Why the Temperature That You Add Fragrance Oil Matters...
As a rookie candle maker, I made the mistake of not worrying about the specific temperatures during my processes.
When I melted my wax, I pulled it off the heat the moment it was all liquid, without checking the temperature. When I added my fragrance oil, I added it immediately, without care for the temperature. Now, I am here to tell you that temperatures DO matter in candle making! You don't want your wax too cool or too hot when you add your fragrance.
Based on my research, as well as my personal experience with candle making and wax melt making, temperatures matter.
First of all, the ideal temperature for adding your fragrance oil to your melted wax is when your wax has reached about 170 degrees Fahrenheit. You can add it as low as 160 degrees, and as high as 185 degrees. Some things to be aware of while deciding when to add it is if your fragrance oil has a particularly low flashpoint.
When you add the fragrance oil, be sure to slowly and thoroughly stir it so as to make sure that your fragrance oil gets mixed into the wax well enough, allowing it to actually chemically bind to the wax.
We don't want to add fragrance oil at too low of a temperature, because if that happens, then the fragrance won't bind properly to the wax. If the scent does not bind properly, then your scent throw will be affected, and you could even have seepage-- where the oil actually leaks out from your candle in an odd way. Avoid this.
You also don't want to add your fragrance at too high of a temperature. (I know, its finicky, right?) But if you add it at too high of a temperature, sure it might bind with the wax, but the fragrance oil will essentially be "burning off" of your wax while you wax cools down. Then you will have a weaker scent throw. For this reason, you want to make sure your wax is cool enough so that you don't end up wasting fragrance oil.
When I melted my wax, I pulled it off the heat the moment it was all liquid, without checking the temperature. When I added my fragrance oil, I added it immediately, without care for the temperature. Now, I am here to tell you that temperatures DO matter in candle making! You don't want your wax too cool or too hot when you add your fragrance.
Based on my research, as well as my personal experience with candle making and wax melt making, temperatures matter.
First of all, the ideal temperature for adding your fragrance oil to your melted wax is when your wax has reached about 170 degrees Fahrenheit. You can add it as low as 160 degrees, and as high as 185 degrees. Some things to be aware of while deciding when to add it is if your fragrance oil has a particularly low flashpoint.
When you add the fragrance oil, be sure to slowly and thoroughly stir it so as to make sure that your fragrance oil gets mixed into the wax well enough, allowing it to actually chemically bind to the wax.
We don't want to add fragrance oil at too low of a temperature, because if that happens, then the fragrance won't bind properly to the wax. If the scent does not bind properly, then your scent throw will be affected, and you could even have seepage-- where the oil actually leaks out from your candle in an odd way. Avoid this.
You also don't want to add your fragrance at too high of a temperature. (I know, its finicky, right?) But if you add it at too high of a temperature, sure it might bind with the wax, but the fragrance oil will essentially be "burning off" of your wax while you wax cools down. Then you will have a weaker scent throw. For this reason, you want to make sure your wax is cool enough so that you don't end up wasting fragrance oil.
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