Candle Making Basics

Favored the world over by candle lovers, scented candles bring elegance, enchantment, and mystique to any room.  The gentle warm shine of candlelight gives your room a romantic feeling and when any pleasant fragrance fills the room from a sweetly scented candle, the enchantment of the room increases even more. It is extraordinary to notice that the fragrance utilized to create a scented candle is detected in the room even when the candle has not been lit. Additionally, scented candles make terrific gifts and are even more pleasing when handmade.

Wide varieties of fragrance oil are for sale on the internet and of course most local craft stores carry a large selection as well. The kind of fragrances best suited to making scented candles are the oil-based ones. Alcohol-based or water based fragrance should not be used with wax as water and wax do not mix. Furthermore, nearly all waxes are really close to oil in their chemical composition and so will mix perfectly with oil-based fragrances. If you opt to use a water-based scent in your candle, you are likely to notice the water floating below the melted wax.

The entire method of creating scented candles is one and the same as making regular candles. First, you will need to decide on the type of wax you will use – be it natural or artificially manufactured. Candle waxes are now being made from several different materials, some from natural sources and others from fabricated materials. Specifically, natural waxes available to the candle maker today are soy, palm, and beeswax to name a few. There is also manufactured wax like paraffin wax which is your basic tallow wax that is used most often in candle making  and then there is also gel wax. What type of candle you want to make will decide what your preference will be for any of these types of scented candle making waxes.

Once your wax is melted, transfer your wax melting pot to safe resting spot and then add one ounce of your chosen scented oil per one pound of wax. This will yield you a 6% fragrance denseness while insuring you are not adding too much fragrance to your melted wax. Do not be tempted to add more fragrance to the mix because you think the more you add the more scented your candle will be. This is not always true. Problems can develop from using excessive scent.  For instance, the candle won’t burn properly because of the higher concentration of liquid in your finished scented candle. You could in fact, end up with pools of liquid in the candle. Always experiment with your candle making beginning by adding at the lowest recommended fragrance amount and adding more as desired. For each candle you create, I suggest you keep records of what your ratio of fragrance to wax was so you will know exactly what your preferred result will be.

Using fragrance and a variety of colors offers you a ton of options in candle making. It gives you the chance of giving the gift of  handmade scented candles with the elements of calm, romance and relaxation already included. You may also decide to monetize your ability to make scented candles by creating a flourishing commercial enterprise selling your creations. The options are nearly endless.