Best Tips For Scented Candle Making
How to Make Scented Candles
Candlelight has long been associated with feelings of romance. Candles have a way of transforming the mood of a room. Fragrance candles, however, have a way of intensifying things. There is no better way to add elegance to a room than with scented candles. The following are some tips and ideas for making your own scented candles.
When choosing a fragrance it is best to use oil. Water and alcohol based fragrances do not work as well due to their chemical composition. Since waxes are similar in composition to oil it works much better. Water based fragrances, you will find, only sink to the bottom of the melted wax. Fragrance oil is easy to find as it is available in most craft stores and readily available online.
Making scented candles is really no different than making regular candles. You will need to choose from the many waxes that are available, such as soy, palm, paraffin and gel to name a few. Gel candles are a little more tricky due to the different varieties of density. Lower density wax cannot hold as much fragrance as higher density wax. Otherwise, all of these waxes can be used to make scented candles. What I like about scented candles is they smell good even when the are not burning and people love receiving handmade scented candles as gifts.
The first step in making any type of candle is to melt the wax. The equipment needed for this is a double boiler. You can use your stove for this but make sure the temperature is not to high to avoid burning the wax. The wax should be heated to approximately 175 degrees and I would highly recommend using a thermometer.
Now it is time to add the wick to the mold. Once the wax is melted you can add the fragrance oil. Although it is tempting to add a lot of fragrance do not overdo it. More is not always better. In fact, too much fragrance can cause the candle to not burn properly. Ideally you want a 6% fragrance concentration. A good rule of thumb is to add one ounce of oil for every one pound of wax.
Have fun with it and try different things. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Keep a log of your different experiments and have a reference of the different combination of fragrances and waxes you use. You may just invent your own perfect scented candle recipe.
Colors and fragrances really add spice to your candle making. It allows for a lot of creativity and a lot of variety. Once you learn
