Wax scenties is used to fragrance a room by melting them
in oil burners and thereby releasing the fragrance through
heat. The great thing about them is that it can be used over
and over again. As soon as the fragrance in the wax is
exhausted you simply add more drops and of you go.
It is recommended however that you use a large oil burner
as a small amount of wax scenties may overheat and start
smoking. To help prevent overheating of the wax it is also
recommended that only tealight candles be used in the
burner or alternatively use an electric oil or
fragrance burner.
To make wax scenties you will need paraffin wax, stearin,
candle dye and a candle fragrance of your choice. If you
can manage to find a "deepish" baking tray that would be
great, otherwise any old ice cream or plastic container
will work as well.
Pour water into the container untill it is about 2cm deep, then pour the
water into a jug and measure the weight on a scale. If for example you've
measured 1kg of water on the scale you will need to melt approxametily the
same amount of wax to achieve a layer of wax that is 2cm thick.
Roughly calculate about 20% stearic acid and melt it in a seperate pot.
Melt the 1kg of paraffin wax at the same time. The temperature of both
pots is not important because both the wax and stearin must just reach a
liquid state, but if you like you can use a temperature of 70 degrees celcius
and lower as the optimal pouring temperature. At this stage make sure to
add the candle dye to the paraffin wax and then about 5% fragrance oil to the
stearic acid and stir both thoroughly. Now add the paraffin to the stearin
mixture and stir once again.
Now slowly pour all of the contents into the container or baking tray
and leave it to cool untill it reaches a stage where it is solidified but
still warm to the touch. As soon as the wax feels like a very stiff
dough it is ready for the next step.
Now use a paint scraper or similar sharp object and start slicing
through the wax with each slice more or less 2cm apart.
Do this through the length and then the width so that
you will basicaly end up with a tray full of 2cm cubes, it's
almost like cutting up fudge blocks.
Now you can use your hands to start breaking the wax
into cubes, but before you do I advise you slip on a pair
of latex kitchen gloves or otherwise your hands will smell
like a perfume factory. This will also protect your skin from
absorbing any harmfull fragrance compounds.
As you break the cubes place them onto one or two
sheets of grease proof paper to allow them to cool
completely. Once cooled completely your wax scenties
is ready to be used. The entire process is really simple
and the finished product not only looks great but
make very nice and fragrant gifts.
Here's a great tip, add a small amount of red dye to make
rose pienk and package it in a glass sweet jar, it almost
looks just like yummy turkish delight. Enjoy!
