Scent Throw Problems With Your Candles? How do You Determine What is Wrong.

WHY CAN’T I SMELL THIS SCENT?

Lyschel Bersch

Owner, Candle Cocoon llc

Many of you order new scents for candle making and love them in the bottle.  But then you get them in the wax and can’t smell them.  I am going to go through a checklist of reasons that may be affecting your ability to smell your scents.

First of all, did you follow the directions?  If a scent says it needs 1.5 oz per pound to get a scent throw then it will probably need that amount.  If it only needs 0.5 oz per pound of wax and you put in too much you could be tying up the scent – the chemists understand this even if we mortals cannot!  So make sure you follow package directions.  If there are no directions start with 1oz per pound.  Common industry standards dictate 1oz per pound of wax, but this may be too much for high quality FOs that do not contain fillers.  Those often work best at 0.5-0.8 oz per pound.

Secondly, did your wax get hot enough before you added the fragrance?  If the wax instructions say to heat the wax to 170 dF before you add scent you had better heat it enough.  Make sure your wax got hot enough by using a thermometer – even if it melted at 140 dF that doesn't mean you can use it yet!  The molecular structure of the wax won’t be open enough at cooler temperatures to allow the FO to properly mix with the wax. So follow the wax directions and heat it enough.  You don't need to add the scent at the higher temperature if you don't want.  You can let it start to cool down again.

But what if you used the correct amount of scent at the right temperature and the scent throw is still lacking?  You may need to let your candles cure for a longer time before burning.  It takes 2-7 days for the wax and fragrance to “settle in” with each other.*

Or it could be that the scent is just too weak.  There are different strengths of scents and it may just be that particular scent is too weak in your particular wax or in general.  You will need to find stronger scents.

How is the melt pool?  For a votive you should get a candle that takes about 2 hours to melt all of the way across the top diameter and be about ½ inch deep.  For a 3 inch diameter jar it should take about 3 hours and the melt pool should be about 1/2-3/4” from the edge of the candle if it is a first burn in a jar that is about 2 or more inches deep.  If the container is shallow it should take 3 hours to melt all of the way across.  When the candle has burned down about an inch it should be melting the sides of the wax above the previous melt line in a 3 hour time period, and the melt pool should be about ½” deep.  (Rule of thumb: For every inch of diameter your candle should get 1 hour of burn time (at a minimum).  The smaller the diameter the faster the candle will reach the full melt pool because it is closer to the hot flame.  If your candle is struggling and you are not getting the correct melt pool that you should wick up (larger wick size or different wick family) to get the melt pool that you need.  Use caution as you usually can't make this judgement on the first burn.  (Unless it is totally tunneling).  Also, There is no ONE correct wick for each candle diameter.  Scents and dyes determine the wicks that are ultimately needed in different diameters.  The wick guide developed by most wick companies is merely a guide or a starting point for testing.  So, if your melt pool is too small or the flame is struggling that means that the wax is not getting warm enough and the scent is not vaporizing correctly (weak throw).  On the other hand, if your melt pool gets too large too fast and the wick is a torch you may not be getting proper scent throw because your scent could be burning instead of vaporizing so you would need to wick down.**

Let's also take a look at your wax.  Not every wax will throw every scent well.  Not every wax throws scent well at all.  I know some folks that swear by a certain brand of wax that will remain nameless.  It is cheap.  (Well at least it seems cheap) but when you figure that you have to dump an extra .5-1oz of FO into every pound to get a decent scent throw.....well, how cheap is that really!   It is a good idea to sample a new wax before you decide to use it for all of your candle making.

 Unfortunately, some wax/scent combos just won't mix.  You can try a different wax brand for that scent or you can try to find a different manufacturer's version.  One of the waxes on the market will always flatten out bakery smells.  So, what happens if you are testing something and can't smell it in one wax?  You could try it in another wax.  When I was making candles for sale I would always keep a few types of wax on hand for these types of test.  If  I got lousy results with both waxes I can assume that it is the scent and not the wax.   

Still not getting the scent throw that you expect but you have done everything correctly?  Let’s say you have the correct amount of scent and your melt pool is good but you still can’t smell your candle burning.  And you have tried it in a couple of different waxes.  Well, the scent may just be too darn weak (if you like it in the bottle it is a good indication that it will be too light in the wax, don’t judge in the bottle!!!!)  Or, it could be that you have “candle nose.”  This is basically when your brain turns off and doesn’t allow you to smell your scents for a while.  It happens if you stand with your head over a pot of scent or if you have just smelled too many candles.  You can try and use coffee beans to clear your nose or go outside for a while.  You may need to wait a day or more without scents (ack – withdrawal coming on!) .  You may need to have a friend help you out and test the candle for you.  Just don’t influence them and say, “I can’t smell this candle, can you?”  Just ask them what they think and don’t lead them. 

It could also be that you are pregnant, have a cold, allergies or another condition that is affecting your ability to smell.  To get a really good read on your scents you will need to wait until your condition changes or get help from friends.  I know that when I was pregnant I thought some of the worst scents were wonderful.  I was so happy to have good friends inform me that wasn’t the case.  And now that I have MS I have to be careful and get second opinions to make sure that I am having a good “smelling” day. The brain likes to mess with me sometimes.

There could also be some other conditions.  For instance, if your house is very drafty you may not be able to smell scents.  But if you have tried to fix everything above and still cannot smell your scent it is probably just too weak.  There are two things that you can do: buy stronger scents or add more scent.  If you add more scent you do need to be careful so that you do not overload your wax with candle fragrance oils.  Most soy waxes only hold 7% (1.1oz per pound) and if you go over that amount you could have a dangerous fire situation on your hands.  You may need to contact your candle making supplier for your waxes fragrance load specifications.

Checklist-

1) Used recommended amount

2) Got wax hot enough

3) Good wax 

4) Long enough cure time

5) Good melt pool when burning

6) Good smelling day (colds, etc)

7) Good location for testing (no drafts)

I hope this has helped you.

*For more information on candle curing, see http://flameflight.yuku.com/topic/1232/The-low-down-on-candle-curing#.UUylnjejvi4