Candles can transform the atmosphere of any room with their warm glow and delightful scents. If you’ve ever wondered how to make candles smell stronger, you’re not alone. The below video will explain how to make your candles smell stronger, and if you prefer, you can always read the below instructions.
How to Increase Candle Smell
Here are some easy tips to ensure your candles have a long-lasting, powerful fragrance.
- Choose high-quality ingredients
- Correct wax-to-fragrance ratio
- Correct pouring temperature
- Proper candle curing time
- Use the right wick
- Consider the type of wax you use
Choose High-Quality Ingredients
In candles, ingredients are everything. If you get one of them wrong, it could impact the whole performance of your candle. This is why I recommend going for high-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to wax and fragrance or essential oils.
Fragrance oils are synthetic but have a lot of options, are more concentrated, and are more affordable. Essential oils are made from natural ingredients, are expensive, and are harder to work with. If you are a beginner candle maker, I would suggest working with premium fragrance oils as they are easy to get a strong aroma from.
Correct Wax-to-Fragrance Ratio
When making candles, more is not always more. Less is more actually. This could sound a bit confusing, but hear me out. Adding more fragrance to a candle can cause a whole lot of problems like sweating and wick clogging. So, always follow the wax manufacturer’s recommendations, and don’t go overboard.
It is usually the case where your fragrance load will be between 6% and 12%. Anything more than that is just too much and would affect your candle performance.
Correct Pouring Temperature
Pouring fragrance into the wax also plays a major role in your scented candles. If you pour the fragrance too low, then it might not blend properly with the wax. If you pour it too hot, then it could evaporate within the wax. For this reason, it is almost always the case where you have to pour your fragrance oils between 70 and 85 degrees Celcius.
Just remember to always check your wax manufacturer’s recommendations, and gently stir your oils for two minutes straight before pouring in your vessels.
Proper Candle Curing Time
Curing can help give your candle a longer burn time, and a stronger scent throw. For this reason, it is really important to allow your candles to cure for an appropriate time period. Vegetable-based waxes require a longer burning time which is between one to three weeks, whereas for something like paraffin wax, two days would be enough.
Use The Right Wick
Using a wick larger than the size that you need, will result in a strong and high flame, which will create a fast melt pool, and in return evaporate the fragrance oils before they even get the chance to spread to your space. Moreover, having a small wick size will not create a full melt pool, and prevent the fragrance from properly coming out of the candle.
Consider The Type of Wax You Use
It is common among candle makers to use pure soy wax in candles. However, did you know that this could be greatly affecting your candle’s performance? Soy wax is widely available, but is hard to get proper scent throw with. It is also a picky wax that does not work with any fragrance.
For those two reasons, I would recommend using a blend of coconut and soy wax or adding stearic acid, which is an additive that can help make a candle smell stronger.
Conclusion
Every single ingredient in your candle will dictate the end result. If you mess up one thing only, then you will most likely come across an issue. Always remember to test your candles before sending them out to the public, and if you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
