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The ultimate debate involves using synthetic fragrance oil instead of essential oils for scenting candles, but are these two items really in competition?
Not really.
There’s a clear market for “natural” candles around the world, which leaves no choice for candle makers serving this demographic.
They have to use essential oils or no oils at all, and commonly use vegetable-based wax like soy or coconut.
To this particular market, it often doesn’t matter how strong the candle smells because the promise of what the candle is made of usually trumps the candle’s performance.
This is good news for candle makers in that market because they can focus less on high-performance candles and more on their ingredients.
If you’re out to create the strongest smelling, best looking candle, you probably don’t want to mess around with essential oils unless you have a lot of time and money to spend on them.
They bring complications in temperature management and a much higher price tag than synthetic “equivalents”.
For example, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils cost around $25 for one pound whereas the synthetic equivalent is only $9.
Considering that fragrance is the most expensive part of candles, the cost of research and development becomes dramatically higher for essential oil candles with minimal promise of strong performance and long shelf life.
Synthetic fragrance oils are engineered for candle making, which is what makes them so alluring.
They often include essential oils as an ingredient, but also have a variety of different substances meant to enhance the more desirable aspects of fragrance in candle wax.
An additional benefit is the wide variety of flavors you can’t replicate with essential oils.
If you’re a complete beginner to the craft, start with synthetic fragrance oil to understand the process and technique. When you have a system for creating safe, well-performing candles then you can transition into essential oils.
Building a framework for candle making is imperative to success.
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