Here we have listed frequently asked questions that we hope beginners and more experienced wax melt and candle makers will find of use:

What is the best wax to use for wax melts and candles ?

If you ask this question you will get an answer which reflects the preferred wax of that wax melt of candle maker We have written a few words on the pro's and con's  of different waxes here

I've opened the bottle of fragrance oil and don't like the smell. Is it faulty ?

Testing the fragrance notes of a fragrance oil on 'cold sniff' will not give you the full range of fragrance notes. You need to make the oil into your final product to test. For wax melts we recommend 'burning' for 15 minutes to release all of the fragrance notes. Fragrance oils will smell less from the bottle in colder weather. Here are some words around fragrance notes  

I'm not getting and hot throw from my candle - help !

Candles are trickier to get right than wax melts. Sometimes using too high a percentage of fragrance oil in the candle can clog the wick. Try reducing the percentage of fragrance oil (we recommend 5 to 8%). Make test candles with different wicks to see which wick works best for creating a good melt pool and giving good fragrance throw. There is a lot of trial and error but the extra effort is worth it.

Do your fragrance oils contain Lilial ?

Lilial (Butylphenyl Methylpropional) is now banned in many products and is only allowed at small percentages in others. Our fragrance oils don't contain Lilial  and are free from many other 'nasties'. There is a blog on the chemicals that our fragrance oils are free from here, along with a brief explanation of why we don't allow them in our fragrance oils.

What is the maximum percentage of fragrance oiI can use ?

This depends on what you are going to use the fragrance oil for and the individual fragrance oil. IFRA 49 (now IFRA 50) changed the rules on reed diffuser percentages and many fragrance oils can now no longer be used at a high enough percentage to give a good fragrance throw. Check the IFRA document attached to the fragrance oil for maximum percentage allowed. Don't use the maximum percentage as a target to aim for. Because a fragrance oil can be used at 100%, according to IFRA, doesn't mean you need to be anywhere near this percentage in your products.

What Is IFRA ?

IFRA (The International FRagrance Association) is a self regulatory body set up to promote the safe use of fragrances. IFRA limits or prohibits the use of fragrancing materials is various applications. You will find the IFRA document for all of our fragrance and essential oils on the listing for each fragrance oil on our website. We wrote a blog on IFRA here 

What is CLP ? Do I need to display it ?

CLP (Classification, Labelling & Packaging Regulations) is needed on candles, room sprays, reed diffusers and wax melts. It contains standard information including hazard pictograms, hazard statements, precautionary statements and your business address. Here is CLP guidance. Note that this was the current version at the time of writing and may have since been superseded.

Do you offer collection of orders ?

Yes. You can collect from our unit in Rotherham by prior arrangement. We will refund all of the postage charge for collections.

Do you offer fragrance oils in bottles smaller than 60ml ?

60ml is the smallest size that we offer for fragrance oils. The cost of a smaller bottle, filling the bottle and labelling would mean that a smaller volume works out really expensive per ml. Instead we offer wax melt samples at competitive prices. 

What is your approach to sustainability and the environment ?

Our other business is a waste management business where we look to move waste up the waste hierarchy to more environmentally friendly solutions. We carry this approach into our fragrance oil business. Here is a blog on our approach here

Can I Mix Fragrance Oils ?

Yes you can mix fragrance oils to create a 'house blend'. You will need to have CLP and SDS recalculated to reflect the new mix. Whilst some house blends can smell great, some smell less great. Our fragrance oils are formulated by perfumers who understand the balance of scents and create a fragrance oil where the top, mid and base notes work together. This is a highly skilled job and the results speak for themselves. 

Do You Ship Fragrance Oils Via Royal Mail ?

No, we don't. Some fragrance oils can be shipped via Royal Mail but some are not permitted. There is a limit on the number of bottles, total volume of fragrance oil and the fragrance oils need to be contained in packaging that will not allow the oil to leak in the event of a breakage. Because of this, automating shipping via Royal mail, if it is possible, would require a massive ruleset. Instead we ship via DPD and discount the cost of shipping.

Can I Use Fragrance Oil In A Room Diffuser ?

Absolutely, yes you can. Before you make your reed diffuser mix check the IFRA document to see the maximum allowed percentage of fragrance oil. Also bear in mind that if you are using a hazardous base, you will need the CLP calculating for the oil in that base. We are adding CLP for our fragrance oil in Augeo Clean Multi to our fragrance oil listings. Please get in touch if the CLP is not there or you want the CLP calculating for our fragrance oil in a different base.

What Are the Different Types Of Room Diffusers ?

There are three main types of room diffusers:

Ultrasonic diffusers have a water bath where you add a few drops of fragrance oil or essential oil. These room diffusers use ultrasonic waves to break up the water / fragrance oil into a fine mist to fragrance the room. It is important to clean out the water bath daily to avoid bacterial build up.

Fan diffusers have a heating plate with a felt type pad attached to it. With these room diffusers you add a few drops of fragrance oil or essential oil to the felt pad and the combination of gentle heat and the fan distribute the scent around the room

Hot plate diffusers use a tea light or heat pad to warm up the diffuser. A few drops of fragrance oil or essential oil are added to water in the bowl to allow the fragrance to fill the room.

We use our room diffuser with our essential oil blends to create a relaxing environment.

Can I Use Fragrance Oils For Room Sprays ?

Room sprays can be a great option if you want to add some fragrance and aroma to your house. Room sprays can help eliminate the odour or simply freshen up a room with your favourite scent. Bear in mind that if you are using a hazardous base for your room spray that the CLP will need to be recalculated. We have written a blog on how to make room sprays here

What Products Can I Make With Fragrance Oils ?

Fragrance and Essential Oils can be used for a number of different products. Wax melts and candles are the most common uses for our fragrance oils but they can also be used for soaps, shampoos and conditioners, bath bombs, bath salts, perfume, cosmetics, cleaning products, car shampoo, room sprays and reed diffusers - the list goes on. Bear in mind that when making cosmetics you will need to follow cosmetic regulations as well as IFRA.

We are happy to state that our fragrance oils are used in a number of products and have passed independent assessment to be cruelty free. 

When using our fragrance and essential oils in any of these products, ensure that you follow the IFRA document for the fragrance oil to ensure that you are not exceeding the maximum allowed percentage for your chosen application.

What Is Fragrance Oil ?

Fragrance oils can contain a blend of natural, essential oils and synthetic fragrancing components. Fragrance oils tend to be less expensive than their equivalent essential oil counterpart (if they exist) and can contain fragrances that you would not naturally find in essential oils. For a little more detail on fragrance oils, read our blog.

How Do I Make Wax Melts ?

Wax melts are an easy introduction into making home fragrance products. You need a minimal amount of equipment to make wax melts. Click here to register for our free e-book on how to make wax melts. We sell a beginners kit to start you on your wax melt journey. The items in the kit have been chosen after years of wax melt making to give you the best start to wax melt making. Click here for our wax melt beginners kit

Are Your Fragrance Oils Pet Safe ?

We love our dogs here but lets face it, pets can be smelly animals and products that mask or eliminate the smells can be good sellers (eau de wet dog anyone ?). There is no standard for 'pet safe' fragrance oils so, unlike some fragrance oil suppliers, we will not say that our fragrance oils are pet safe as this is misleading and, should one of your customers pets react to the fragrance oil, you could be having an awkward conversation with that customer (at best). All of our fragrance oils are free from many of the nasties that are present in some suppliers fragrance oils. We do not advise using fragrance or essential oils around birds as they have a sensitive respiratory system. As with humans, pets can have allergies so our advice would be for customers using fragranced products around pets is to introduce with caution and make sure that their pet has no adverse reaction to the fragrance. It is worth mentioning that our fragrance oils can be used in animal sprays at the maximum percentage set out in IFRA 10B.

Can I Use Wax Melt & Candle CLP For Reed Diffusers & Room Sprays ?

 If you are using a non hazardous base then yes, you can use the 10 or 25% CLP (depending on your dilution). However, if you are using a hazardous base which is any base that has a pictogram showing on the label / SDS then no - you cannot. Hazardous bases include Augeo Clean Multi, perfumers alcohol and formulators alcohol. If using a hazardous base then the CLP needs to be recalculated based on the hazardous components and dilution. We are adding CLP to all of our fragrance oils for room sprays in perfumers alcohol and reed diffusers in Augeo clean multi. If you are using any other hazardous bases with our fragrance oils, get in touch and we will create the CLP for you. 

I've just sniffed the fragrance oil and cant smell much - why is this ?

Smelling a fragrance oil from the bottle will only give you the top notes of the scent. To release the mid and base notes you need to warm the oil to release the heavier mid and base note molecules. Fragrance oil will have much less smell from the bottle in colder weather as the cold oil will release even less of the top notes. Don't be put off by the lack of smell from the bottle. Make the product up and test the scent in its intended form (wax melt, candle etc). 

How Many Burns Will I Get From A Wax Melt ?

This all depends on the fragrance oil. A perfume 'dupe' will tend to be heavier in the top notes and the scent will be lost sooner than a more complex fragrance oil that has a mix of top, mid and base notes. Generally speaking we find that wax melts made with our fragrance oils will last for three tealights, some even more.

Do You Sell Essential Oils?

Although the majority of our stock is fragrance oils, we do sell essential oil blends. Blends of essential oil are not a mix of, say, lavender and lemon fragrance oils but are a blend of the components found within essential oils. We explain a bit more about the blends here. None of our essential oil blends are classed as flammable as flammable essential oil blends 'burn off' the fragrance quickly due to the high VOC's in the blend. Flammable oils are not something that we would recommend for use in candles and for these reasons we do not stock flammable fragrance oils or essential oils

How long should I leave my wax melts or candles to cure ?

There are a lot of myths around cure times, probably brought about from the cure times needed for soaps where water is removed from cold process soap through saponification. There is no similar process for wax melts and candles.  Typically, wax melts and, more so, candles need 48 hours to cure. This is for the molecules to settle as the wax / fragrance oil fully solidifies. Checking the wax manufacturers Technical Data Sheet will confirm the cure times for their product. We have written more detail around cure time for wax melts and candles here.

How do I stop soy wax from frosting ?

Frosting is white, less shiny patches seen especially on soy wax melts. Frosting occurs when the vegetable oil tries to return to its natural state and crystalises. Frosting can be minimised by following the ideal temperatures in the wax manufacturers Technical Data Sheet for melting and pouring temperatures. when adding dyes and fragrance oil, avoid excessive stirring as this can increase frosting. Pour and allow your wax melts or candles in a pleasant temperature. An excessively cold room or moulds can increase the risk of frosting. Making uncoloured wax melts and candles masks the frosting to a level. When using soy you will experience a level of frosting. Try to minimise frosting by taking the steps mentioned. Explain to your customers that frosting does occur with soy wax and, whist it can be minimised, it cannot be eliminated.

Why is the fragrance oil is sweating out  of my wax melts ?

Fragrance oil can sweat out of your wax for a number of reasons. Adding fragrance oil to wax at too low a temperature can mean that the two are not fully mixed which allows the oil to sweat out. Adding  a higher percentage of fragrance oil to wax can exceed the maximum 'loading' of fragrance oil that the wax can take which will also lead to the fragrance oil sweating out. Storing your wax melts in excessively hot conditions or exposed to direct sunlight can also increase the chances of fragrance oils sweating out of wax melts. Sweating can also occur in candles. Because of the way that candles throw the scent (through the wick and the melt pool) less fragrance oil can assist in the hot throw and the lower fragrance oil loading will also reduce the chances of sweating. 

Why do I have dips on my candle surface ?

 When a candle is poured and begins to set, the temperature at the edge of the candle will be cooler than that at the centre of the candle, near the wick. This will cause the wax to contract at different temperatures, causing sink holes in the candle which leads to dips in the surface. Sinkholes can be minimised by pouring the wax at the manufacturers recommended temperature in a room that is not excessively cold when the candle is poured and throughout the setting process. Warming teh candle container / mould can also reduce dips in your candle surface 

Why is my candle tunnelling ?

Candles not melting to the edge of the container and using only the wax close to the wick (tunnelling) can be issues with the making of the candle or the burning of the candle. When making the candle there are a number of factors to consider and to get the balance right :

• fragrance oil
• wick
• container
• wax

Fragrance oil viscosity and flash point will mean that different fragrance oils burn differently. Changing the percentage of fragrance oil will mainly impact the hot throw of the candle but can have an impact on tunnelling. The wick size and type has a huge impact on tunnelling. Test your candles and choose a wick that produces a melt pool across the top of the candle and, if making container candles, leaves clean sides on the container. Container size will determine the size of the melt pool. Container and wick need to work together to give a melt pool to the edge of the container. Wax plays a big part in the melt pool. Melting point will mean that the melt pool is formed quicker or slower. Chose an wax and wick combination that work together. When first burning your candle, leave to burn for a minimum of 2 hours and allow the melt pool to reach the sides of the container. If the wax pool is not allowed to reach the edge of the container, the candle will have a 'wax melt memory' and will not burn to the edge of the container in subsequent melts, leading to tunnelling. 

Which is the best thermometer for wax melt and candle making ?

The simple answer is that any thermometer that records the correct temperature is fine for wax melts. This could be a glass thermometer, analogue dial thermometer, digital thermometer or an infra red thermometer. To test their accuracy, measure the temperature of boiling water and crushed ice. You should get a reading of 100°C and 0°C respectively. We use an infra red thermometer simply because it is easy to use - just point it at the wax and you have the temperature on the display

Do You Sell Through Faire ?

Faire offers some great introductory incentives to buyers with £100 or more of free credit. Too good to be true ? Yes, it is. Faire take 15% commission on all orders and 10% extra on first orders as an introductory fee. On top of this they take 3% for immediate settlement. That's 28% of the selling price which explains why Faire can give away 'free' money - the vendor is funding this credit through massive commissions. Our margins are not high enough to take this kind of hit and we would rather sell our oils for a fair price to all customers than increase our prices to make faire a viable option for us.

Can Your Fragrance Oils Be Used In Gel Wax Melts ?

We only stock non polar fragrance oils which are required for making gel wax melts. To check the flash point of our fragrance oils open the 100% SDS for the fragrance oil and check section 9.1 where you will find the flash point.

Can Your Fragrance Oils Be Used To Make Perfume ?

Yes, our fragrance oils can, and are, used in perfumes and aftershaves. Always check the IFRA document for the maximum allowed percentage for each fragrance oil. Remember that you will need to have a cosmetic assessment for your finished product. 

Why Do My Uncoloured Wax Melts Have A Colour Tint ?

Some fragrancing components can colour wax when made up. In some wax melts this can happen immediately, in others it can develop over time. For example, our White Christmas Fragrance Oil  contains a lot of tangerine oil and this will instantly leave a creamy tint to the finished wax melt. Nag Champa Jasmine Fragrance Oil contains fragrancing components that leave a pink/peach tint that develops over time. You can either embrace to colour of the wax melt or add whitening powder to counteract the tinting

What Is The Maximum Percentage Of Fragrance Oil I Can Use In Wax Melts ?

This is determined by the IFRA document for each fragrance oil. We wrote a blog on this here

Do You Ship Fragrance Oils To Ireland ?

Yes. For Northern Ireland VAT is charged by us on purchases. For ROI we don't charge VAT as the goods are shipped DAP (delivered at place) where the customer pays taxes in country. DPD pay the taxes on the customers behalf and then request payment of taxes plus an admin fee (at the time of writing around €7) from the customer ahead of delivery. For goods over €150 DPD will also charge any duty applicable. Currently fragrance oil is zero rated for duty so there would be no duty applicable on fragrance oil orders, regardless of value.   

What are SLS and SLES (used in shampoo and liquid soap)

SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) is a surfactant, used in liquid soap and shampoo to reduce the surface tension of the ingredients and aid cleansing and foaming. Unlike SLS, SLES (sodium laureth sulfate) will not aggravate your skin or strip it of any excess moisture.

Skincare products containing SLES are equally cleansing, foaming and emulsifying as those containing SLS but they will also benefit your skin after use by leaving it feeling silky soft, smooth and nourished.

Do I Need CLP for Soap ?

Soap and other cosmetic products (shampoo, conditioner, perfume, body wash etc) need a Cosmetic Assessment rather than CLP. This ensures that the process and ingredients used to make cosmetic products are safe to use on the skin (allergies excepted). We have some CPSR (Cosmetic Product Safety Reports) created which can be logged against your business to give a cost effective way to create CPSR for your business.

IFRA Says that I can use 100% fragrance oil in my reed diffuser / wax melt. Should I use this much ? 

The maximum percentage of fragrance oil shown in any IFRA category is the theoretical maximum fragrance oil that can be used safely in that product. Because you can safely use this percentage in your reed diffuser or wax melt doesn't mean that you would use this percentage of fragrance oil. For reed diffusers we recommend testing at 15% and increasing from there. If you use too much fragrance oil, the scent throw will be poor as the oil will not 'wick' up the reeds and will not readily evaporate. 

Why Do Some Of Your Fragrance Oils Say Reed Diffuser Friendly ?

IFRA 49 made big changes to the percentage of many fragrancing components that could be used in reed diffusers. This meant that a lot of fragrance oils could no longer be used at a high enough percentage to work effectively in reed diffusers. We have had some of our fragrance oils re-formulated so that they can be used at a sufficiently high percentage to give good scent throw in reed diffusers. The fragrance remains the same but they can now be used in wax melts, candles and reed diffusers. To differentiate the two fragrance oils we added 'reed diffuser friendly' to the end of the fragrance oil name. We need to differentiate as the IFRA, SDS, Allergen Report and CLP are different for the two fragrance oils with the same name.

How Are Your Fragrance Oils Vegan When The SDS States Tested On Animals ?

Our fragrance oil manufacturer does not test on animals, nor to they buy raw materials from companies who test on animals. However, if there is information in the public domain that states that a component within the fragrance oil was tested on animals in the past (mostly '50's to '70's) then this must be stated on the SDS for that fragrance oil. To summarise, some of the components within the fragrance oil may have historically been tested on animals but our fragrance oil manufacturer has not, and does not buy from companies who test their products on animals.

 

 

ought components that are now