candlesinflorida Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I know this goes against everything we have been instructed to do...but has anyone tried adding the FO to the wax BEFORE it is heated? Why couldn't the wax be "infused" with the FO (just mixed together and sitting a little at room temp) and then you pour the mix into a presto pot, let it heat to 185 and stir then pour at your 130 or your desired temp. I don't see why this would be a problem because the temp doesn't go high enough to burn off the FO and maybe you'd have a better chance of the wax really blending with the FO? Plus, it would make the whole candle making process a little bit easier. I imagine there is a problem with this, that I haven't considered? Thoughts anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 If the FO is just sitting open it is dissipating. Think about the little thing you hang in your car they. They are a material soaked in FO once it is out of the package the scent starts to disappear it does not take long before it is all gone and you have to buy a new one. Wax is not like clothe or other porous materials you can infuse. When you melt the wax and add the FO you are in not infusing you are incorporating. Once you incorporate the FO in to the wax it is there till you melt it and release the smell in to the air, in candles it burns and the wax is the fuel for the wick to burn and as a result the melted wax releases the scent. In a wax melt you put in a melter it melts the wax and releases the scent. It is not releasing the oil just the smell. I hope that made sense. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesinflorida Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 4 hours ago, Vicky_CO said: If the FO is just sitting open it is dissipating. Think about the little thing you hang in your car they. They are a material soaked in FO once it is out of the package the scent starts to disappear it does not take long before it is all gone and you have to buy a new one. Wax is not like clothe or other porous materials you can infuse. When you melt the wax and add the FO you are in not infusing you are incorporating. Once you incorporate the FO in to the wax it is there till you melt it and release the smell in to the air, in candles it burns and the wax is the fuel for the wick to burn and as a result the melted wax releases the scent. In a wax melt you put in a melter it melts the wax and releases the scent. It is not releasing the oil just the smell. I hope that made sense. Sure does, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I agree with Vicky. Every time the wax gets heated, scent is released. So to keep the scent in there, you want to minimize the amount of time that the scent is heated. I used to use a heat gun to even out the tops of my candles. This heating caused scent to dissipate into the air, making the top of the candle less fragrant as it dried. Ol factory fatigue (chandlers nose in this case) is when your sense of smell doesn't notice things that you have become used to. I took turns smelling a candle that had been heated with the heat gun and one that had not, to wear out my senses. I smelled one, and the other, and then the first one, and then the other, etc until I could not smell one of the candles anymore. In the end, you will only be able to smell one candle (the strongest one) because your ol factory senses have acclimated to the smell, and you will not be able to smell the candle with less fragrance. The candles that I had flattened with the heat gun were always the first to loose the scent to me. The candles that I had not heated with the heat gun retained some scent to me (although not much bc my senses were fatigued, but I could still smell them). This is not to say that the ones that were flattened with the heat gun had no scent in them. If anyone else smelled them I'm sure it would've been noticeable. It just means that they were not as strong. I would encourage you to try the way that you first suggested and compare this to a candle made the "traditional" way, to prove this to yourself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I used to keep coffee beans in a Mason jar for customers to sniff. The coffee beans were supposed to clear the nose so they could sniff other candles. I'm not real sure that ever really worked but the best way to avoid burning your nose out is to wear a respirator. It's a hassle but for about $30.00 you can pick up an industrial strength respirator at Home Depot or Walmart. You wear it whenever you pour candles (continue to ventilate the area with a fan and open window) and avoid overloading your nose or your lungs. Fragrance oil is suspended in the liquid wax and then is trapped as the wax hardens. Lighting the candle returns the wax to a liquid state with the fragrance oil suspended in that melt pool. You could call that an infusion of sorts but the real deal is the wax' ability to take larger loads of fragrance oil without breaking down (seepage). Most of us stand by the belief that best quality fragrance oil should be able to do the job at 6% to 7% load and not require 9% to 10% , which is more expensive. My parasoy will take a 9% load but it does just fine with 6% or 7% depending on the type of fragrance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesinflorida Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Since we are discussing scent evaporation, do you usually cover the candles right away after they have cooled? During the curing process, is it crucial to cover them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I think most people lid their candles pretty much when the candles have cooled or as soon as they can get to it. Its not crucial to lid them right away to keep FO from evaporating. The FO is locked in the wax and scent is released in the melt pool as it burns (AKA hot throw or HT). Or, when you sniff the candle you can smell the scented wax (aka cold throw or CT). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthomas57 Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 On 3/8/2016 at 0:41 PM, hapathy said: I agree with Vicky. Every time the wax gets heated, scent is released. So to keep the scent in there, you want to minimize the amount of time that the scent is heated. I used to use a heat gun to even out the tops of my candles. This heating caused scent to dissipate into the air, making the top of the candle less fragrant as it dried. Ol factory fatigue (chandlers nose in this case) is when your sense of smell doesn't notice things that you have become used to. I took turns smelling a candle that had been heated with the heat gun and one that had not, to wear out my senses. I smelled one, and the other, and then the first one, and then the other, etc until I could not smell one of the candles anymore. In the end, you will only be able to smell one candle (the strongest one) because your ol factory senses have acclimated to the smell, and you will not be able to smell the candle with less fragrance. The candles that I had flattened with the heat gun were always the first to loose the scent to me. The candles that I had not heated with the heat gun retained some scent to me (although not much bc my senses were fatigued, but I could still smell them). This is not to say that the ones that were flattened with the heat gun had no scent in them. If anyone else smelled them I'm sure it would've been noticeable. It just means that they were not as strong. I would encourage you to try the way that you first suggested and compare this to a candle made the "traditional" way, to prove this to yourself. Since not using a heat gun anymore, what do you do now to smooth out tops or help with little sink holes etc? I dont like second pours for the same reason. Remelting the wax dissipates some of the fragrance. So its the same result. That and second pours are a pain. Curious what you do now instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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