Soy Candle issues - Wax mottling (white) and essential oils not fragrant enough

Soy Candle issues - Wax mottling (white) and essential oils not fragrant enough

by Deborah
(Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Hi There,

I watched the soy candle making movie to ensure I am making my soy candles properly as I am having 2 big issues with my candles:

1) the essential oils which I would much rather use due to their healing and therapeutic properties are not fragrant enough and customers are disappointed with the lack of aroma - it's much less fragrant than if you were to burn only a few drops in an oil burner, and I am using a half a teaspoon to a teaspoon for 500 g wax.

2) I am finding that a white mottling is happening on the top of the candle once it is dried... is this because I put the wick in before I pour the wax?

Thanks I look forward to hearing your advice.

Deb :)

P.S. Am LOVING this site and super keen to try the essential oil candle blends.

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Soy Candle issues - Wax mottling (white) and essential oils not fragrant enough

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Candle Color and Scent Issues
by: Kyley

Hi Deb,

I'd say the mottling on the top of your candles must be to do with the type of wax you're using. I've been making candles for a few years now and never had that problem. It's definitely not because you're putting the wicks in first - I've tried both ways, and they both work fine.

The scent issues is a common problem with essential oils because people are used to the strong odor and scent throw of synthetic fragrance oils. Essential oils just can't meet that standard. (Of course, they also don't poison you while you're inhaling them either.) People's noses are conditioned to strong chemical "perfumes" and they just don't seem to be able to smell the real thing :(

I market my essential oil candles as "subtly scented" and emphasize the health angle.

Blends with strong scents such as lemongrass and patchouli seem to retain their scent better, and I shrink wrap mine and then bag them to preserve the scent before they go to the consumer.

You could try selling a 2 or 5ml bottle of the essential oil blend and explain how to add a couple of drops to the wax pool (consider possible liability issues here.)

You can also look for a soy wax that holds a high percentage of scent - different waxes have different amounts of scent they can cope with - and then adjust your recipes accordingly. This is math, so I'm not your man for working out those calculations - I suck at math!

I hope these suggestions give you some ideas. If you have any other questions, write back and we'll see what we can come up with :)

Good luck!

Kyley

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