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The Art of Making Scented Candles – 4 Steps to Aromatic Beauty
By admin | January 26, 2010
Scented candles increase the ambience of any room. If you are a romantic person, you will enjoy the warm aroma of scented candles. You and your guests will be treated to a sense of calm and well being. And, of course, the glow of almost any candle highlights the elegance of the room.
The subtle fragrance of scented candles will pep you up, even while the candle is unlit. When you arrive home tired and worn out from the day, the aroma & warm glow of a scented candle tends to loosen your tightness & lift your energy level.
Scented candles serve as wonderful gifts for any occasion and every season especially when they are made by your own hands.
1. Pick Your Candle Making Fragrance
Fragrance oil is available in virtually any craft shop. You can also shop for it online. I would suggest that you opt for fragrance oils rather than going for inexpensive alcohol or water based fragrances. Since your wax mix will be oil based, your fragrance should also be oil based. Why? Oil and water do not mix so a water based perfume will not mix properly with the oil based wax.
2. Pick Your Wax
The basics of scented candle making are more or less the same as for ordinary wax candles. Begin by choosing your wax type. Available in the market is a versatile range of wax starting with the naturals, beeswax, palm & soy, and progressing to paraffin or gel wax. Decide on the aromatic intensity of your candles before making a wax selection. For instance, wax with less density holds less fragrance than higher density wax.
3. The Art of Making Aromatic Candles
Now we’ll go through the process of creating aromatic candles.
The first step is to melt your wax. I recommend using a double boiler. That means place the wax in a small pot and, in turn, put that container into a slightly larger pot containing water. Now heat the water. Use a thermometer to ensure the wax is not burnt. The temperature must be kept between 170 &180 degrees F.
Once your wax has melted, insert a wick in the mold & take the wax away from the heat source. Next add the fragrance oil that you’ve selected. One ounce fragrance oil to 1 pound wax will create a 6% fragrance. Appreciate that larger portions of fragrance oil means the candle to burn out sooner.
Next pour the melted wax/fragrance mixture into it’s mold. The only job remaining is to let it cool before removing your candle from it’s mold.
Congratulations! You’re finished!
4. Experiment as You Go
You will gain expertise in all phases of candle making when you start experimenting. By using different fragrances and colors, you will perfect the art of candle making and thoroughly enjoy the process.
It’s a great feeling to gift your friends with a scented candle that is homemade knowing that they will find the fragrant essences both relaxing and invigorating.
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