What household items can you use to scent candles?

Learning how to make scented candles from scratch is so much fun. With their soft glow and gentle scent, there's nothing more relaxing than curling up on a cold winter night to read a few pages by the light of a handmade candle.

Stores are filled with all kinds of scented candles, but I can assure you it’s much more fun learning how to make them from scratch! You can create DIY scented candles based on your taste and preferences. It's not difficult, only your imagination will limit your design.

candle making scent

One of the most significant advantages is the ability to create unique scents, shapes and colors.
While I highly recommend using synthetic fragrance oils in your candles, in this article I will discuss the use of essential oils and how you can build a scent profile by using several different fragrances or essential oils in one candle. This is exciting stuff and gives you plenty of room to experiment.

After we talk about oils and fragrances, I'm going to show you step-by-step instructions on how to make a homemade scented candle!

Making scented candles is a great way to transform a dull pillar into a beautiful, luxurious candle! When you light the candle and the wax begins to melt, the fragrance oil evaporates along with the wax and infuses the air with a lovely scent.

essential oils

Overall, fragrance oils are the most widely used fragrances in DIY scented candles. They are relatively cheap and readily available, making them extremely attractive to budding candle makers.
Unlike essential oils, the synthetic nature of fragrance oils means that it is relatively simple for industry professionals to create many different types of fragrances. Fragrance oils of specific fruits, flowers, foods, woods, and spices can all be purchased online or at your local aromatherapy/craft store.

You can also buy blends of other essential oils that mimic the scent characteristics of different designer perfumes or colognes. I have used them many times in many different crafts but especially love using them to make candles. This is a great way to incorporate complex, interesting scents into your candles without the hassle of mixing your own scents.

But how much do I need to make a great candle? This is a great question, but the answer is pretty simple – about 6-10% of the total wax weight should be fine. If you find the scent is too strong, just add 7% to tone it down. Whatever you do, don’t add more than 10% or the integrity of the candle will be compromised.

You need to add the oil right after mixing the dye, and once you add the oil, try not to get the wax too hot, like over 200 degrees Fahrenheit. This will ensure you don't burn the scent and allow it to be evenly suspended in the wax once it cools.

candle essential oil

We’ve already discussed the essential oils used to make scented candles, but what about the luxurious and divine scent of essential oils? You can definitely use them, but there are a few things to consider before we pour the entire bottle into wax.

Essential oils are concentrated oils extracted from a variety of plants, seeds, spices, woods, and fruits. They have many active properties on the body and, through the techniques used in aromatherapy, also on the brain.

While essential oils are a great way to utilize more natural fragrances, they can be very expensive depending on the type of essential oil you purchase. Candle making may be a relatively inexpensive craft, but using essential oils can really put a strain on your wallet.

Therefore, I would not consider using essential oils to scent larger candles. However, essential oils work wonderfully in beeswax tea lights. A small batch of 5 or 10 tea lights (or a small jar) requires much less oil than a medium to large pillar and can give your little candle a luxurious scent that offsets its meager appearance.
A guideline for essential oil usage is approximately 1 ounce of essential oil per pound of wax used. That works out to 6-7%. Keep in mind that different essential oils vary in strength, so if you find the scent is too strong, add a little less (about 5%). After coloring the wax, you'll also want to add oil.