Rules for Adding Flavorings to Wax

Table of Contents:

1. Recommendations from Aromatherapy Oil Manufacturers

2. Consequences of Using Fragrance at Low Temperatures

3. Consequences of Using Fragrance at High Temperatures

4. What Happens When You Add Too Much Fragrance?

5. Other Factors Affecting Candle Scent Throw

Adding fragrances to wax is a very important step in candle production, and it is at this stage that most novice candle makers make significant mistakes. What exactly are these mistakes? Let's talk about that today.

To make the fragrance work best in your candles, you need to use it correctly.

1. Recommendations from fragrance oil manufacturers

Usually, fragrances are added to wax at temperatures ranging from 60 to 85°C and in a volume of 3 to 12% of the wax's weight.
These values depend directly on the fragrance oil manufacturer and the type of wax used.

☝️Responsible manufacturers always provide this information on their products, and responsible sellers include it in their product descriptions.☝️

CandleScience recommends adding their fragrance oils to wax at a temperature of 85°C:

◽️If necessary, add a dye to the wax, and after thorough mixing, as soon as the wax reaches 85°C, add 3 to 10% of the fragrance oil to the wax and mix thoroughly for 2 minutes while maintaining the specified temperature.
◽️Pour the wax after cooling it to the pouring temperature recommended by the wax manufacturer.

2. ❄️ What could be the consequences of adding fragrance at a low temperature:

🔹Fragrance molecules will distribute unevenly and may not fully interact with wax molecules.
➡️ As a result, the wax's structure changes, the candle's surface may appear imperfect, the fragrance may form droplets on the surface or settle at the bottom, and the candle may smoke and burn unevenly.
🔹The fragrance may not unfold properly and completely, so it could be altered or too weak.

3. 🔆 What could be the consequences of overheating wax with fragrance:

🔸Wax and fragrance oil molecules can break down due to excessively high temperatures.
➡️ As a result, improper wax solidification, improper candle burning, an unpleasant odor, or even the absence of fragrance, and brittle wax may occur.

4. ✴️ What could be the consequences of adding too much fragrance oil:

☝️The wax manufacturer should specify the maximum percentage of fragrance oil that the wax can accept. This percentage may vary for different waxes, but on average, it's 10%, and in some waxes, it's 12%.

▪️If you add more fragrance than recommended by the wax and fragrance oil manufacturers, the wax won't be able to accommodate all the fragrance oil molecules, and the fragrance will distribute unevenly. The wax will become compromised, the wick will smoke, and the fragrance will be unpleasant—too concentrated and not noticeable in terms of scent notes.
▪️This can also be dangerous for health because burning altered wax and a large amount of fragrance oil can produce harmful substances!

5. What else affects the scent throw of a candle?

In conclusion, it's important to note that the scent throw of a candle depends not only on the correct use of fragrance oils but also on the type and quality of the wax and its scent throw capabilities, the specific fragrance and its properties, the proper choice of the wick, and the correctly calculated proportion of fragrance oil to wax, depending on the candle's volume and even the size of the room where the candle is burning.

Follow the recommendations of the manufacturers and test, test, test! 😉