Scent Loss in Melts

[TallTayl]

27 minutes ago, Laura C said:

Hello @TallTayl, @Nickie, @soshiegirl and others that know about this. I just want to verify that what I'm saying and thinking is correct, I don't want to spread false information. 

Is it true that you can safely wrap or package scented products in wax paper or glassine bags without compromising their scent throw?

 

Here's another question I have. If you package several different scents together in the same polypro or glassine bag or metal tin, will all the scents be absorbed by the wax so that all the melts end up smelling similar?

My only contribution to the question relates to soap in glassine.  I have soap bars in glassine that smell as strong today as they were when made >1 year ago.  They do get binned together throughout the year, exposed to the elements during a long 3 month outdoor event where heat, humidity, rain, cold fluctuations occur.  When the packaging gets worn or ugly, I replace, relabel and get on with my life. 

 

If frequently transporting wax in the same packaging, they could easily sustain a good deal of damage, especially if soft. Not a big deal, just something to plan for. 

[Laura C]

22 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

My only contribution to the question relates to soap in glassine.  I have soap bars in glassine that smell as strong today as they were when made >1 year ago.  They do get binned together throughout the year, exposed to the elements during a long 3 month outdoor event where heat, humidity, rain, cold fluctuations occur.  When the packaging gets worn or ugly, I replace, relabel and get on with my life. 

 

If frequently transporting wax in the same packaging, they could easily sustain a good deal of damage, especially if soft. Not a big deal, just something to plan for. 

 

Great, as always, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. 👍

[soshiegirl]

3 hours ago, Laura C said:

Hello @TallTayl, @Nickie, @soshiegirl and others that know about this. I just want to verify that what I'm saying and thinking is correct, I don't want to spread false information. 

Is it true that you can safely wrap or package scented products in wax paper or glassine bags without compromising their scent throw?

 

Here's another question I have. If you package several different scents together in the same polypro or glassine bag or metal tin, will all the scents be absorbed by the wax so that all the melts end up smelling similar?

Hey @Laura C - I can't speak to packaging products in wax paper or glassine bags.  I only package my products in polypropylene bags.  When you refer to packaging different scents together in the same bag, do you mean individually packaged or unwrapped?   I package all products individually or multiples of the same scent in a single polypro lined bag.  However, I will store similar scents together in a storage container and do ship different scented products together (in one order), in a single polypro bag, but they are individually wrapped and labeled.  To date, I've never had any scent morphing via absorption when done this way.  Hope this helps.

[Laura C]

8 minutes ago, soshiegirl said:

Hey @Laura C - I can't speak to packaging products in wax paper or glassine bags.  I only package my products in polypropylene bags.  When you refer to packaging different scents together in the same bag, do you mean individually packaged or unwrapped?   I package all products individually or multiples of the same scent in a single polypro lined bag.  However, I will store similar scents together in a storage container and do ship different scented products together (in one order), in a single polypro bag, but they are individually wrapped and labeled.  To date, I've never had any scent morphing via absorption when done this way.  Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond, you have answered some of my questions. Yes, it seems like a lot of people use polypro bags, glassine bags, paper bakery bags, etc. and I'm trying to decide what to go with and which one I may like better. I was referring to unwrapped melts in different scents, none being individually wrapped, just stacked together in a bag or container. Reason is, I'm wondering if you can avoid all that individual wrapping/packaging in order to cut costs and waste. But, I would not want to avoid costs if I only end up damaging or contaminating the scents of my melts/tarts.

[soshiegirl]

3 hours ago, Laura C said:

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond, you have answered some of my questions. Yes, it seems like a lot of people use polypro bags, glassine bags, paper bakery bags, etc. and I'm trying to decide what to go with and which one I may like better. I was referring to unwrapped melts in different scents, none being individually wrapped, just stacked together in a bag or container. Reason is, I'm wondering if you can avoid all that individual wrapping/packaging in order to cut costs and waste. But, I would not want to avoid costs if I only end up damaging or contaminating the scents of my melts/tarts.

I get where you're coming from.  One thing to consider is that polypro is recyclable!  Also another consideration is if you decide to package your products unwrapped, how do you plan on making sure your clients know which scent is which (i.e., if they ordered two or three sea type scents).  Just something to think about.  Perhaps run a "stress" test of combining several different scented melts/tarts for a while and see what the outcome is.  Good luck! 

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by soshiegirl

[Laura C]

1 hour ago, soshiegirl said:

I get where you're coming from.  One thing to consider is that polypro is recyclable!  Also another consideration is if you decide to package your products unwrapped, how do you plan on making sure your clients know which scent is which (i.e., if they ordered two or three sea type scents).  Just something to think about.  Perhaps run a "stress" test of combining several different scented melts/tarts for a while and see what the outcome is.  Good luck! 

 

 

Darn, you're right, I need to stop and think things through sometimes  .  With more than one scent, the customer would not know which scent is what even with the scent names listed on the outside of the package, unless you color coded them. Blue melt = ocean mist, pink melt = pink sands, etc. Even that may be more of a hassle than it's worth. Once I actually get my hands into packaging product I should be able to figure it out, plus get more sleep. LOL

[Sarah S]

@Laura C, when storing my melts for my own personal use, I put them in glass jars. I do have a couple of jars with multiple scents in them - as you suggested I make them different colors so I can tell what is what. I have definitely noticed that the fragrances tend to "bleed" into each other after time. Now, I do put similar scents together anyway, so they start off similar, but after a few months they all kind of smell the same. It seems as though if one fragrance is stronger than the rest, that is what they all end up smelling like. As they are melting the original fragrance comes back through stronger, but from a sales viewpoint that's probably not ideal.

When I individually package melts, and then mingle those packages, I do not get any kind of fragrance bleed.

HTH!

[Laura C]

2 hours ago, Sarah S said:

@Laura C, when storing my melts for my own personal use, I put them in glass jars. I do have a couple of jars with multiple scents in them - as you suggested I make them different colors so I can tell what is what. I have definitely noticed that the fragrances tend to "bleed" into each other after time. Now, I do put similar scents together anyway, so they start off similar, but after a few months they all kind of smell the same. It seems as though if one fragrance is stronger than the rest, that is what they all end up smelling like. As they are melting the original fragrance comes back through stronger, but from a sales viewpoint that's probably not ideal.

When I individually package melts, and then mingle those packages, I do not get any kind of fragrance bleed.

HTH!

 

@Sarah S thanks so much for taking the time to reply. That's exactly what I am afraid of. I just need to keep all my scented wax melts separated, only wrap together the same scent and not get worked up over using additional wrap/packaging when necessary. Right now for my own personal use I'm using wax paper baggies for each scent and then I put them in recycled plastic containers (#5 PP).

[Laura C]

Just putting this out there. I've been doing some more thinking on this subject of plastic types and scent preservation in products. I noticed that FOs come in plastic bottles numbered 1 and 2, maybe other numbers as well but the FOs I have in front of me are that.

 

Source for plastic info: http://www.babygreenthumb.com/p-122-safe-plastic-numbers-guide.aspx

"Plastic #1 - PET or PETE stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin and a form of polyester."

"Plastic #2 - High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum. HDPE is hard, opaque and can withstand somewhat high temperatures."

"Plastic #5 - Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer. It is strong, tough, has a high resistance to heat and acts as a barrier to moisture."

 

So, in addition to #5 plastic polypropylene (PP), you'd think that containers made with plastic numbers 1 and 2 would be fine to make and/or store candles or wax melts in. Plastic 1 and 2 does not break down from the FOs and it doesn't degrade the cold throw of the FOs.