Help Questions: Weak scent from essential oils

[Koda]

Hi all --
New here, have some questions around candle making with essential oils.

The candles I've been making, scented exclusively with essential oils, have been throwing a much weaker scent than I expected.

Process:

1. Wax: Natural soy wax with melting point of 120 able to hold up to 8% fragrance according to the maker (wax has 2% plant based additives, which I expect contributes the high fragrance load)
2. Essential oils: Cedar, Sage, Eucalyptus, Lavender; purportedly 100% pure, natural and undiluted oils manufactured by Artizen
3. Recipe: 15 ounces of soy wax + 3 teaspoons (equivalent 300 drops) essential oil; I've been mixing in essential oils at 160-170 degrees, then pouring into mason jars

The candles have very weak scents, even though I'm using amounts of essential oil, far higher than the recipes I've referenced.

1. Essential oil quality: Any experience with Artizen made essential oils? Any brands to recommend?
2. Technique: Might I be making a mistake diminishing the potency of my oils / how the scents are released?
3. Recipe: Are the recipes I've read wrong? Can I add dramatically more oil? The candles otherwise appear to set well (not withdraw from side of glass), burn without issue (ball park 60 hours for a 6 ounce ball jar candle)

Appreciate any suggestions and happy thanksgiving!

BR

 

[steffamarie]

My biggest question is what is the flash point of your EOs? 160-170 may be too high for your essential oils, and they would "evaporate" and thereby lose their potency at that kind of temperature. Depends on the oil, but it would be worth a look at that. I don't do much candle making, so there may be more things to consider than I'm aware of

ETA: Here's a resource for this particular brand. Probably a decent guide, though you're better off looking at your particular brand that you use. https://plushfolly.com/Information/Flash-Points

 

[jcandleattic]

It has been my experience that EO's just do not perform well in wax. I've never been successful in getting EO's to throw at all in my applications.

My biggest question is what is the flash point of your EOs? 160-170 may be too high for your essential oils,

Flashpoint has literally nothing to do with evaporation or at what temp you should add your oils.
Flashpoint is merely the temperature point in which a volatile substance will ignite if exposed to a flame or spark. If you are not working around an open flame, there really is no concern of flashpoint.

 

[Chris_S]

It has been my experience that EO's just do not perform well in wax. I've never been successful in getting EO's to throw at all in my applications.


Flashpoint has literally nothing to do with evaporation or at what temp you should add your oils.
Flashpoint is merely the temperature point in which a volatile substance will ignite if exposed to a flame or spark. If you are not working around an open flame, there really is no concern of flashpoint.

I like eo in wax melts but i have so far not had much success in candles with eo so resorted to fo for candles. Could it be the wick thats not the right size for the jar thats making it have a weaker scent throw as well as eo not working great in general?

 

[jcandleattic]

I like eo in wax melts but i have so far not had much success in candles with eo so resorted to fo for candles. Could it be the wick thats not the right size for the jar thats making it have a weaker scent throw as well as eo not working great in general?

I don't think it's wicking. I've been making candles for well over 20 years, and pretty much have my wicking down pat, and have tried several wicks with different EO's. They they just do not perform well for me.

I have also not had much luck with sticking power with most EO's in my soapmaking - meaning they fade after 6-9 months. I have found about 6 EO's that will stick around longer than that, but only about 4 that will stick longer than a year, so for me, personally, I just don't use EO's for the most part in any of my applications.
I know others have reported they work great for them, but I just am not going to fight to get things to work. I don't have the time, money or energy to deal with things that are finicky. LOL

 

[Chris_S]

I don't think it's wicking. I've been making candles for well over 20 years, and pretty much have my wicking down pat, and have tried several wicks with different EO's. They they just do not perform well for me.

I have also not had much luck with sticking power with most EO's in my soapmaking - meaning they fade after 6-9 months. I have found about 6 EO's that will stick around longer than that, but only about 4 that will stick longer than a year, so for me, personally, I just don't use EO's for the most part in any of my applications.
I know others have reported they work great for them, but I just am not going to fight to get things to work. I don't have the time, money or energy to deal with things that are finicky. LOL

sorry i wasnt meaning you when i asked about the wick size ect i was asking you if it could be the op issues are caused by poor wick choice. given your name i wouldnt question your experience or knowledge on such a matter vecause you clearly have more than my nearly one years worth of experimenting. I was tired when i wrote that so theres a good chance i have just worded it poorly that happens pretty often when im tired or part concentrating. Hope i didnt offend you

 

[jcandleattic]

sorry i wasnt meaning you when i asked about the wick size ect i was asking you if it could be the op issues are caused by poor wick choice. given your name i wouldnt question your experience or knowledge on such a matter vecause you clearly have more than my nearly one years worth of experimenting. I was tired when i wrote that so theres a good chance i have just worded it poorly that happens pretty often when im tired or part concentrating. Hope i didnt offend you

Ohh haha, I misunderstood, and no, of course you didn't offend me. (I rarely ever get offended, so please don't worry about that)

Honestly, that can be part of the problem, but I find in my experience and applications, EO's just don't work, no matter what type of wick is being used.

 

[penelopejane]

The OP is using 3% EOz that’s not enough for a candle anyway is it?

 

[jcandleattic]

The OP is using 3% EOz that’s not enough for a candle anyway is it?

Depending on the wax it can be, however, I don't work with soy at all, so I'm not sure.
I only use 3-4% FO in my palm wax, and some scents are so strong I have to drop down to 2-3%.
But, even using up to 8% EO in candles, I could never get a decent throw. So there was no point in me continuing to struggle with trying. If I can't scent a decent sized room using only 6% fragrance load, then I don't use that scent- my profit margins won't allow it.

 

[Chris_S]

Ohh haha, I misunderstood, and no, of course you didn't offend me. (I rarely ever get offended, so please don't worry about that)

Honestly, that can be part of the problem, but I find in my experience and applications, EO's just don't work, no matter what type of wick is being used.

Iv only tried eo on one candle but that didnt give off much scent and it side burned like mad but iv evolved my candle making since then so cant accuratly comment on eo in candles melts however i absolutly love the cold throw from using eo in melts but they have all been used up and never needed to stand the test of time.

I didnt think i had insulted you just wanted to check lol

The OP is using 3% EOz that’s not enough for a candle anyway is it?

I use 8% fo in my candles so i would say its very unlikely thats scented enough i use 10% in my melts when im using eo. I use solely soy wax and am only basing this on my experience which granted is kinda limited with eo in wax. sometimes bw but dont scent them

 

[lyschelw]

Hello! So, the thing about EOs is that generally the molecular structure is so small and light that they go straight to the wick and burn. That is not what you want a scent to do. You won't be able to smell a burnt scent. It needs to vaporize in the melt pool. In order to smell the EO it needs to be bound to make it a larger molecule. It is now called an FO. (Not all FOs are EO blends)

Granted, some EOs are large enough on their own. And these are the ones that you generally see used over and over again-Patchouli, some lavenders, etc. Hope that helps