I have been away for a while, and have just been let out (wriggled my way out of a white jacket!) - lots of newbies.  Hello to all!!

If you look at the SK website, they are selling EOs in the candle making section.  Is this just a marketing ploy, or are EOs that are suitable for candle making different to any other? :buttrf:

You really have to saturate a candle with EO in order to get any fragrance out of it, so I imagine yes, it's probably stronger stuff, but I'd honestly have to have a look at their percentages.

Hmmm..... there are different grades of EO, some are not as good as others.  It could be that these are lower grades or, like you said, a marketing ploy.  Do they mention anything about purity?

P.S.  Nice to see you about Suzanne 

It just says aromatherapy grade oils suitable for fragrancing candles.  I may just have to ask them and see what they say...Watch this space.

I have had a reply back from The SK.  The oils for candles are just good old EO, with nothing else added.  So now we know!

Thanks for coming back on this Suzanne.  I think EO's in candles does have the added therapeutic value and most EO's are disinfectants so help to purify the air too 

I had a go at making tea lights fragranced with essential oils last Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't get much in the way of scent. When I increased the amount of essential oils, I got mini Olympic torches - it burned using the whole surface of the candle, not just the wick.

I concluded from this that essential oils do not work well in candles. However, I think I may have been a little hasty. I think that they might work with the right wax, but that Ikea tea lights do not contain that sort of wax. They should just be burned as Ikea intended - they work much better that way.

Does anyone have any success stories about essential oils in candles? I expected it to work because the wax was heated up to a temperature which facilitated the evaporation of the essential oils when it was in liquid form. I have had commercially-bought candles which claim to contain essential oils and they have been great. No idea what sort of wax they used, though...

Maybe the problem was the fact it was a tea lite maybe??  You know, being smaller and maybe hotter??

Is smaller necessarily hotter? I assumed that it was just cheap wax and would burn at whatever temperature it felt like, rather than at a useful temperature. Also, I have a feeling of deja vu. Did we already have this conversation?

Mind you, tea lights do have that metal covering, which would help to distribute heat quickly. That could contribute to it heating up excessively.

I think that it is a good idea not to be too much of a cheapskate (like me), and to buy appropriate wax. Did I wander from the point there? (so tired...)

Hi

I did make a votive container candle earlier in the year (photograph on the forum somewhere).  It worked really well, although it could have done with a little more scent.  I went for caution just in case I set the place on fire.

It is really worth having a go.