Candles come in various scents and colors. Some even include fragrances, essential oils, and other ingredients. These scented candles can add a pleasant aroma to your home, but they also provide an opportunity to create a unique look for your space.
If you are a candlemaker who wants to increase the scent of his candles, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we will discuss everything you need to know on how to make candles smell stronger. Your wax rod will add a whole new layer of dimension to the dinners you host!
What Is a Scent Throw?
Before we dive into the whole guide, it is important to familiarize yourself with the terms we’ll be using. A word popular in candle making is “scent throw”.
Essentially it describes the strength of the scent from the wax once it has become solid. For maximum fragrance load, having a stronger scent throw is vital.
Implicit Factors That Can Affect The Scent Throw?
To increase the scent throw of your candles, a lot of variables will need to be accounted for, ranging from the size of the room to the contents of the candle itself.
While we will get into the details of how you can make your candles smell stronger later, it is important to first check if you even need that in the first place.
It may be that you can increase the smell of your candles without actually changing the contents of the raw products used to make them.
Room Size
While it may seem obvious at first, many people don’t realize its significance.
If the room size is large, and the candle is not as big, it can make all the difference.
A candle that comes in a tin or a jelly jar would be perfect to use in a bedroom or a bathroom. However, if you intend to use it in the living room, consider opting for a bigger one.
Diameter of Candle
As we said above, size matters. But what do we mean by size? Should you be going for a taller candle or a wider one?
Essentially, the diameter of the candle is what dictates the smell as well. Having a wider diameter will ensure that it will be enough to fill the whole room with aroma. Plus, it just makes sense. If the candle is too tall, it could just fall over.
An added benefit here is the time it will work for. Since we are increasing the width, it’ll work for as long as 3-4 hours.
Wick Choice
Now you may not have thought this could even be a factor, but the wick size can massively impact the fragrance.
Essentially, a wick determines the amount of fuel that will be provided to the flame.
A wick that is under-wicked could mean that the candle wouldn’t be able to burn properly. This, of course, would affect the smell as well. For a stronger scent throw, make sure the wick is longer than average.
Similarly, in the case of a candle being over-wicked, the candle may burn excessively. This, however, is the safer option to go with, as the only downside to it would be that the candle would run out sooner. In terms of scent, however, we would have no compromises.
Storing
The way you store your candle can make a huge difference as well.
If the candle is stored in a place with a lot of heat and temperature, then it is likely some of the scents will be lost in the atmosphere.
Unless you want a weaker scent throw, we recommend you keep your candles in a dark and cold place. Not only will this ensure that no fragrance dissipates into the atmosphere, but it will also keep the shape of the candle intact.
The optimal temperature to store would be around 22 degrees Celsius.
What Factors Directly Affect the Smell of the Candle?
Previously, we discussed the external factors that can affect the scent of the candle. However, what we all want to know is the explicit ones.
In its essence, there are primarily three factors that directly affect the candle’s fragrance. These include the Wax Type, Oil Brand Used, and Temperature of Wax.
The way a candle is made is primarily the most important facet that dictates its smell.
Type of Wax Used
As you may have assumed, fragrance oils heavily rely on wax, its texture, and its density.
When making a candle, if the wax and fragrance oils do not get mixed together properly, then the quality will be heavily decreased. As a result, the fragrance would be inconsistent, at times being too concentrated, while at other times, the complete opposite.
Regardless of how much fragrance oil is used, any efforts will be in vain if it isn’t consistent. It is important to mix the contents thoroughly at a low temperature.
In this regard, we suggest you go with Paraffin wax. The worst option to choose would be soy wax due to its texture, which makes it quite difficult to get an even distribution of the fragrance oils.
Type of Oil Used
Possibly the most important factor is the oil itself, as it directly decides the fragrance quality. There are a myriad of options to choose from here, but we suggest coconut oil,
Essentially, the amount of solvent used in a candle is directly linked to how strong its scent is. For instance, in the case of coconut oil, using less solvent will lead to a stronger smell and, thus, high quality.
However, it should be noted that on sight, it is nearly impossible to tell if the oil is highly diluted or not.
The best way to go about it is by opting for a well-known brand that mentions the content percentages.
Temperature of the Wax
As we mentioned earlier, the way the wax is mixed is vital. This is where the temperature of the wax comes in.
Unless the temperature of the wax is optimal, it will be extremely difficult to mix the fragrance oil with the wax effectively.
This is easier said than done, however, since if the temperature is too high, it could burn the fragrance oil. Similarly, if it is too low, then mixing the contents would become extremely difficult.
The optimal temperature to mix would be around 80 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celcius for maximum fragrance load.
How to Make Your Own DIY Homemade Candle?
Buying candles may be easier, but homemade candles are cheaper and one of the best DIY projects to take on during a boring Sunday.
While it may seem daunting at first, you can make some of the most professional-looking candles with just a few things in mind.
Ingredients Needed
These are very easy to come by, and you may even be able to scavenge some of these items from your shelves.
To make your own favorite candle with fragrance, you will need a list of the following items:
- Mold
- Stove
- Candle Wax
- Candle Wick
- Candle Wick Holder
- Fragrance Oil
- Candle Dyes (Optional)
- Skewers
- Candle Container
How To Make A Homemade Scented Candle?
If you want a candle that can fill the room with aroma, then making your own one may be a better idea. Simply follow our mentioned steps, and you’ll be good to go.
Step 1
Let’s start with the candle wick. Place it in the middle of the mold, which you will use to pour the melted wax in later. The wick should be longer than needed, so you can cut it later as per requirement.
Note that here you have a few options. You can either go with the 1-Wick Candle, 3-Wick Candle, or even more. For optimal scent throw, it is better to go with a 1-Wick Candle.
However, if you want a better candle appearance, we suggest you go with the 3-Wick Candle.
Step 2
Turn on the stove and place the mold on it. Make sure that the mold can withstand high temperatures.
If you are a professional looking for essential quality results, then using a candle thermometer could be a good idea. Although it would be an extra thing to buy, in the long run, it will make your process much faster and easier.
Step 3
Now add candle wax to the pot and wait for it to melt. Most often, this will take a few seconds barely. To get the best Candle Aroma, melt it on a slower flame.
Step 4
Now add the candle dye and fragrance as per your liking and mix it on a light flame using the skewer. For strong scents, make sure the fragrance is highly concentrated and that the temperature is no more than 85 degrees Celsius.
Step 5
After you are satisfied with the concentration of the fragrance and dye, turn off the stove and pour the melted wax into the candle container. You should now have a beautiful candle ready.
However, your work isn’t completed just yet since the curing time is also important. If you lit the candle before it was cured completely, then it would have a weak scent throw.
The minimum cure time varies because of the size, but for a six-inch candle, we recommend it to be at least 2 hours so that the wet spots are cured completely.
Conclusion
Whether you want to have a nice candlelight dinner or you’re looking to make your apartment look more pleasant, scented candles can be a great option.
Most candle makers try to make sure that the candles have a small scent. However, its effects can vary depending on the room size and the way it was made. Paraffin Wax Candles are the best to go with in this regard due to their ability for maximum fragrance load.
In this guide, we discussed some of the best ways to make the smell of your candle stronger and talked about factors that could be affecting its quality, such as the temperatures at which they are stored. We also talked about the ingredients and their quantities, along with the candle-making process.
That brings us to the end of this guide. Thank you for reading.
