Making scented candles – a How to guide

Perhaps the most popular reason why most people choose to burn candles is to add scent and fragrance to a room. Not only is candlelight romantic and soothing, but when you add a fragrance on top of this, you get a true feast for the senses.

Fragrance oil that is readily available in craft stores can be used to make fragrant candles easily. You will find that oil works better when it comes to adding fragrance to candles then alcohol-based perfume does. This is because basic chemistry teaches us that water and oil do not mix, and this comes into force when attempting to fragrance a candle – water based perfumes will just float to the bottom of the melted wax and make the candle unsightly and without the slow-burning fragrance you intended.

The beauty of scented candles is that they can often fill a room with fragrance even if they are not lit. Candles with fragrance are a popular choice of gift for friends and relatives and if you are interested in making your own scented candles you will find that the process is much the same as putting together the non-scented variety of candle. First you should make considerations about what type of wax it is best to use when making your scented candle. Do you want to use a natural wax like a soy palm or beeswax? Do you want to use paraffin wax or gel wax to make your scented candle? Gel wax is actually a really great choice of wax when it comes to making scented candles. This is because the density of the gel composition can determine how much fragrance the candle can hold. A higher density gel wax will usually hold the most fragrance.

When making a scented candle it makes sense to follow some basic steps.

Step 1 – You will need to melt the wax to get started with the molding of a scented candle. Depending on the type of wax you choose to use, you may melt the wax using a double-boiler or a multi-boiler. Ensure you don’t over boil the wax; this could ruin your entire candle. A thermometer should be used to ensure the wax only ever reaches a point of 170-180 degrees approximately. Remember that you candle mold will need a wick if you want it to be a candle!

Step 2 – The melted wax can now be fragranced. Measure the fragrance oil that you have chosen per pound of candle wax – measure these compositions before your melting phase begins. Don’t add too much fragrance; a 6% compound (oil per pound) mixture is usually perfect. If you do use too much fragrance you may find that the candle has too much liquid in it to burn properly. You probably need to do a bit of trial and error here to get the amount of added fragrance right.

Step 3 – Allow the wax to set in the mold and ensure the wick is held upright.

Step 4 – Enjoy your candle. A candle with scent and color is much more alluring than a plain wax candle. If you are keen to make candles to gift to other people, consider the scents and colors that you can add to suit their tastes. You can make your own scented candles easily from home. Just follow our easy steps.