misty0420 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I've been struggling as many others have to use essential oils in c andles and get a good scent throw. I'm using only soy wax. There are big companies out there, like AromaNaturals, who make great candles using only essential oils. Does anyone know what possible additives they may be using to achieve good scent throw? One website mentions using polysorbate 80 to keep the oil from sinking to the bottom...which I don't believe I've had that problem. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clementine Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I'd like to know the answer to that as well because I'm interested in making pure aromatherapy candles using either soy or palm wax.But you have to be careful about claims made by companies. Many so called "aromatherapy candles" aren't made with 100% pure essential oils. They are really a combination of EO's and FO's.For example, on the Aroma Naturals website, they keep mentioning that they use EO's and natural vegetable waxes but in I've read that they also use paraffin for their pillar candles but it's not mentioned on their website.Like some companies call their candles "soy candles" when in fact it's a 50/50 soy and paraffin blend. You just have to be careful about claims from candle companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortuna Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I am also interested in making pure soy essential oil candles. I have not done any testing but would like to know you experiences.What happens when you put to much essential oil? Do some essential oils catch fire? I heard that to much lavender can make someone faint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 They lie, plain and simple!!! If you notice many companies out there like Glade, etc. use the words essential oils and I'll bet there isn't one oz of pure essential oils in their products. Especially when they use scents like white lilac, strawberry, etc.........give me a break, :rolleyes2 they are using FO's!! I use a few essential oils straight in candles, but they are pretty strong (patchouli, lavender, peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, eucalyptus and a few others). Most other EO's are not strong scents and I use them to 'kick up' the overall scent of my FO's at times. I also found that a lot of EO's still need a good oz. to 1 1/2 oz./lb to get a good throw in wax........which ends up being a pretty pricey candle in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerina Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I would agree with Clementine and Chris. What is the definition of Essential anyways- neccessary? (It's an open term, unlike 'tart' which is owned by Yankee, Lol.) Yeah they put in their neccessary oils... they just happen to be synthetic fragrance oils.:rolleyes2 I don't doubt that there is SOME perhaps. Their FO's might be some that use both kinds of oils- MANY suppliers sell them, you probably already use them, and you might not even know it. Except that the price might be just a tad more (or a lot more) than a fully synthetic oil. They can say 'pure' as long as the EO wasn't diluted before it went into the blend. But that could mean 2% PURE Lavender EO was blended with 98% synthetic. Therefore they use 'Pure Essential Oils'.On the flip side, i'm sure there are some great candles made with truly pure eo's. But they won't be cheap, they probably don't throw like wildfire, except for a select few, and they sure as heck are not made by Glade. EO's are usually used for Aromatherapy type lines and true aromatherapy does not have anything to do with 'throw' or intensity. If it was real, you wouldn't even really HAVE to smell it at all. It's supposed to be about the benefits to your system, (wheather you could smell it working or not) not pleasure to your nose. It has become a very watered down marketing term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I view claims from big companies with great suspicion. HOW things are worded makes ALL the difference. I find it amazing that people interested in "all natural" and "Pure" candles with essential oils would consider putting a preservative like polysorbate 80 in their products!Many FOs contain essential oils but could never be considered a "natural" fragrance, yet on labels all it has to say is "contains essential oils" and folks THINK it means that that is how the fragrance is derived. The label can say that if there is one nanogram of essential oil in there!! This is most certainly a caveat emptor issue - let the buyer beware!Essential oils DO have a definition. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil An essential oil is any concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants, which are called aromatic herbs or aromatic plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove.HOW the essential oils are distilled, the vehicle in which they are diluted, and from what (ie. an organically cultivated plant, a wild speces, etc.) is what makes the difference in the "purity" of the product. The link above gives a good working description of all of this...I am also interested in making pure soy essential oil candles.There is no such thing as a "pure soy candle." My best suggestion to you is to read, read, read about soy waxes here. There is no industry definition for "100% soy" - it's a marketing lie designed to make those interested in organic and green living THINK that they are buying or making a product that is somehow "better" than other waxes. Please read up on this and don't fall for the hype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misty0420 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Here's some info given by Aroma Naturals, from the Greenspace website:For Aroma Naturals, candle fragrance is the key to making a healthy candle. "It's more important that the smell comes from essential oils than where the wax comes from," says owner Tina Rocca-Lundstrom. "There are more harmful toxins from synthetic fragrance than there are from food-grade paraffin." The Irvine, Calif.-based company's candles are made from three different wax varieties, including 100 percent vegetable wax, beeswax and paraffin."Currently, there are no government labeling requirements for candles, so manufacturers don't have to list ingredients. Retailers and consumers need to educate themselves about candle ingredients, Rocca-Lundstrom says. "They'll buy a soy candle to avoid petrochemicals, but then it has artificial fragrance with all kinds of harsh chemicals in it," she says.The company's two staff aromatherapists source essential oils from around the globe. The oils are tested with the waxes to make sure they are the right quality and burn properly before they are purchased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misty0420 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 I am also interested in making pure soy essential oil candles. I have not done any testing but would like to know you experiences.What happens when you put to much essential oil? Do some essential oils catch fire? I heard that to much lavender can make someone faint.I'm not even close to being an expert on this subject, but I do know that I've put in a lot of time and energy into the testing. Throughout the past year, I've had one candle set fire because of too much oil. The top just kind-of got engulfed by the flame, but I was there to blow it out. I can't tell you exactly how much oil I had in it, or what oil it was, because it was early on before I began keeping records of my tests. Since then I've been using right under 1 oz of oil per pound of wax and haven't had any other issues. I do remember that the oil that caught fire was a citrus...maybe orange and peppermint??I've never heard of lavender making someone faint. I use lavender in some of my candles, and I feel that it's a universal scent that almost everyone likes. So, right now I'm still testing. I'm increasing the amount of essential oil to 1 oz per pound to 1.5 oz. per pound. I'm also going to try a different wax. If I don't have more luck with the scent throw, I'm going to start experimenting with fragrance oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I find it amazing that people interested in "all natural" and "Pure" candles with essential oils would consider putting a preservative like polysorbate 80 in their products!Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier. You add one to your soy wax too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier.My bad. :embarasseYou add one to your soy wax too.If I do, I sure don't know it, thanks to no ingredient labeling on an additive (USA) I sometimes use... or it may already be in the vegetable waxes (NatureWax C3 & Ecosoya PB) that I use, not that they have ingredients listed either. I could be adding guar gum or methyl-ethyl badstuff for all I know.:rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneeM Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 We tried to use essential oils and with no success. The way it was explained to me was essential oils are very heavy and will sink to the bottom of the wax. I've heard that a person can use an additive that will make it adhear to the wax better, but its still not the same as a synthetic fo. Someone mentioned stearic acid to me (never tried this) and someone else mentioned vybar (didn't try this either because I didn't want extra things in our candles). I agree that there is no such thing as a "pure" soy candle once you add an fo. Many companies make many claims, take them for what they're worth. Good luck with getting them to give off a great hot throw with essential oils! It's something I totally gave up on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 We tried to use essential oils and with no success. The way it was explained to me was essential oils are very heavy and will sink to the bottom of the wax. I've heard that a person can use an additive that will make it adhear to the wax better, but its still not the same as a synthetic fo. Someone mentioned stearic acid to me (never tried this) and someone else mentioned vybar (didn't try this either because I didn't want extra things in our candles). This is not true!! I've been using EO's straight and mixed with my FO's for years and have never had a true EO sink to the bottom of the wax. Even patchouli EO, which if well aged can be very thick, will mix great with wax. The only time I can see this happening is if the EO is cut with some other type of oil. This is why buying your EO's from a reputable supplier is important.....quality is a must!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneeM Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I was only stating what my experience was and then what i'd heard after that. Do you use C3 as well? Do you add things to the wax to get it to bind? I'd love to know how you do it because like I said, we tried and could never achieve the scent throw without using synthetic oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernCharm Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I have experminented with Euclyptus, Peppermint, and Lavender EO's. I used it in CB-Adv wax and got great CT & HT with the Euclyptus. Peppermint was a little week on the HT. lavender not HT at all. We started with 10 drops pp and moved up to 15 drops pp. We didn't have any problems with it sinking it to the bottom. One problem that we did have was with the Peppermint... The wax completely pulled away from the jar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 If I do, I sure don't know it, thanks to no ingredient labeling on an additive (USA) I sometimes useUSA = emulsifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 USA = emulsifier.Yeah, Top, I know it contains an emulsifier, but which emulsifier? I think you've stated before that you think that USA is panalite, but no one is sure. I appreciate your input but I would rather have an accurate ingredient list on the products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmeroo Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier. You add one to your soy wax too.Hi Top! Is this USA? Hmmm.I just just used USA for the first time and am impressed with the hot throw and smoothness of the wax.Well whatever USA is I like it!Kimmeroo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Always get excellent cold and hot throw in palm crystal pillar and GB414 soy container with EO. We only use pure EO and at 5%. Vanilla is the only weak one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbiepql Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I tried their candles and I was very unimpressed. I guess it all boils down to what you are buying a candle for. If I want to scent my home, it's not going to be an aromatherapy experience, I would use a oil diffuser for that! If I want to get a true benefit from aromatherapy - I better be able to actually smell the candle. I can't really say that of theirs unless I was right on top if it and within a foot of it! Granted I did not try all of them - but I was curious to see what the difference would be in EO AND "pure plant aromas". I don't know what a pure plant aroma is, but in their candles essential oils are not the only scenting medium? Also it kinda made me curious to try a candle for $6.00 that was hand poured by an aromatherapist! Wow, what deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I've smelled big company candles and they don't smell like pure essential oils at all. On the other hand when I try ones from smaller companies (ie in the city I live in) they smell similar to mine and I can tell they are essential oils.With CB Advanced and Enchanted Lites I get pretty good HT but with stronger scents EO's like Peppermint, Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender and I use about 10%. The lighter EO's are harder to get a HT with and I've heard Coconut oil works well and have only tried it once but used too much. I always get a stronger throw with FO's though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Always get excellent cold and hot throw in palm crystal pillar and GB414 soy container with EO. We only use pure EO and at 5%. Vanilla is the only weak one.ALL EOs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeana Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Always get excellent cold and hot throw in palm crystal pillar and GB414 soy container with EO. We only use pure EO and at 5%. Vanilla is the only weak one.How can you have vanilla EO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SliverOfWax Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Vanilla comes from vanilla beans which come from vanilla orchids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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