How Do You Add Scent to Beeswax Candles? - Candle Business Boss (2024)

Making your own beeswax candles is great fun and a rewarding activity. A natural wax, beeswax has many unique qualities. One wonderful aspect of beeswax is their natural honey scent. Adding other fragrances to your beeswax candles can enhance the warm, earthy aroma of honey.

You can add scent to beeswax during the candle making process. After you have melted the beeswax, you need to let the wax begin to cool. The temperature to which you let the wax cool before adding fragrance depends on the oils selected.

Lighting your own beeswax candles will provide a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction. The glow from the light with the depth of the scent you created will provide a welcoming environment. Continue reading for ideas on fragrances and adding scents to your beeswax candles.

Adding Scents to Beeswax Candles

Before adding fragrances to your beeswax candles; you need to know how to calculate the amount of fragrance to add. Then, the timing of adding the fragrance to the wax is important to understand. Planning the amount of fragrance and knowing when to add the fragrance; will help you create candles with beautiful scent throws.

Calculating the Amount of Fragrance

It can be challenging to determine how much fragrance to add to your candles. Too little or too fragrance can result in disappointing batches of candles. As with many other aspects of candle making, it is important to make test batches. Taking notes about which fragrances and how much of each worked well is vital to replicate successes.

You can start by using estimations. Generally, it is recommended to add 120 drops of oil to every eight ounces of wax. If you prefer candles with stronger scents; you may want to start at four teaspoons for every eight ounces of wax.

However, fragrances can be costly. Therefore, you might want to use more of a formula to calculate how much to add. More delicate fragrance oils usually should compose eight to ten percent of the candle making mixture. If you prefer fragrance oils with more powerful scents; you should consider a range of six to eight percent of the mixture should be oils.

Here is the calculation you can use for a more precise formula.

If you are making eight candles that are four ounces each, you will multiply

8 candles X 4 ounces = 32 ounces of beeswax are needed.

Example

For this example, we will add six percent fragrance to our wax. So, our next step is to multiply the ounces of beeswax that you are using by the percentage of fragrance that you want to add.

• 8 candles X 4 ounces = 32 ounces X 0.6 = 1.92 ounces of fragrance.
• The 1.92 can be rounded up to 2 ounces of fragrance oil to add to 32 ounces of wax.
• If you are making a different number and/or weight of candles, here is a plug-in formula for you to use.
• Number of candles X ounces of each candle = total ounces of wax
• Total ounces of wax X percent of fragrance oil = amount of fragrance oil to add

Before you begin making your candles, make sure you have the tools to correctly measure your waxes and your oils. Remember, different fragrances are more concentrated than others. Oils range from delicate to intense. Delicate fragrances might need a higher percentage added to your beeswax.

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Combining the Fragrance Oil to the Wax

The timing of adding your oils to your melted beeswax is important. If the oil is added when the wax is too hot; the fragrance will dissolve. Conversely, if the oil is mixed in the wax after it has cooled too much; the oil will not be able to attach to the wax molecules.

Fragrance oils have flash points. A flash point is the temperature that causes a liquid to evaporate. Manufacturers of fragrance oils should have that information available with the oil you purchase. Or you should be able to find the flash point of your oil on the website of the manufacturer. Usually, fragrance oils are grouped by these categories of flash points.

• Less than 130 degrees Fahrenheit
• Ranging between 130- and 175-degrees Fahrenheit
• Over 176 degrees Fahrenheit

It is important to know the flash point of your oils. Without this information, you cannot mix the oil and waxes to obtain the best scents. To do this, after the wax is melted, you need to reduce the heat. So, once the temperature of the heat is below the flash point of the oil you are adding. Take the wax off the heat.

Gradually stir the wax. While stirring, add in the oils. Consistently stir the fragrance into the wax for three to five minutes. You need to ensure that the oil is sufficiently mixed with the wax. If you do not blend the mixture together; the oil can separate from the wax and sink to the bottom of the wax blend.

Scents and Fragrances for Beeswax Candles

Candle smells are considered in terms of hot and cold throw. Scents that you can smell from an unlit candle are called cold throw. When you light your candle and fragrance is dispersed, it is referred to as hot throw. Stronger scents are emitted when a candle is lit.

Since beeswax starts with a scent of its own, the other fragrances you add need to complement the honey fragrance. Think of scents and flavors that you enjoy with honey. Honey is added to some many baking, start by thinking of flavors related to your kitchen. Any of these fragrances can be used on their own or blended together. Pumpkin, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, and/or cloves are wonderful warm homey scents.

For lighter scents, you can use lemon, orange, apple, and/or cranberry. These fragrances can also be blended with the flavors connected to baking and the kitchen. Honey is wonderful in tea, so another area of scents to explore are herbal and flower aromas. Lavender, rose, sandalwood, or sage are great starting points.

If you know where your beeswax is from. You can add scents that enhance the flowers and plants that the bees pollinated.

Have fun experimenting with different blends of oils. There are seemingly endless combinations that will add depth to the wonderful smells of beeswax.

Sources of Fragrances for Beeswax Candles

Beeswax is a natural wax for candles. For some candle makers, they only want to add other naturally occurring materials to their candles. Others do not have a preference about where the other materials are sourced from. There are a few different sources from which you can obtain your fragrances.

Sources of Fragrance from Nature

A great way to keep your beeswax candles all natural is to infuse other elements from nature into your candles. Check with your supplier of beeswax for information about where the hives are located. Then you can use a mortar and pestle to crush flowers, herbs, and/or spices. Once these have been finely pulverized, you can add these to your melted beeswax.

Ground fragrances do not have a flash point, so you do not need to consider that as part of the candle making process.

Essential Oils

Another source that is sourced from nature is essential oils. Essential oils are all made from plants, flowers, and herbs. A wide variety of oils are available for you to choose from. These can be purchased online or through local stores that sell organic and natural products.

Fragrance Oils

Fragrance oils are similar to essential oils. However, fragrance oils are manufactured and made to imitate what is made in nature. As a result, fragrance oils are more concentrated than essential oils. So, read through the information that the manufacturer supplies.

Related Questions

Can you add coloring to beeswax candles?

Yes, coloring can be added to beeswax when making candles. To retain the naturalness of beeswax, you can use spices to change the color of the beeswax. For example, infusing cinnamon into the melted wax will produce a brownish/orange coloring to complement the beauty of the yellows of beeswax.

Can you use food coloring to change the color of candle wax?

Liquid food coloring is a water-based product. Because of its properties, food coloring does not mix well with wax. If you have gel food coloring, that will be more effective to add to the melted wax. Gel food coloring will produce varying hues of colors. Can

Can melted crayons be used to color your candles?

It is not recommended to use crayons to color your candles. Candle wax burns differently than crayon wax, which can cause your wick to clog. Crayon wax can negatively affect the scent of your candle.

Can wax be melted in your microwave?

Melting candle wax in your microwave is not advisable. Microwaves can melt wax unevenly because you cannot stir the wax while it is melting. Nor can you check the temperature of the wax, which is an important step in the candle making process.

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