Making Scented Candles
A sense of sumptuousness and elegance is added to a room in which there are scented candles. All candlelight conjures a romantic sensation. When surrounded by scent in a room there is a feeling of elegance or luxury.
Fragrance oil for candles is available on the internet or at many craft stores. Oil is preferred over water-based scent or alcohol-based perfume when scenting wax for candles.This is because wax is similar to oil in composition and we all know that oil and water does not mix. One only needs to make a salad dressing to find out that the water will settle beneath the oil and therefore water-based perfumes or alcohol based scent will simply not mix well with melted wax.
One characteristic of scented candles is that there is always an awareness of fragrance despite the candle being unlit. Scented candles are welcomed as gifts, even more so when they are hand crafted. The technique for making scented candles is not different from making ordinary candles. Several types of wax are available to choose from including natural waxes such as soy, palm, and beeswax. There are also the usual, more common paraffin waxes as well as gel waxes for available for making candles. All of these waxes are compatible with scent to make candles although consideration of the amount of scent must be determined before using fragrance when choosing gel wax. Lower density gel wax can not tolerate as much fragrance as higher density gel wax.
The first step in making any candle involves first melting the wax prior to pouring it into a mold. A double boiler is ideal to melt the wax. The wax is placed in the smaller pot of the double boiler set and the larger pot is filled with water. The smaller pot containing the wax is then placed in the larger pot that is filled with water.The stove burner is turned on but it is important not to turn the stove burner on too high as the wax can burn. A thermometer is needed and when the temperature rises to 170-l80 degrees it is time to secure the wick to the mold. When the wax is melted and removed from the heat, the fragrance oil is added.
The general amount of fragrance needed is one ounce of oil per pound of wax, this gives a 6 per cent fragrance concentration.There may be temptation to add more fragrance but this is not advised as certain problems can occur when using too much fragrance. For example, too much fragrance can result in a candle the does not burn properly due to a high concentration of liquid. Another possible result of too much fragrance is that there is a risk of liquid pooling in the candle. Experimenting with a candle and keeping a record of the amount of fragrance that was used is a good way to create a personal candle recipe.
Scents and colors add variety to candles that can be created in candle making. It is a joy to give a loved one a candle as a gift with essence that promotes calming and relaxation especially made for them. Some knowledge about candle making will ensure success in making your very own hand crafted candles.
