Best Candle Wax for Scent Throw

What is Scent Throw?

Scent throw is the fancy name for the scent that comes off a candle. Basically, the smell that is excreted from your wax candle is known as either the “scent throw” or the “fragrance throw”. The strength of your scent throw, meaning how pungent the fragrance of the candle is, depends on many different factors.

If you are struggling to find the best wax, best ingredients, and best procedures for making your ideal candles, you may need to stop and rethink your current operation. There is so much that goes into a candle that can affect the fragrance, such as the wick, the fragrance itself, and the type of wax you use. From soy wax to paraffin wax, there are a lot of options in making the perfect candle and improving scent throw.

How Can I Increase the Scent of My Candle Throw?

If you want to increase the scent of your candle throw, you need to consider more than just the fragrance itself. What quality fragrance oil are you using? What type of wax are you using to craft your candles? What about the wick, is it the right size or is it a little too skinny? What is the burn rate? There are a lot of things to consider when increasing your candle throw.

Fragrance

It is a very common misconception that more fragrance equals an increase in scent throw. This is simply not the case. The two biggest factors for determining scent throw are the percentage of your fragrance load and the quality of your fragrance oils. 

If you have too much fragrance, it may actually not workout to more smell. If the wax can’t hold all the oil, you can have burning issues and your scent throw will suffer. We recommend roughly 10% fragrance when using good quality wax.

As for a good quality fragrance, you really shouldn’t skimp when crafting candles. Cheaper fragrances often contain unpleasant chemicals that are detrimental to a powerful fragrance. Most pro candlemakers will recommend spending the extra money to get a quality fragrance. This will drastically increase the scent of your candle throw. 

Wick

You also need to consider the wick. The right size and style of the wick is critical for scent throw. See, to achieve an optimal melt pool, you need the correct wick. A proper melt pool is basically warm wax liquid which the fragrance evaporates easily from, filling the air with your desired fragrance molecules and giving an incredibly strong hot throw. 

If your melt pool does not spread to the edges of the container, you are missing out on some of the possible fragrance. If this is happening to you, chances are you will need to increase the thickness of your wick. Just be sure your wick is not too thick, otherwise, you will end up burning the wax rather than melting it. You never want a sooty discharge from your candle because of burning.

Wax

The type of wax you use has an enormous impact on both your cold throw and hot throw. The wax is the core of any candle, and it works like a sponge. The fragrance is locked inside of the wax, and as the wax melts, the fragrance seeps out of the inside like sweat from pores. 

If your wax is too tight, the fragrance is unable to escape and you will have a very poor scent throw. On the other hand, if your candle is too loose, the fragrance will seep out uncontrollably and evaporate way too fast. You need the right balance. 

What Kind of Wax Holds the Most Fragrance?

Paraffin Wax

There has long been a debate over what kind of wax holds the most fragrance and which offers the best scent throw. And guess what… they are the same! There is one wax that holds the most fragrance while still offering the best scent throw. I am of course talking about paraffin wax.

Paraffin waxes are petroleum-based and created by using crude oil. The scientific way to look at paraffin wax is that it is crafted from fossil fuels extracted from the earth, which are essentially decomposed plants and animals that have been turned into a mixture of hydrocarbons. Paraffin wax is made thanks to the lubricating oil refined from crude oil.

Because of this, a lot of people don’t like paraffin wax, as they don’t like using fossil fuel. However, paraffin wax does hold the most fragrance and has the best scent throw.

Paraffin wax is non-toxic, non-reactive, great at repelling water and other liquids, and is a colourless, clean-burning source of fuel. Paraffin wax burns slowly and easily while offering immense scent throw capabilities.

If you want the wax to hold maximum fragrance, you want to use paraffin wax when making candles. Paraffin wax also has exceptional adhesion to glass. 

Soy Wax

Soy wax is the only competition for paraffin wax and is even almost as good at holding fragrances. The difference is that soy wax is made from soybean oil and sometimes with other materials that are not soy. Soybean oil comes separated from the soybeans either by using a mechanical press or a specialized solvent. People prefer soy wax because it is more natural and has nothing to do with fossil fuels. 

Soy wax is non-toxic, made of 100% soybean oil (or close to it), is a clean burning source of fuel, and does not contain any colour whatsoever.

Why is Paraffin Wax Better than Soy Wax?

The scent throw is stronger with paraffin wax because paraffin wax burns easier than soy wax. This is because soy wax is too dense. You need more heat to burn the same amount of wax, which means it takes longer for the fragrance to be released from the soy wax candle. Paraffin wax burns easier and quicker and generates a stronger and more prevalent scent throw. It’s all about science.