In brief
How frankincense and myrrh are cut with rosin, gum arabic, sand and dye, the chemistry that separates real resin from fakes, and simple home tests to check what you bought. Genuine frankincense tears are irregular, matte to slightly waxy, and vary in color within one batch. On a hot surface they soften, bubble and release a citrus-pine-balsamic smoke. Pine rosin substitutes are more uniformly glassy, melt into a sticky puddle almost immediately, and smell sharply of turpentine with little of the resinous sweetness genuine Boswellia resin develops as it warms. Yes. Colophony, the solid rosin left after distilling pine resin, is cheap, translucent and takes dye easily, so it is sometimes tinted amber or gold and sold as high-grade hojari frankincense. It lacks boswellic acids entirely, and a tincture test in ethanol shows a much thinner, sharper aroma than real resin, without the rounded balsamic base note.
Adulterated frankincense and myrrh are lots that have been diluted, bulked or cosmetically altered so a lower-value material passes for the genuine Boswellia or Commiphora resin. The most common fillers are pine rosin (colophony), gum arabic, sand or small stones added for weight, and cheaper exudates such as opoponax or guggul substituted outright for myrrh. Dyes — usually a simple amber or reddish-brown colorant — are used to mask pale or inconsistent material and to make bulk-grade tears look like premium hojari or Somali grades. Genuine resin can be distinguished by its irregular shape, variable color within a single lot, characteristic melting and smoke behavior when heated, and the presence of species-specific markers such as boswellic acids in frankincense or furanodiene-type sesquiterpenes in myrrh. None of these tests requires a laboratory; they require attention and a lit charcoal disc or a small alcohol tincture.
What counts as adulteration in frankincense and myrrh
Adulteration covers a spectrum. At the mild end, a trader blends small amounts of resin dust or lower grades into a batch of good tears to stretch volume — a practice as old as the trade itself and not always disclosed but also not always deceptive if the price reflects it. At the dishonest end, a seller substitutes a cheaper, unrelated material entirely — pine resin, a synthetic resin, or plastic beads — and dyes or shapes it to resemble frankincense or myrrh tears. Between these extremes sits species substitution: selling one Boswellia species as another, or myrrh cut with related but cheaper Commiphora exudates.
What does genuine frankincense smell like?
Fresh, high-grade frankincense — from Boswellia sacra in Oman and Yemen, or Boswellia carterii and Boswellia papyrifera from the Horn of Africa — smells resinous and citrus-bright when cold, dominated by monoterpenes such as α-pinene, limonene and α-thujene. Warmed on charcoal, it develops a rounder, slightly green-balsamic depth as heavier compounds like incensole acetate volatilize. Lower grades, and Boswellia serrata material from India, tend to smell duller and more woody, with less of the sharp citrus top note. A dyed pine-rosin fake usually smells thinly of turpentine and burnt sugar, with none of the layered development real resin shows over several minutes of burning.
What does genuine myrrh smell like?
Myrrh, the dried oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora myrrha, smells bitter, medicinal and slightly sour when cold, warming to a dark, smoky-balsamic character on heat. The sesquiterpenes furanoeudesma-1,3-diene, curzerene and lindestrene drive this profile and are largely absent from the substitutes traders reach for. Opoponax, sold as “sweet myrrh,” shares the family resemblance but reads softer and more honeyed, with less bitterness. Guggul, from Commiphora wightii, is resinous but sharper and more medicinal, and is a frequent stand-in in cheap incense sticks labeled simply “myrrh.”
Common fillers and bulking agents
| Adulterant | Used to fake | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Pine rosin (colophony) | Frankincense tears | Glassy, uniform, melts fast; turpentine smell, no boswellic acids |
| Sand, small stones | Weight in bulk sacks | Found on inspection; won’t dissolve in alcohol tincture |
| Gum arabic | Bulk myrrh, cheap Boswellia grades | Odorless when burned, dilutes aroma without adding resinous character |
| Opoponax / guggul | Myrrh | Related exudates, genuinely aromatic but chemically and sensorially distinct |
| Wood chips or bark dust | Weight in low-grade sacks | Visible fibrous texture; chars and smells of plain wood smoke |
| Synthetic resin beads | High-end hojari or peafinch grades | Uniform spheres, melt into plastic-smelling drips |
Dyes and cosmetic tricks
Because buyers associate pale gold or greenish tears with premium hojari frankincense, and dark reddish-brown lumps with aged myrrh, sellers sometimes tint duller or fresher material to fit the expected color. A simple test is to rub a tear between damp fingers or press it against a white tissue with light pressure: dye transfers as a stain, while the natural surface bloom on frankincense tears does not. Uneven color distribution — darker toward the center of a tear, or pooling in cracks — is also a sign of an applied coating rather than a resin’s natural weathering.
The chemistry that tells resins apart
Frankincense resin is defined by its boswellic acids, pentacyclic triterpenes unique to the genus Boswellia and the single most reliable marker separating it from pine rosin, dammar or copal, none of which contain them. Myrrh’s identity rests on its furanosesquiterpenes rather than a triterpene fraction, which is why myrrh and frankincense — despite both being tapped resins burned as incense — need entirely different chemical fingerprints to authenticate. This is also why a resinoid or tincture made from a mislabeled material will smell wrong to an experienced nose even before any formal analysis: the volatile fraction each genus produces is simply built from different biosynthetic pathways. Readers wanting the fuller botanical picture across Boswellia species can see how grade and origin interact in a field guide to Boswellia species.
How to spot adulterated resin at home
A few low-tech checks catch most common fakes:
- Burn test. Place a small piece on a hot charcoal disc or a heated metal spoon. Real frankincense and myrrh soften and bubble before releasing scented smoke; rosin and plastic substitutes melt almost instantly into a shiny puddle with an acrid, chemical edge.
- Tincture test. Dissolve a small amount in high-proof alcohol over a few days. Genuine resin leaves a cloudy, aromatic tincture with sediment (waxes and gums that don’t dissolve); rosin dissolves almost completely into a thin, sharp-smelling solution.
- Visual inspection. Look for uniform shape (a sign of molded or shaped fakes), embedded sand or fiber, and unnatural color consistency across a batch.
- Weight and price. A price noticeably below the going rate for the stated grade and origin — Oman or Yemen hojari, Somalia’s Maydi grade — is the single most reliable early warning, since genuine high grades are labor-intensive to harvest and sort.
Buying guide: what to ask a seller
Ask for the botanical species, harvest region and grade name rather than accepting “frankincense” or “myrrh” alone. Reputable sellers of frankincense and myrrh can usually name the Boswellia or Commiphora species and the harvest season. Request a small sample before a bulk purchase, and run the burn and tincture tests above on it. The same due diligence applies across the resin trade generally — buyers of benzoin face nearly identical filler and dye tactics, since the incentives (cheap bulking material, dyed cosmetic uniformity) are the same wherever a resin commands a premium over its common substitutes.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if frankincense is fake?
Genuine frankincense tears are irregular, matte to slightly waxy, and vary in color within one batch. On a hot surface they soften, bubble and release a citrus-pine-balsamic smoke. Pine rosin substitutes are more uniformly glassy, melt into a sticky puddle almost immediately, and smell sharply of turpentine with little of the resinous sweetness genuine Boswellia resin develops as it warms.
Is dyed pine rosin sold as frankincense?
Yes. Colophony, the solid rosin left after distilling pine resin, is cheap, translucent and takes dye easily, so it is sometimes tinted amber or gold and sold as high-grade hojari frankincense. It lacks boswellic acids entirely, and a tincture test in ethanol shows a much thinner, sharper aroma than real resin, without the rounded balsamic base note.
What is myrrh commonly cut with?
Commercial myrrh lots are sometimes bulked with gum arabic, cheaper Commiphora exudates, or opoponax (sweet myrrh from Commiphora guidottii and related species), which resembles myrrh visually but has a softer, less bitter, more balsamic profile. Guggul, from Commiphora wightii, is another exudate occasionally substituted in bulk incense blends because it is less expensive to source.
Sources consulted
- Boswellia sacra
- Myrrh
- Boswellic acid - PubChem
- Colophony
- frankincense
- myrrh
- adulteration
- boswellia
- resin-testing
