Making Scented Candles – 4 Tips for Creating Aromatic Wax Beauty
Aromatic candles heighten the ambience of any room in the house. If you are a romantic kind of person, you’ll appreciate the aroma of these scented wax masterpieces. Treat your guests to a touch of mystique and a sense of calm. And, of course, the glow of almost any candle highlights the elegance of the room.
Even before it is lit, the subtle fragrance of a scented candle will heighten your energy level,. When you arrive home tired and worn out from the day, the aroma & warm glow of a scented candle tends to loosen your tightness & lift your energy level.
Scented candles serve as wonderful gifts for any occasion and every season especially when they are made by your own hands.
1. Pick Your {Candle Fragrance}
Fragrance oil is available in virtually any craft shop. You can also shop for it online. I would suggest that you opt for fragrance oils rather than going for cheap water or alcohol based fragrances. Since your wax mix will be oil based, your fragrance should also be oil based. Why? As oil & water do not mix, a water based perfume tends not to mix with oil based wax.
2. Choose Your Wax
The basics of {scented candle making} are more or less the same as for ordinary wax candles. Start by selecting your wax. Available in the market is a versatile range of wax starting with the naturals, beeswax, palm & soy, and progressing to paraffin or gel wax. Decide on the aromatic intensity of your candles before making a wax selection. For instance, wax with less density holds less fragrance than higher density wax.
3. The Art of Scented Candle Making
Let’s cover the method for making aromatic candles.
1st step is to melt your wax. Use a double boiler for this purpose. That means place the wax in a small pot and, in turn, put that container into a slightly larger pot containing water. Now heat the H2O. Use a thermometer so as not to burn the wax. Maintain the temperature at a constant 170-180 degrees F.
When the wax is melted, put a wick in the mold & take the wax from the heat source. Next add your fragrance oil. A mixture of 1 ounce of fragrance oil to 1 pound of wax will create a fragrance level equal to 6% of candle density. Greater amounts of fragrance oil will cause the candle to burn out quicker.
Now pour your melted wax/fragrance mix into it’s mold. The only task left is to let it the mold cool before removing your candle.
Congratulations on a job well done!
4. Experiment as You Go
Start experimenting and you will soon become an expert in all aspects of making candles. By using different fragrances and colors, you will perfect the art of candle making and thoroughly enjoy the process.
It’s a great feeling to award your friends with a {scented candle that is homemade} knowing that they will find the fragrance both relaxing and invigorating.
Learn How To Make Scented Candles
Want to learn how to make scented candles? Elegance is felt in the room, by the addition of scented candles. The light from any candle gives its surroundings a romantic feel. However, when fragrance is added to the room through a scented candle, the elegance of the room grows.
A tip on how to make scented candles is that you can purchase fragrance oil, which is available both in craft stores and on the internet. It is better to use oil rather than a water-based or alcohol-based perfume in wax because most waxes are close to oil in their chemical composition. Oil doesn’t dissolve in or mix with water. Hence, the water-based perfume will result in the liquid floating to the bottom of the melted wax.
The wonderful thing about scented candles is that the fragrance is noticed even when the candle is not lit. Scented candles make great gifts, and are even more appreciated when it is made by hand. The steps in how to make scented candles are the same as making a regular candle. It is up to you to make the decision on the type of wax to use.
Various types of wax are available in today’s market. There are natural waxes like soy, palm, or beeswax. One basic wax that most candles are made of is paraffin. Gel candles are also available. Both these types of wax can be used for making scented candles. Although, with gel candles, the amount of fragrance to be used should also be taken into consideration when choosing the type of wax. High density gel wax holds more fragrance compared to low density gel wax.
In order to make any type of candle, you have to first melt the wax before you can pour it into your candle mold. You have to use a double boiler to melt the wax. Place a smaller pot that has the wax in it into a larger pot that is filled with water. Be careful not to put the temperature of the stove top too high because wax can burn. You can use a thermometer and heat the wax to be around 170-180 degrees. The wick should be added to the mold. After the wax is melted, you can remove it from the heat source.
Fragrance oil should be added at this time. The composition is such that one ounce of fragrance should be added to one pound of wax. The fragrance concentration will be 6%. One thing to keep in mind when learning how to make scented candles is that care should be taken to avoid excess addition of fragrance. Although it may seem like the more fragrance the better, this is not always the case. Certain problems can arise from using too much fragrance.
The burning capacity of the candle may decrease because of the higher concentration of the liquid. It will result in pools of liquid in the candle. You can always experiment with your candle making in order to gain more knowledge about how to make scented candles. You can keep records of how much fragrance you use to how much wax and find your own scented candle recipe.
The inclusion of scents and colors in candle making yields more variety. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to give a loved one a gift of a candle with the essence of relaxation and a calming scent to go along with it? Now that you understand a little bit more about how to make scented candles, you can do it.