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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye
You have total control over how your candles look and smell if making your own candles. There are a myriad of choices for adding your own colors and scents to produce a candle which is individually yours. Craft shops and candle making suppliers stock scents and dyes developed specifically for home-made candles from many different materials, but be sure you know what is flammable if adding things to wax.
Adding scents
Only add scents to the hot wax after it has been taken away from the heat source. Check for flammability of the scent at a low temperature before adding any essential oils to prevent a dangerous situation. Many of the cheaply developed candles you obtain in discount stores will not use scent added to all the wax, instead topping off the candle at the end with scent added after the bulk of the candle has cooled. if you want a really adept quality of scent, add the oils to all the wax you are using when the wax has completely melted.
The choice for scent is yours, but some instinctual scents are stronger than others. Vanilla essence makes for a strong vanilla scent and is typically the most ordinarily used fragrance in home candle making. Combinations of other scents can be used to create specialty scents-- popular ‘recipes’ include ‘holiday’ fragrances – pine scent with cinnamon added, or ‘rose cream’ – rose necessary oil with vanilla added. You will only want a small amount of scent– roughly half a teaspoon will produce a adept clear scent.
Where will you be placing your candle? Do you wish a zingy scent for the kitchen? Citrus scents such as orange or lemon are best for this. For an aromatherapy experience, use lavender and geranium, or lilac. For a bedroom candle, use rose oil for sensuality, or eucalyptus for soothing a cold – but remember to never leave a candle burning whenever you are in danger of falling asleep – this could lead to a serious risk of house fire.
Adding Colour
You can purchase dye chips at your craft store or candle making supplier. Add a little at a time since you can always add more recent but take into consideration that wax changes colour as it cools and hardens. Test a small amount of wax on a non-flammable surface to ensure you are getting the shade that you hope.
You can also add colour using liquid dyes, which are simpler and can be dropped into the molten wax with an eye-dropper. Add these once you’ve poured the candle, and try experimenting with different dyes and cooling times - they can give a wonderful rainbow effect, whenever adding scent and colour, have fun matching the fragrance with the appropriate colours.
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