The Secrets on How to Make Scented Candles



Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2009

by Bill Cash

Making scented candles is no more difficult than making a regular candle. So it stands to reason, if there is nothing better than the fragrant aroma of a burning candle, why not make all your candles scented?

Well, some people do, but others have some problems. This shouldn't be the case. If you know a few basics you can be successful. To get you started, follow these few simple tips below and you can enjoy the end result of a powerfully fragrant candle.

1. You should only purchase fragrances that are made for candle making. Many people like to use, or have on hand, essential oils. Essential oils are popular and quite fragrant, but not good as candle scents. They are made from natural things (making them more expensive) and are used quite a bit in a number of different areas like in aromatherapy. While the scent of these fragrances is overwhelming powerful, essential oils usually do not work well in candle making. We won't go into the details here, but if you want to be successful in your candle making endeavor, start with scents which are made for candle making. Once you gain some experience, you can go back and re-visit the use essential oils. It is not impossible to use them, but it takes a great deal of patience and experience to get it right. Besides, with the readily availability of hundreds of fragrances on the market, why not use them.

2. Candle scents can come in oils or powders. You will usually find them sold as oils, but powders are available.

3. How much fragrance should you use? That is a good question with no good answer. It depends. It first depends on how big the candle is (or how much wax you have melted). Then it depends on the type of fragrance, powder or oil, and the brand or manufacturer that you are using. Different manufacturers make their fragrances stronger or lighter than others.

General rules of thumb for the fragrancy to wax ratio is anywhere from one quarter ounce to one ounce per pound of wax. Another popular number is no more than 3% fragrance to wax.

This information probably doesn't help very much. So the best thing you can do is experiment. First purchase some fragrances and then make some candles. The manufacturers should offer some insight into how much to use. Begin with that and then adjust to suit your preference.

After making a few candles, you will have a good idea on how much to use. Eventually you will even get to the point where you don't have to measure anything you just dump. Now that you found the perfect mix, write everything down (amount of wax, fragrance and manufacturer). If you change manufacturers you'll have to repeat the whole process,

One very important thing to remember is – more is not better – when it comes to making scented candles. A candle with too much fragrant oil added will not burn properly and may puddle or flicker, to name just a few problems.

4. To get started it is best to buy a sample pack of fragrances from a candle making supplier. With these you can learn a lot by experimenting. Once you have the basics you can move to other fragrances and bigger amounts. (with many suppliers fragrances are not returnable.)

5. Once you gather some experience, you can try blending scents and making your own fragrance. Fragrances come in more types that you can possibly imagine. They come in the aromas of trees, fruit, flowers, food, and plants, to name a few.

6. Once you gain some basic experience, you should do some research and expand your knowledge by searching the net for more in-depth information. By doing so you will find one interesting tidbit: if you add fragrant oils to soy wax, you should let the completed candle sit for a few days before burning it. Soy candles need a time to cure and by doing so reward you with a rich and fragrant aroma.

There you have it – the secrets to how to make scented candles. As you can now tell, making scented candles is not difficult. You just have to know a little bit about what to add and how much. The fragrant oil suppler will usually tell you this to begin with, and if not, it only takes a wee bit of time to find that perfect combination giving you beautifully fragrant candles.

Carol Short is a candle making enthusiast who enjoys candle making, talking about candle making and teaching candle making. Her new ebook <b>"Secrets To Scentsational Candle Making" </b>shows you everything you need to know to make candles.

For more great information on how to make scented candles please visit www. ScentsationalCandleMaking.com.

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