Candle Making Archives - Page 12 of 12

Candle making is becoming an incredibly popular hobby because it is fun and relaxing. If you are interested in starting this hobby, there are a few things you need to know before you do. First, it is important to understand how much oil you need to put into the wax to get the perfect scent. The ratio of oil you put into candle wax will vary depending on the wax type you are using, the flashpoint of the oil, and the strength of the scent you want. The flashpoint of the oil is essential because it allows you to add it to the wax at the right temperature. There is a formula used to calculate how much oil you should put in your candle wax. Using the formula will ensure that you don’t add too much oil and get a scent that is too strong or adding too little that you don’t smell the scent at all. It is also important to make sure you’re adding the fragrance in at the right temperature for proper binding. How Much Essential Oil Do You Put in Candle Wax? Click Image for More Info One way to add scents to your candles is with essential oils. This is a great idea because essential oils have different purposes that can help you relax or help you feel better when you are sick. It is important to make sure you add the proper amount of essential oils or you won’t get all the benefits. Essential oils that are undiluted will usually be stronger than ones that are. However, when you use soy wax or beeswax to make your candles, you will still need to add a pretty decent amount of oil to get your scent. It is recommended to add somewhere between 30 and 40 drops of essential oils for an eight-ounce candle. Start with just 30 drops, test out the scent, and add more as needed. It is better to start with less and add more to ensure that you don’t create a scent that is overwhelming. You can always add more, but you can’t take out what you have already added. We recommend only using high quality essential oils for the strongest scents possible when making your candles. To check the current price and availability of the Lagunamoon Premium Essential Oils 20 Piece Set, click here to view the listing on Amazon. How Many Drops of Fragrance Oil Do You Put In a Candle? Click Image for More Info Fragrance oils are added a little differently than essential oils. Instead of determining the number of drops you need to put into the wax, you need to determine the weight of the oils that you are going to put in the wax. Before you can determine the proper amount of fragrance oil you need for a candle, you need to know the weight of the wax you need for each candle. For example, if a candle jar holds a maximum of 16 ounces, you would need 8 ounces of wax and 8 ounces of water. The amount of fragrance oil that a wax is able to hold will usually be listed on the wax or the manufacturer’s website. If you can’t find it, it is safe to assume that 5% to 6% is a good amount of oil to mix into the wax. For example, say you are using 8 ounces of wax. You would multiply this number by the percent of fragrance you want to use. The final number you get is the amount of oils you will be able to put into the candle. We recommend using high quality fragrance oils like this set by Lagunamoon. How Do You Calculate Fragrance Oil and Wax? Calculating fragrance to oil is determined based on the scent load and scent content you are trying to achieve. Most wax will require a maximum of 10% scent load wax you are using, but it will most likely need to be lower than that depending on the wax. The formula to calculate how much fragrance oil you need is pretty simple. You need to know how many ounces of wax you are using and the percentage of oil you want to use. As stated above, the average is between 5% and 6%, but it can vary based on the wax. Let’s say you have 8 ounces of candle wax. You will take that 8 and multiply it by the percentage of your choice. For example: 8 ounces x 6% = .48. This means that 8 ounces of wax will need just under half an ounce of fragrance oil. You can round this to half an ounce to make things easier. If you add the recommended amount and you don’t feel like the scent is strong enough, you can add a very small amount of fragrance oil to the mixture and check the scent. This will prevent you from adding too much scent and having it be overwhelming. If you need some help to ensure you are getting the right amount of fragrance, you can find an online calculator that will do the math and figure out how much fragrance you need to add. This is a great way to double check your math to make sure you didn’t calculate incorrectly. What Temperature Do You Pour Fragrance in Soy Wax? You need to make sure the fragrance is added to soy wax at the right temperature to ensure that the oil mixes and binds properly with the melted wax. It is highly recommended to add fragrance oil to your soy wax at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, no matter what the flashpoint is. 185 degrees is optimal for the correct binding and will provide you with the best fragrance possible when the candle is burning. If you add the fragrance at a lower temperature, the oil won’t bind properly, and your scent will be negatively impacted. In severe cases, the fragrance can separate from the wax and pool at the bottom or top of the candle. The type of soy wax you are using will also determine the temperature at which you should add the fragrance oil. Different manufacturers of soy wax will have different instructions. If they recommend a temperature that is different than 185 degrees, follow their instruction instead. Cooling the candle is just as important as making sure the temperature is ideal for pouring the fragrance. The core and the exterior of the candle need to cool at the same time. If the inside of the candle cools slower than the outside, you will end up with a cottage cheese-like candle and the fragrance won’t disperse properly. Final Thoughts Candle making is a hobby that is as relaxing as it is fun. If you want to get into candle making, you need to know the right processes and how much fragrance you need to add to the wax. You can add fragrance with essential oils or fragrance oils, and both need to be added differently. Essential oils will be added by the drop. It is recommended that you add between 30 and 40 drops of essential oil to 8 ounces of candle wax. Fragrance oil will be added by weight as a percentage of the wax used. This is usually between 5% and 6% of the weight of wax you add. Making candles is really easy, you just have to have the right ratios and temperatures to make sure everything mixes together properly. For the best results, the temperature of the wax should be about 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything lower will prevent the fragrance from binding properly.