If Wishes Were Fishes....Wishing Doesn't Make it True. Essential Oil Usage in Candle Making.
Posted by Lyschel Bersch on
I know the feeling. You want to create a candle that is as natural as possible. So of course, to get scent form a candle you want to use Essential Oils instead of Fragrance Oils. And while I would usually not tell someone to not do something, I want to let you know ahead of time what you should expect. Unfortunately, what will most likely happen is that you will "Burn" a lot of money on EOs. And by burn I really mean burn. Basically most EOs have a much smaller molecular structure than fragrance oils. Their light weight causes them to quickly travel to the wick when it is lit. And as we all know the wick is the area that things burn (Combustion Zone). And burning changes the chemical structure so that the EO will be transformed and will not have the smell that was intended. In order for us to be able to smell something as intended it needs to vaporize as a whole molecule. The products of combustion (burning) are CO2 + H2O + unburned product. That unburned product is most commonly known as soot. The soot will not smell like the intended EO. And unfortunately any effects that an EO is supposed to hold would be of no benefit.
Another issue with using EOs in candles is that most of them are much more flammable and can vaporize much quicker than FOs. Basically what can happen is that when you add your scent to the warm wax they will vaporize almost immediately due to their tiny molecular structure. The person making the candles may enjoy them but there won't be as much EO in the candle as was originally intended.
Now FO on the other hand is generally made with a larger molecule and is able to release into the air as the wax is melted. A quality FO will be properly constructed so that the heat of the melted wax doesn't cause it to vaporize immediately. Since the FO molecule is bigger and can sit in the wax, warm up and then vaporize it doesn't burn up so we can smell the scent from the candle's melt pool. If you can't smell a scent when the candle is burning it could be that the FO is not very strong to begin with or, not enough of the FO was used or it was an EO that got used up in the making of the candle and the remainder of the EO was burnt by the candle.
And remember, not all fragrance oils are created equal. There are also differences in quality of FO. But I won't get into that here. In short, I would recommend saving your expensive EOs for bath and body or diffusers where they won't burn up. And use FOs if you actually want to smell your candle.
Notice that I don't say all Essential Oils have no scent throw. That is because there are some natural scents that do have larger molecules and may actually be smellable in candles on their own. But you will still need to add a lot to achive a good smell. None of this 10 - 20 drops stuff. You will need at least an ounce of essential oil in most cases to get a good scent throw. You should also add your EO as close to the wax melt point as possible. (NOTE: You still need to initially raise your wax to the proper temp and then bring it back down before adding the EO)
One last thing. Fragrance Oils often get a bad name because they are not natural. I remember when my chemistry teacher would talk about FOs and how the chemist couldn't actually tell a "made" chemical from a natural one. So while in my personal life I eat organic, wear organic, want SLS free and phthalate free products I still love fragrance in my candles. I feel that smelling is different from eating or even absorbing a substance through your skin. And that is why at Candle Cocoon we have committed to making the healthiest and cleanest burning candles around. And a big part of that is using the right materials.
Yours in candle making,
Lyschel