How to Use Bakhoor at Home: The Complete Guide

Bakhoor is the smell of a house that has been prepared for guests. Most people in Pakistan grew up around it without ever being taught how to use it properly — here is the full method.

What bakhoor actually is

Bakhoor (also written dakhoon or dukhoon) is scented wood chips, usually agarwood, soaked in fragrant oils and resins and then burned slowly over heat. It is not incense sticks and it is not a spray. The smoke is the product.

Common varieties include oud, rose oud and blends built around amber and musk. Oud bakhoor is deep and smoky; rose bakhoor is softer and better suited to daytime and to guests who find pure oud too intense.

What you need

• A mabkhara — the burner. Electric burners are the practical choice for most homes: no charcoal, no ash, temperature control, and safe around children.
• Charcoal discs if you are using a traditional burner.
• The bakhoor itself. A 100g tin lasts a surprisingly long time.

The method

1. Heat the burner first. If using charcoal, light the disc and wait until it is fully grey — usually five to ten minutes. Burning bakhoor on a flaming disc scorches it and produces acrid smoke instead of fragrance.
2. Use a small amount. Two or three chips. Beginners always use too much. You can add more; you cannot remove smoke from a room.
3. Let it smoulder, not burn. You want slow curling smoke, not a fire. If it is burning fast and smells sharp, the heat is too high.
4. Move it through the house. Carry the burner room to room for thirty seconds each, rather than leaving it in one place. This is how the scent gets into a whole home instead of one corner.
5. Ventilate afterwards. Open a window for a few minutes once you are done. The scent stays in the fabric; the smoke does not need to.

Scenting clothes and hair

This is the part people miss. Hold a shawl, kurta or abaya open over the smoke for twenty to thirty seconds, moving it so the smoke reaches the whole garment. The scent will hold for days.

For hair, lean over the burner at a safe distance and let the smoke pass through. Keep it brief, keep the burner well below you, and never lean directly over hot charcoal.

When to burn it

• Before guests arrive — twenty minutes ahead, so the sharpness has settled.
• Friday mornings, as many families do.
• Before and during Ramadan gatherings.
• Weddings and formal events at home.
• After cooking, which is the most practical use of all.

Safety, briefly

Never leave burning charcoal unattended. Keep the burner on a heat-proof surface, away from curtains and out of reach of children. Do not burn bakhoor in a completely sealed room for long periods — crack a window. Electric burners remove most of these concerns, which is why they have largely taken over.

Storing it

Keep bakhoor in a sealed tin away from heat and sunlight. The oils evaporate if it is left open, and a tin stored on a sunny shelf loses strength within months.

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Bakhoor we stock

• Dakhoon Al Emarat — Oud (100g) — the traditional choice. Deep and smoky, best for evenings and formal gatherings.
• Dakhoon Al Emarat — Rose (100g) — softer and rounder. The one to burn during the day, or when guests find pure oud too heavy.
• Dakhoon Al Emarat — Kahilan (100g) — a premium blend for occasions where you want something less familiar.

All sealed and original. Browse the full collection →