as we humans benefit from essential oils, too.

— Can you explain briefly how they work?

Essential oil molecules are extremely small, as small as it can be passed into the blood stream through the skin or by inhalation. They can also cross the brain blood barrier. Each essential oil smells different from others due to its chemical structure/composition. Hundreds of different molecules can be found in just one essential oil so it is quite complex. But we divide those into bigger groups of molecules such as terpenes, alcohols, phenols, methyl ethers, aldehydes, ketones, organic acids, esters, oxides, lactones, coumarins, etc., and each molecule group has distinct characteristics and therapeutic properties. I think all the essential oils have some forms of antiseptic properties, and I believe this is due to plants' survival mechanism. These give therapeutic effects on humans, too. For instance, we increase natural killer cells (= increase immunity) after spending sometime in a forest with coniferous trees, as we inhale bio components including essential oils (such as α-pinene) released from the trees.

— Why did you decide to work with St Palo?

Firstly, intuition. I really liked the story behind the business. Secondly, I love the idea of wearing essential oils and enjoying the benefits anytime and anywhere you like.

— Who do you see wearing St Palo?

I think everyone would benefit from it, but particularly someone (including males) who is into natural health (and/or interested in essential oils) and loves the good design would enjoy it more.