How to Make Scented Candles
Candle light is a very charming addition to almost any occasion. Candle light dinners are a wonderful experience and candle’s soft flickering illumination is always comforting. Add fragrant aromas to candle light and you have a heavenly combination. It is like putting the icing on a cake. Adding a scent to candles is easy.
There are several types of scenting agents available to the candle maker and they can usually be obtained at retail establishments that offer hobby supplies or from online suppliers. It is advisable to use oil scents rather than water or alchol based products because just about every candle making material is characterized as being an oil whether from natural sources such as plants and animals or from refined petroluem. The old adage of oil and water not mixing applies to candle wax and water or alchol as well. A water based scent would only separate to the bottom of the liquid wax and not provide the candle with the desired aroma.
An interesting aspect of scented candles is that they can be enjoyed without being lit. They can emit their aromas continuously while they just sit on a shelf. This amazing quality makes scented candles excellent gifts especially with the added touch of being handmade by the presenter.
Adding scents to candles requires only one additional step to the candle making process. The scents come in several forms including liquid, solid wax perfume chips and natural herbs and there are seemingly endless choices of aromas. Different type waxes vary slightly in their application requirements. There are natural waxes like palm, soy or beeswax and the petroleum based paraffin waxes. The natural and paraffin waxes are the easiest to add aromas. The general rule is to add one ounce of scenting agent per pound of wax just prior to adding the heated wax to the mold. This will minimize evaporation of the scents. Gel waxes are also easy to work with but they need to be heated a little more than the oil waxes.
The scenting process is conducted after the wax has been heated in the double boiler to around 175 degrees. This should be carefully monitored with a reliable thermometer. Just prior to transferring the heated wax into the mold the scenting agent should be added to the wax. This will capture the maximum amount of the fragrance in the cooling wax. The process is similar when using gel wax except the gel should be heated to 200 degrees.
There is a tendency to increase the aromas by adding more of the scenting agent to the mix but in this particular situation more is not better. Adding too much scenting material will not produce a stronger aroma but rather cause the candle itself to be pitted or mottled and make it harder to separate from the mold. Too much fragrance could also cause the candle to burn improperly.
Fragrant aromas make candles even more special. Scented candles become even more meaningful gifts or special additions to the candle makers home. The addition of scents to candles is a very easy step to add to the production process and well worth the effort.
