Making
your Candle Throw (or cast its fragrance over a wide area) is
the primary goal of making a Fragranced Candle. This is not hard
to achieve if you understand the basic parameters. There are 5
things to consider when making a successfully Fragranced Candle.
If you have the following in place, the Candle will be excellent
and Fragrant.
Do
not be discouraged if your first try is not as good as you had
hoped. These things are easily achieved when you know what to
plan and look for.
1.
Make sure you are using very high grade fragrance concentrates.
If you wonder what you have, read the article about the differences
between A Grade and B Grade fragrances in the frequently asked
questions section.
2.
Make sure you use 1 to 1.5 oz of your fragrance per pound. (1
oz to 20 oz liquid wax) You can use less after testing for strength,
but start here. With our fragrance it will run you out at that
level, and you can back off to your desired fragrance strength.
Also make sure that your fragrance is mixing completely into your
wax. You will know this when you pour into your candle containers.
If there is a bunch of unmixed fragrance on the bottom of the
pot, raise your temperature next time and stir it in better before
pouring.
3.
Make sure your wax is holding the fragrance in the wax evenly,
all the way to the top. You will know this if there is not any
watery substance at the bottom of the container after it sets
up. Also, if your candle has very little smell when initially
lit or has to burn about half way down before it starts to smell
good, then you know the fragrance is settling down into the lower
part of your wax. To make sure this does not happen, add ¼
to ½ teaspoon of the additive Vybar 260 to your container
blend to hold it in properly. This will allow the wax to hold
your scent in evenly to the top of the candle after it sets up
and in most cases will not noticeably effect the burn of the candle.
4.
So, now you have made sure you have; Quality fragrance, and you
are Using an adequate amount of it, and the fragrance is mixing
properly with your wax, and your wax is holding it evenly after
it sets up, Make sure the top of the candle is level flat before
lighting it. This means in most cases that no matter if you are
using a one pour wax, or regular paraffin, you will still have
to either do a repour if you are using regular paraffin to fill
the crater in the center, or if you are using a one pour container
blend, you will have to take a heat gun and remelt the top and
fill any holes or dips in the top. Ideally, where the wick comes
out of the wax will be level, or a little above the edges of the
container where the wax touches the edge of the jar. (like a mini
pyramid is shaped) If you do not do this, the wick no matter how
big it is, will core down and drown out if it is in a well when
lit. The candle tops are easily remelted flat with a heat gun.
A hot hair dryer will work in some cases also. Take care not to
light the wick with your heat gun, people will complain that the
candle is used and want to return it if the wick is charred.
5.
Ok, now here it is, The Whole Secret to a Candle that throws is
to know where the Throw comes from. The Throw and Fragrance from
a candle comes from the melt pool of the candle wax when it burns.
The actual fragrance oil burning makes no smell at all. Raw Fragrance
only creates soot if burned directly with an oil lamp wick by
itself. (don't try that yourself by the way, its dangerous) This
is why Melts or Tarts smell so good when used in a tart melter.
The tart melter makes a melt pool to warm up the candle fragrance
in the wax pool creating a warm updraft to spread the fragrance
throughout your home. The same applies to a Candle. The Melt Pool
should be ¼ inch to the thickness of your pinkie finger
at the most. A deeper melt pool can make your container hot and
could possibly spill onto your customers table or carpeting if
bumped so be careful and find the ideal melt pool for your container
by varying your wick size up or down. A Melt Pool of ¼
inch works fine in most cases and will throw the fragrance as
the candle is burning, making the melt pool, and creating a slight
heat updraft from the candle that takes the fragrance with it
to fill your home.
Copyright
2006 The Candlemakers Store
About
The Author
Steve Pollard has been in the Candles, Cosmetic and Personal Products
Industry for over 10 years. His background includes Manufacturing,
Product development and Formulation of Candles, Fragrance and
Color development and personal products. For the Technical edge
and to claim some valuable bonuses, you can subscribe to his popular
newsletter at: http://www.TheCandlemakersStore.com.
