Thursday, September 6, 2012


 Candle Making: Adding Fragrance


 Scent can have a powerful effect on a person's mood. One whiff can bring back memories of a specific place or time. A lot of candlemakers feel that fragrance is one of the most appealing qualities of a candle.

In recent years, scientists have discovered some amazing things. The sense of smell is imprinted in the human brain. When an odor is associated with memories, whether pleasant or unpleasant, just a hint of that scent will cause a recollection of those memories. They also found that if students are allowed to sniff peppermint oil while taking a test they will do better than they had previously. Other fragrances has been found to be soothing or stimulating, or healing.

Some of the scents that are considered relaxing are frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang. On the other hand, bergamot, cinnamon, jasmine, lavender, and peppermint are considered to be stimulating. Some sensual scents are jasmine, rose, vanilla, and ylang-ylang.

Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils are manufactured for a variety of uses. These oils are synthetically made in a laboratory and are not natural.
Although some purists don't care for synthetically created fragrance oils there are advantages to using them. The variety is astonishing and they are relatively inexpensive. Fragrance oils can be made to smell like vanilla, fresh linens, coconut, apple pie, cinnamon, chocolate, the list is almost endless. In general, fragance oils are used in all but aromatherapy candles because of their versatility and cost.

Essential Oils
Essential oils are made from plant material. They are natural and pure and most are very expensive. It makes sense that they would be so expensive because it takes several hundred pounds of plant material to make one ounce of essential oil. Probably the most precious is rose oil which takes over 60,000 petals to make one ounce. Because essential oils are the very essence of the plant from which they come, they deliver powerful medicinal effects.
Aromatherapy candles use essential oils to evoke the emotional and physical response associated with their particular qualities. Ideally, aromatherapy candles are made of 100 percent beeswax, one reason being that beeswax is completely natural. Aromatherapy candles are labeled according to the responses they are intended to evoke, relaxing, stimulating, etc.

Using Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils vary in strength from one manufacturer to another. Because of that, it is impossible to provide a formula for adding fragrance to your candles. Most manufacturers label their products to give a general idea of how many pounds of wax a particular fragrance will scent. It may take some trial and error to find the perfect amount to suit you. If you want to add scent to your candles, do it before you pour the wax into the container or mold.

Powdered Herbs
It may sound strange, but you can use finely powdered herbs to add a light scent to your candles. Be sure to use them sparingly. Some suggestions for using powdered herbs are cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, and nutmeg. The herbs will also add some color and texture to the wax.
Here are some rules for using powdered herbs.
  • Make sure the herbs are finely powdered. If you use larger pieces it can cause the flame to sputter.
  • You should only use herbs in candles made from molds. Don't use them in a container candle.
  • Add the herbs to the wax just before you pour it into the mold. Be as sure as you can that the powdered herb is spread evenly throughout the wax.
  • Most importantly, don't use too much! It can cause sputtering and will affect how well your candle burns.
Have fun adding scents to your candles and don't be afraid to experiment by mixing scents!

No comments:

Post a Comment