Why some candles smell stronger than others

Have you ever noticed that some candles barely smell when you open them in the shop and others are very strong?

Have you ever bought (or made) a candle which smelled wonderful upon purchase but once you light it up the scent just doesn’t fill the room?

 

Let’s get the terms out of the way first:

• The scent of an unlit candle is called “cold throw"
• The scent of a lit candle is called “hot throw”
• “Essential oils” are highly concentrated liquid extracts from plants
• “Fragrance oils” are synthetic oils; as they are man-made they can take on different scents
• “Curing” is the time it takes for wax to bond with the oil used (think of a cheese getting better by age)

All of us are unique and will therefore experience smells differently. We also have our personal preferences: Some prefer subtle scents, others love strong ones. Aside from that there are several factors influencing scents.

Essential oils vs. Fragrance oils define the scent of a candle

The difference between Essential oils and Fragrance oils plays an important role in the intended scent of the candle.

As mentioned above, the first is extracted from plants and has more of a cool smell such as peppermint (from peppermint leaves), eucalyptus or rosemary; however some alternatives have sweeter scents like vanilla (from the Vanilla planifolia), lavender or orange. Due to their nature they usually have a strong aroma before being lit (“Cold throw”) and while they can be heated, they actually should not be as this changes the chemical composition of the oil.

Essentially when you light up a candle the wick holds the fire and exposes this heat source to the wax which also warms up the essential oil within the wax and your candle will not smell as strong as before (“Hot throw”).

How a wick works as a heat source

Fragrance oils on the other hand are chemically produced and intended to be heated which means generally they will smell stronger both in their cold and hot throw.

Depending on the concentration and chemical composition they can be higher or lower fragranced.

 

Curing is needed to develop the fragrance of a candle

 

When making candles (or wax melts) one of the most crucial part is giving it time.

The most important two however are:

• Stirring the oil & wax for several minutes before pouring the mixture into the vessel/ mould
• Letting the candle cure after it was poured

What does needing time mean?

Curing time depends on the wax being used. Generally vegetable waxes such as coconut, soy or beeswax will need at least 10-14 days. That’s because - like a good cheese - the scent has to develop. Even though wax dries within a few hours, it takes longer for the crystals inside the wax to bond with the oil and take on its fragrance.

Paraffin wax (a by-product from petroleum) only takes about 1-2 days, however it is not considered a natural wax and there are split opinions about its use due to concerns about your health. However as they are the cheapest alternative, unfortunately commercial candles usually include at least a portion of them.

We generally only use 100% soy wax in our candles as they are naturally produced and we consider your health an important factor of your well-being.

 

Faulty production can cause fluctuation in your product

 

As a consumer you will only be able to tell once you bought the product and the production phase cannot be reviewed, however making candles is a science and if during the process standards are not upheld, candles can end up smelling weaker than they should be. This is mainly caused by too high or too low temperature during the mixing process, not enough time to combine both liquid wax and the oil or not waiting long enough for the candle to settle.

If this step has not been done correctly, the fragrance will not perform to its full potential in the end. 

Hopefully you do not remember this or have never seen wax and liquid separating but this is the visual confirmation that the ingredients did not bond correctly - largely caused by wrong temperatures and/ or wrong composition (too much oil for the amount of wax used).

Our candles have been tested during and after the production stage to ensure the highest quality possible. They are being produced in small batches and with attention to details and their cold and hot throws are ideal for your home. Take a look at our selection here.