By far, one of the most complex and costly areas of candle making is the selection and use of fragrance. Fragrance is usually the most expensive ingredient in your candles, and will most often be the determining factor in whether or not your candles are a hit or a miss.

The number one reason people purchase candles is for the fragrance, and for this reason, fragrance is vitally important.

When adding scent to your candles, you have two fragrance options available – natural or synthetic fragrance. Each of these fragrance options offers their own benefits. It is up to you to determine your ultimate goals, as well as who your target market is, when determining a fragrance option to choose.

If you choose to produce naturally scented candles, then you will be working with essential oils. Essential oils, unlike fragrance oils, are oils naturally derived from plants and flowers. They are highly concentrated, and usually much stronger than most fragrance oils, so it can be easy to overuse them.

Essential oils are also more costly than synthetic fragrance oils. Typically, essential oils do not burn quite as well as synthetic fragrance oils, and are harder to blend with wax. While they can offer a very good scent throw, they tend to lose their scent faster than their synthetic counterparts making for a shorter shelf life.

Because of their all-natural qualities, many natural wax candle makers find that essential oils are an excellent choice because their customers appreciate an all-natural product.

Fragrance oils are the other option. Fragrance oils are man-made, being synthetically produced by various perfumeries. For the best quality of fragrance oils, it is strongly encouraged that you purchase your fragrance oils from a specialty retailer that specializes in candle making. These candle supply retailers usually seek high quality oils and the oils they carry are made specifically for candle making.

Many candle supply retailers have their scents custom-blended. For this reason, a scent with the same name may smell very different when you buy it from various suppliers. Many of these candle supply retailers offer customer feedback and comments related to specific scents they sell. This information can help you determine what fragrances others are having success with and you may pick up tips on how they are successfully using the scent in their own products.

There are literally thousands of fragrance oil scents available for purchase, so using this type of information can help you narrow your options. When deciding on those you’d like to try, many candle supply retailers will offer sample size containers of each scent so that you can try them economically prior to purchasing a larger size.

When working with scents, consult the websites of the suppliers that sell your fragrance oils and wax. Their websites usually offer a wealth of information. When you look up your wax instructions, there is usually information about the amount of fragrance to add for the best scent throw, and when during the candle making process it is best to add the fragrance for best results.

A typical rule of thumb for adding fragrance to candles is one ounce of fragrance for each pound of wax. However, this is not a steadfast rule. Some candle makers choose to measure fragrance in teaspoons or percentages instead of ounces. And, some waxes will hold more fragrance than others. Each wax and fragrance is different, so plan on doing a lot of testing and trying a lot of fragrance and wax combinations before getting your best results.

Also, remember to test for both cold and hot scent throw in your candles. There can be a big difference in how a candle smells sitting on the shelf compared to how it smells when it is burned. It is important that your candle smells great at first whiff when the jar is opened so that customers can experience the scent. It is even more important that the candle has great fragrance as it burns as that is what brings your customers back for more.

If you are a connoisseur of candles, then no doubt you have heard the great debate: paraffin wax vs. natural wax. While some candle makers choose to offer two separate candle lines, most crafters choose to focus their efforts on one type of wax or the other.

Although each wax offers its own benefits and drawbacks, one wax is not necessarily better than the other. It is up to you to decide which wax appeals to you and which you would prefer to work with. If you plan to sell your candles, you may also wish to keep in mind the types of shoppers you will be selling to when making your wax decision.

Paraffin candle wax has been around for centuries, and is most likely the wax that the majority of candle purchasers are familiar with. Paraffin wax is a petroleum byproduct, and therefore it indirectly supports the petroleum industry. In today’s marketplace, this fact alone has caused some long time candle makers to abandon their previous affinity for paraffin wax. As petroleum is a major component of paraffin wax, it also tends to emit more smoke and potentially hazardous toxins than its natural wax counterparts.

While there may be drawbacks to using paraffin, there are also many benefits. On the whole, paraffin tends to hold fragrance better, longer and easier than natural waxes. Typically, the scent throw (or strength of the scent emitted) from paraffin candles is stronger and can fill larger spaces more effectively. It is also typically easier for a candle maker to get fragrance to hold in the wax, avoiding fragrance ’seeping’ issues. Overall, paraffin waxes tend to be less finicky than natural waxes, and require fewer additives and adjustments.

As an alternative to paraffin, natural waxes, such as soy, beeswax and palm wax, have become readily available to candle makers, and many are gravitating to these waxes for their natural and beneficial properties. While natural waxes may be slightly more expensive than paraffin, they are still an affordable option.

Because the scent throw of natural waxes is typically softer than paraffin, sometimes attaining a strong scent throw, or getting heavier amounts of fragrance oil to blend well with the wax, can be a challenge. Esthetic concerns are also usually more of an issue with natural waxes. Soy wax, for example, is prone to ‘frosting’, a white residue that can form on the tops and sides of the candle. Natural waxes may also have a tendency to form bubbles which make the candles less attractive to the eye.

On the flipside, there are many benefits to natural waxes. Overall, they do burn cleaner with less soot than paraffin candles, avoiding sooty build-up on walls. They also clean up with just soap and water in the event of a spill. Finally, they tend to appeal to many people because of their agricultural origins. Rather than support the petroleum industry as paraffin does, natural wax candles support agriculture.

Consider who you are selling your candles to, and what your own personal preferences are, when selecting the best wax for you. Regardless of which you choose, either type of wax is capable of producing excellent candles that you and your customers will enjoy.

When people first begin making candles, they are often surprised by just how many wicks there are available. This can make it a bit complicated to determine the best wick for each type of candle.

Choosing the right wick can be the ultimate difference in whether your candle is a raging success, or a not so subtle failure. Proper wicking makes all the difference when it comes to the life of the candle, how well it burns and whether or not it even stays lit.

Wicks come in one of two options, either pre-tabbed or on spools.

Pre-tabbed wicks are most often used in container candles and votives. They are stiff wicks of varying lengths with a metal base attached. The wick is connected to the tab by a longer metal piece referred to as the wick collar or neck, which also come in a variety of lengths.

The purpose of a wick tab is to stop the candle from burning once the flame on the wick reaches the metal neck of the tab. This extinguishes the flame before it can reach the bottom of the container, which can cause the container to overheat and break.

Spooled wicks are most commonly used in pillars and tapers and can either be used without tabs, or tabs can be attached by hand.

Wicks are available in a variety of materials. From cotton, to hemp, to paper, to those with metal cores, each wick offers different benefits and has certain situations in which they are best used.

Each individual wax may have certain wicks it will or will not work with best. Most wax suppliers will offer this information and make suggestions for appropriate wick choices for each wax. Certain wicks may burn too hot or too cool for the type of wax you are using, so it is important to pay attention to this information if you want to make the best candle possible.

When you first begin choosing wicks, it is recommended that you spend some time researching wicks in either a book about candle making or online at one of the many candle making supply websites. Wicks come in a variety of sizes, described by a series of numbers which can be complex to understand at the outset. Learn what these numbers mean by reading the description for each wick line you may be considering.

The diameter of your candle will help determine what size of wick you will need to use. Typically, the larger the diameter of the candle, the larger the wick size you will need.

When making container candles, you want to make sure that your wick is big enough to melt the wax of the candle completely across the top. You also want to prevent ‘tunneling’, which is when the wick burns a hole down the center of the candle leaving a tunnel of wax around the sides of a container. You also want to make sure that the wick is not too large which can cause the candle to burn faster than it should, causing excessive smoking or soot as well.

Finally, keep in mind that there is no exact science to choosing proper wicks. While manufacturers may be able to recommend certain types of wicks that will work well, you still may need to experiment to see what works best in your candles. Ultimately, you’ll discover the wicks you most enjoy working with. And by testing different wicks, you’ll be able to learn which wicks produce your desired results.

Selecting the ideal paraffin wax to use in your candles requires an analysis of several key factors.

First, you need to determine what type of candles you are going to make. For example, the type of paraffin one would use for container candles is very different from the type of paraffin one would use for pillar candles.

Next, you need to determine what wax traits are most important to you. Is it important that your wax is easy to work with? Do you want one that requires little or no additives? Are you looking for the strongest scent throw possible? Ultimately, the decision comes down to personal preferences and finding the best wax to match your desires.

Paraffin comes in many varieties. Some are soft and scoopable, while others are harder and must be cut from slabs. Typically, the softer the wax, the lower its specific melting point will be.

The melting point is the term used to describe the temperature at which the wax will begin to melt. Melting points of paraffin wax range from approximately 127 degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Celsius) on the low end to 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius) on the high end. The higher the melting point, the harder the wax.

One of the benefits of lower melting point paraffin waxes is that the softer wax helps to retain the fragrance of the candle until it is burned. This trait makes lower melting point paraffin waxes ideal for container candles. In addition to their wonderful ability to retain scent, these low melting point waxes are extremely malleable and almost never requires the use of additives.

While some candle makers may love the benefits of these softer waxes, they can be sticky to work with, and they tend to emit more soot than some other waxes. While the stellar scent throw may be a benefit, some may not feel that the drawbacks are worth it. Again, it comes down to personal preference.

Medium melting point paraffin waxes are most commonly used for votives and sometimes containers. A medium melting point paraffin will be harder to the touch and will keep its shape better than the lower melting point paraffin waxes.

It still manages to hold scent fairly well, but this type of wax often requires use of additives, thus resulting in more experimentation in making your candles. The medium melting point paraffins typically come in blocks, and can either be chipped off or cut off in chunks for use.

The higher melting point paraffins are usually reserved for making pillars, hand-dipped tapers, molded, and shaped or carved candles. These waxes are used for making such candles because of their extreme firmness, and because these types of candles do not often require the stronger scent throw of other types of candles.

The firmness of the wax makes them ideal for molded and shaped candles because they will not cave in on themselves while cooling. High melting point paraffin waxes will almost always require the use of additives, and they do not retain fragrance as well as the softer paraffin waxes.

Many craft stores have begun carrying a small range of paraffin waxes. However, these waxes are typically of mediocre quality and are not intended to meet the needs of more serious candle makers. For a wide array of quality choices, visit one of the many specialty online candle making supply websites.

Not only do they offer a wide variety of waxes, but they also offer detailed instructions on how to work with each one. You’ll also find the other supplies you may need, making these websites excellent one stop shops for purchasing all your candle making supplies.