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Scented candles are the new fairy lights, especially so if we talk in terms of decorating. But do you want to cheer someone up? Especially the girls, think no further than a scented candle! But how to make candles with essential oil? Is it even possible? Read on to know!
How to Make Candles with Essential Oils?
If you are looking for gifting options for a female friend of yours, you can close your eyes and rely on scented candles.
Simply lighting a candle transforms the girl into an amazing chef, a homemaker, and a girl who has her life sorted. Some people not only like to light a scented candle1, but they also enjoy the process of making soy candles with essential oils.
The major advantage of making your candles with essential oils2 is adding your favourite essential oils and the aroma of your choice. Some people prefer homemade candles to those easily available on the market.
Like all the advantages, making homemade candles with essential oils also has disadvantages. The essential oils we use in making these homemade candles do not hold as much aroma as we expect our candles to have.
Even if the essential oils are loaded with scents, it starts to fade away after a period. The DIY essential oil candles do not always turn out how we want them to, so don’t get your hopes way up.
Here, we will learn how to make candles with essential oils.
What Exactly are Scented Candles?
As good as they smell, scented candles can sometimes be harmful. Market-available scented candles contain several substances that can be hazardous to the lungs and the heart.
Some candle-making companies use metal wicks 3and paraben wax in making candles that can crack out some of the harmful and toxic substances which can be harmful to heart health.
One advantage of making homemade candles with essential oils is boosting the scent without adding harmful substances. It will be more like aromatherapy candles4 without anything to worry about.
Here is a quick guide on how to make essential oil candles at home without making them expensive.
How to Make Candles With Essential Oils?
Like most things in this world, the final product’s quality depends on the ingredients used in making it. Especially when we are talking about essential oils, it comes with various fragrances. The fragrances of these oils highly depend on the quality, the brand, and the purity.
If you like the scented candles to have more fragrance, you can add a few drops of fragrance oils. Before you start making your DIY candle-making process, check the quality of the product you are using.
1. Select A Slow Burning Wax
Selecting the right wax is the most important step in making your candles, but most people tend to ignore this part.
There are different kinds of fragrances in different waxes. Few waxes, like the beeswax candles5, burn slowly and release a soft and sweet scent of their own. On the other hand, paraffin wax is cost-effective and unscented, and they are known to burn quickly.
Since we are using essential oils, we need to remember that these oils possess less fragrance than the chemical scents used in making the market-available candles. How much essential oil is required in making DIY candles is a matter of fact.
Since essential oils have less fragrance, choosing a wax that burns slowly and releases the scent in the air for a long period is important. Therefore, the best wax that can be used in making candles are soy wax 6or beeswax.
Soy wax and beeswax burn even slower than paraffin wax, making your candle last longer. Another advantage of using soy wax in making candles over other wax is t it produces less smoke and burns much cleaner.
As we are talking about the advantages, soy wax and beeswax candles can hold onto the natural scent longer and release them slowly as the candle tends to burn. It makes the candles smell good and fresh for a longer time. It also ensures that the scent remains until the candle’s last bit.
2. Select a Hot Burning Wick
Soy wax is the best for making candles, as it retains the smell for longer. As the candle burns, it slowly releases the smell and aroma into the air.
One disadvantage of soy wax is that it does not get very hot; as a result, it cannot produce a lot of smell when the candle burns. You will need a hot burning wick to get a strong yet soothing smell when the candles burn.
When choosing a wick, make sure to choose an all-natural wick, as it does not have any paraffin wax coating or a metal center. In this case, hem wicks are better than cotton wicks. They are known to burn hotter and release a lot of oil into the air when the candle burns.
These wicks can sometimes be costly, so if you plan to make a cost-effective candle, you can use whatever wick is available at home or even go for cotton wicks. Add more fragrance oil to make the scent last longer for this case.
3. Choose Strong Essential Oils
One should choose the essential oils according to their choice. But it is also important to remember that choosing a strong and potentially good essential oil is one of the steps you can take in making a good DIY essential oil candle.
Some oils have a great scent and are perfect for aromatherapy, but when it comes to using these oils for candles, you might find the smell not so powering.
In these situations, make sure to use essential oils that are not only good but also have a good smell that doesn’t disappear over time.
Some essential oils for making your candles are eucalyptus, sweet orange, cinnamon, rosemary, and pine. To our surprise, these smells are not like the sweet floral scents but are sure to give you a whiff whenever you light them.
You are also free to experiment as much as possible, as it is your customized scented candle. Make sure to look up on the internet properly before using any oils in your candles, as many of the oils might be allergic to your pets and kids.
4. Make Sure to Use More Oil in Candles with Essential Oils
Pure essential oils are expensive, but as they are not strong and do not smell as strong as synthetic fragrances, you will have to invest more to make your candles scented.
Many people often mistake not using pure essential oils while making their candles. But if you want your candles to have a noticeable scent, you will have to add more oils when required.
The best measurement for using essential oils for candles is 2 tablespoons of oil for every four ounces of melted candle wax. Maintaining this ratio will give you a dilution of roughly 6%, which is considered the optimal measurement for making scented candles.
If you like stronger scents, you can also add more oil to make your candles achieve a strong scent.
It is also upon you to adjust the ratio as per the container size that is being used, you can also mix and match the fragrances to achieve your desired fragrance. Layering the fragrances is also good for getting a food candle scent.
5. Add in the Oils at the Right Time
While making essential oil candles, add the oil at the right time. If you add oils when your wax is too hot, it might damage the smell of the candles.
Even if you add the oils when the wax is too cold, the oils might not get the chance to spread properly over the entire wax, and as a result, you will not get your desired smell.
It might bring you to the question, what is the ideal temperature for adding oils? The ideal temperature for adding oils is 185 degrees F or 85 degrees Celsius.
Take the wax and place it in a bowl. Now place the boil in a double boiler method, and let the wax melts slowly over low heat. When the wax has melted properly, remove it, place it on the counter, and leave it to sit for some time.
Use an infrared thermometer or a candy thermometer to measure the temperature. When the temperature has reached approximately 185 degrees F, you can add the oils.
While pouring the essential oils for candles, you can also add the fragrance oils this time. You can pour your wax and the oils into a mason jar or any other prepared jar.
Let the mixture get cool completely before lighting up the candles.
6. Save the Scent from Fading
When making candles with essential oils, remember that the scent might fade quicker.
If you want your candle to smell good for a longer time, you must ensure some factors to keep the smell intact until the end. After every use, do not forget to cover the candles with that lid tightly, it will help in trapping the scent for a long time.
If you find that your candle lacks scent after using it for some time, there is nothing to worry about. Melt that candle again and add more oil and fragrances to the existing mixture.
To ensure this process, place the candle in the freezer until the wax of the candle pops out. After that, you need the place the wax in the double boiler method and wait till the wax melts.
After gently melting the wax, remove the wick, re-apply the process of adding oils and fragrances and pour it back into the container.
Guide for Picking the Best Essential Oils for Candles
Using essential oil candles is one of the best ways to get the advantages of aromatherapy. Incorporating essential oils into our day-to-day life has a lot of benefits.
Adding more oils will make your candles smell fresh for longer, and you might not have to repeat this step. In this case, you can make aromatherapy candles to get the benefits.
In the process of candle making, always remember to use the scent of the candles according to the surroundings. Different essential oils are available to target problems like anxiety and overthinking.
Some types of essential oils are useful in boosting confidence and also stimulating concentration. So choosing the right fragrance can do magic for you and your surrounding.
Some people make scented candles to get a pleasant smell and enjoy the aroma. Knowing the different oils and fragrances is very important in all these cases.
Always invest in good quality oils, as these oils will make your candles smell much better. Using cheap or low-quality essential oils might not yield the desired result and waste time and money.
1. Candles with Essential Oils for Relaxation and Peace
If you are trying to make essential oil candles to get into the mode of peace and relaxation, you will love the fragrance of lavender essential oil.
Many researchers have found that bergamot is also useful in calming the mind and is also known to reduce anxiety.
It is useful in maintaining blood pressure and ensuring a healthy heart rate. In 2017, bergamot was used on people with anxiety, and it has been seen that their anxiety reduced to a great level.
There are other good options for choosing essential oils for relaxation and peace. You can opt for lemongrass and geranium. If you are into strong-scented candles, you can also opt for vetiver and patchouli.
2. Candles with Essential Oils for Energy and Focus
There is some different kind of romance in journaling by candlelight. For the ones who love journaling, we bet you would like to do it over candlelight than electricity.
Or maybe you are into cleaning and lost all your energy in the middle of it. What then? You can light some essential oil candles to make you feel refreshed and energetic all over again.
Some citrus scents like sweet orange, grapefruit, and lemon are perfect for feeling refreshed. These scents smell so fresh that they will add a freshly-cleaned factor to the ambiance. Some people also like to light up a citrus-infused candle while taking their post-workout shower.
If you don’t like the smell of citrus fruits, you can also opt for other essential oils like peppermint essential oil, eucalyptus, and spearmint essential oils. When spearmint is mixed with rosemary essential oil, it is known to increase concentration and brain power. As a result, the learning ability increases.
Students who find it difficult to concentrate on their studies after a while can use this candle to boost their concentration and memory. Not only students, but everyone who is struggling with concentration can opt for making these candles.
We tend to feel more fresh and alive whenever we inhale fresh air. When we mix mint with rosemary, it gives out a refreshing and satisfying smell. Mixing these two oils in a candle provides cleaner air and increases lung capacity.
3. Oils for Holiday Candles
Can you make candles with essential oils for the holidays? Absolutely yes! But only if you have time.
If you want to take a homemade candle with you on vacation, you can always opt for candles made with cedarwood essential oil. You can also choose your favourite essential oils and make a candle of your own in your preferred candle container.
Which Wax is Better?
Soy wax and beeswax are both great options for making homemade candles. Both nontoxic waxes burn for a longer period, retaining the smell longer. In most cases, it has been seen that beeswax is denser than soy wax and lasts longer than soy wax.
None of these wax has an amazing throw scent, which means you will have to put in more essential oils to make the candle smell good.
If you are working with beeswax, you will notice that this wax has a very mild scent of honey that doesn’t last long. It explains why we must add essential oil to make a good-scented candle.
While choosing the wax of your choice, you should also consider what type of light you want in your candle. If you use soy wax, you will get a cool blue-toned light; if you use beeswax, you are in for a warm yellow light.
So make sure to select the wax according to your choice of light!
How you can Finalize your Wax:
1. Environmental Impact
Regarding environmental aspects, both beeswax and soy wax are nontoxic and are more sustainable than paraffin wax. In many cases, soy wax is linked to deforestation because the increase in the demand for soy candles and soy, in general, is making people clear lands and forests for making soybean farms.
Beeswax is a by-product obtained from the beekeeping industry. In some cases, the harvesting of beeswax is directly proportional in contributing to colony collapse. People looking for vegan options might not want this wax as it is not a vegan option.
2. Health Impact
Choosing a chemical-free wax is the most important when making homemade candles. You can avoid inhaling all the bad chemicals and their by-products by investing in wax free of all the toxins.
Soy wax is generally bleached, fragranced, dyed, and mixed with paraffin wax. Make sure to search for natural pure soy wax when making a homemade candle. Finding pure soy wax can be tough, but it is not impossible.
If you choose beeswax, learn about where it has been cultivated. When you make a candle with this wax, you will inhale all the harmful elements in the pesticide. The wax may become contaminated if the bees pollinate in a field full of pesticides.
To find pure organic beeswax, visit the local farmer’s market. They sell pure beeswax that is not contaminated. You are not only saving yourself from inhaling all the harmful substances, but you will also support the local farmers by buying their goods.
When buying beeswax, do not forget to ask the seller about the cultivation area and the nearby fields.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can you make a candle with essential oils?
Yes, essential oil is capable of being used in candles, but there are quite a few points that you should be aware of first.
Essential oils are known for conflicting with candle wax. Essential oils, as opposed to fragrance oils, frequently have relatively low flash indications, causing them to quickly evaporate when coupled with hot candle wax.
2. How many drops of essential oil when making candles with essential oils?
You will require a lot of oil because the aroma fades significantly when it’s put into wax. It is recommended to use a minimum of 45 drops/8oz/candle for a light smell.
3. Are candles with essential oils flammable?
Several popular essential oils are categorized as Class 3 Flammable Liquids with flash points ranging from 122-140° F.
Conclusion:
Personally, the time and energy I spend in making candles with essential oils is my gateway away from all my problems. Hope this guide on how to make candles with essential oils helps you as well.
Both beeswax and soy wax are great for making candles, you can choose either of them according to your preference. Make sure to add all the essential oils of your choice, and do not miss out on the fragrances!
If you have reached this far, we hope your confusion about how to make candles with essential oils is clear. Mentioned above is the complete process of making your favourite essential oil candles.
Make sure to follow all the steps mentioned to get the desired result and share your experience in the comments!
Hope you enjoy making the scented candles. All the best!
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- Putra, Fredi Ganda, et al. “What are the advantages of using leftover cooking oil waste as an aromatherapy candle to prevent pollution?.” Jurnal Inovasi Dan Pengembangan Hasil Pengabdian Masyarakat 1.2 (2023): 59-63. ↩︎
- Pham, Hoang Danh, et al. “Preparation and Characterization of Naturally Scented Candles Using the Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) Essential Oil.” Materials Science Forum. Vol. 977. Trans Tech Publications Ltd, 2020. ↩︎
- Sena, Biswajit, et al. “Variations in Microstructural and Physicochemical Properties of Soy Wax/Soybean Oil-Derived Oleogels Using Soy Lecithin.” Polymers 14.19 (2022): 3928. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Suchi
Author
This comprehensive guide on making candles with essential oils is not only informative but also highlights the potential health benefits of choosing homemade candles over commercially available ones. The article addresses common concerns about the quality of essential oils, the right wax and wick selection, and the importance of adding oils at the correct temperature. The inclusion of specific essential oils for relaxation, energy, and holidays adds a personalized touch, making it an engaging read for those interested in DIY aromatherapy.