How D'you Get Your Candles To Smell So Nice?

[Cosy Candles & Aromas]

I’m often being asked how do I make my candles and get them to smell so nice. I always say it’s a company secret and would have to eliminate them if they knew ... LOL!!

Seriously though, it isn’t too difficult to make candles. The problem lies in getting the right combination of wax, fragrance, and colour and wick size. Ask any candle maker and they will tell you of the months of frustration. The amount of money invested in raw materials just to get a product that will burn correctly, give both good hot and cold throw and, most importantly, burn safely.

So what exactly will you find in my candles?

Well firstly my candles are made using soy wax. Soy wax is a recent newcomer to the candle making industry. It is a by product of the humble soy bean. The soy bean is picked and processed into oil. This vegetable oil then undergoes another further process to turn the oil into wax. There has been some controversy surrounding the increased cultivation of soy beans in Brazil which is causing the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Rest assured that during my research into soy wax I did find an ethical company that produces its wax from soy beans grown in the USA. That company is NGI and their wax is called Ecosoya.

The next thing you’ll find is fragrance. Now don’t think that you can use any old oil to fragrance a candle. So many try and make candles using pot pourri oils. This will not fragrance your candle as the oil has been “cut” to weaken it. You will need full strength uncut, undiluted, quality fragrance oil. The best oils for candle making are manufactured in the USA. There are a large number of US suppliers of good quality fragrance oils available to purchase from. The next step is adding the correct volume percentage of oil to wax. Most common is a 6% fragrance load. However, you may find that with some fragrances you will need to increase or sometimes decrease depending on the strength of the oil. Always ensure that you never exceed the amount for a particular wax. A wax will only hold a certain fragrance load. This will vary from wax to wax. Many people make the mistake of overloading the fragrance only to have the whole candle ignite after it has been lit. This is because the wax acts much like a sponge. Any excess oil will seep and lay on the top thus causing a fire hazard. Soy wax can take quite a high fragrance load but I only use 8%. Any fragrance oil that doesn’t perform at 8% gets ditched.

If I decide to add colour then I use proper colouring dye. I don’t use crayons as they are not refined enough for professional candle use. They will clog the wick when burning. Instead I use special colour chips.

Finally, I use a natural braided cotton coreless flat wick. There are many types of wick available. Hemp, paper core, cotton cored, and zinc cored. Again, certain wicks will perform better than others but this will depend on the type of wax, fragrance load and type of candle, whether it is a pillar, container or votive.