How to make a Scented Candle

Candles are one of my FAVORITE things to create. I started making candles a couple of years ago because I found myself buying and burning candles constantly. I discovered that there is a lot more to candle making if you want to create a truly scented candle. It took a lot of trial and error to finally create a candle recipe that produced a scent when burned. I’m going to share this recipe with you today so you won’t have to go through the same trial and error process I did.

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How I discovered this recipe

There are a few things to consider when creating a candle recipe. The wax, wick and container size all have to work together to create a high quality candle. Soy wax seemed to be very popular so I tried that first. I made several candles with it and I could never create a candle that had a strong scent when burned. One quality that I loved about the soy wax was the long-lasting burn time. However, I knew I had to try a different wax in order to create the strong scent that I wanted. 

After researching, I found that Paraffin wax is known to have a great hot throw (the way the candle smells when burning). I didn’t want to completely switch to paraffin because I loved how long the Soy wax lasted. I found a soy/paraffin wax blend and decided to try it. Since then, I have never gone back. The cold throw isn’t as strong as the soy wax, but when the candle is burned it creates a much better hot throw AND has a long burn time. You can buy this wax here from Amazon or here from Candle Science. Now it’s time to show you how to make a TRULY scented candle yourself!

Supplies you will need

• Kitchen scale buy here
• Kitchen thermometer buy here
• Paraffin/Soy Wax buy here or here
• Wax pouring pitcher buy here
• Hot glue gun buy here
• Candle Wick buy here or here
• Square Mason Jar buy here
• Fragrance oil buy here
• Ribbon (optional) buy here

Not pictured: old frying pan and metal or wood stir tool

This tutorial is specific to the 8oz square mason jar pictured. If you would like to use a different jar size you will have to alter the wick size.

Making the scented candle

First, hot glue your LX-18 wick into the bottom center of the mason jar.

 Next, measure out your wax. For the 8oz Mason jar I use 6.5 to 7 oz of wax.

Now create a double boiler with your old frying pan. Fill the frying pan 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Place the pouring pitcher with the wax in the water. Allow wax to melt and heat to 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. 

While the wax is heating, measure out your Fragrance oil. Your fragrance oil should weigh around 10% of the weight of your wax. The example below measured a little more than 10% of my wax weight but it is okay to be a little off.

Once your wax has heated to 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from heat and add the Fragrance oil. Stir completely. If you want to add dye, add it to wax after mixing the fragrance oil. 

After adding fragrance oil and dye (optional), pour very slowly into container. Don’t pour all the wax into the container, leave some behind. Use a pen, pencil or other object to hold the wick in the center.

Allow the wax to dry completely. This may take a few hours. Many times the wax creates a sink hole. Because this happens, I do a second pour.

Heat up the remainder of the wax and pour into container when melted.

Now you have a nice flat top! Once the top layer dries you can cut your wick to a 1/4 inch. Put a lid on top, tie a ribbon around it and you have a nice scented candle! wait 24 hours before burning it. Enjoy!!