Scented tarts, scented bars and co.

AromaCare® Lab has simple tutorials for preparing scented tarts.

The technique is not different from that of making candles:
 Melt the wax, add color and fragrance, pour in to the mold, demold, pack, done. 

In this post, we're going to have some general information for making scented wax which could be interesting as well for candle making (up to information about wicks, which are still failing).

To make scented wax or tarts or whatever they are called you need: 

Wax, fragrance oils or essential oils, colorants, a mold, Spatula, spoons or sticks for stirring and a pot to melt the wax.

a)Wax
 The following waxes are available at the moment 

1- Paraffin is the cheapest and the most applied wax for candle production. It is compatible to all sorts of perfume oil and essential oil, is easily molded and demolded, keeps the scent and color for a long time. But it is gained from petroleum. Both it's production and it's application are not environmental friendly. Most often you'll find Paraffin-Stearin mixtures for candle making. If you're not an orthodox environmental activist ypu may still prepare your scented tarts from Paraffin. We do not apply Paraffin in AromaCare® products.

2-Soy wax is specially popular in USA. It is an environmental friendly replacement for Paraffin. A great part of eco candles are made from Soy wax. However soy wax is very soft and has a low melting point (massage candles are made from soy wax). So you can not prepare freestanding candles with 100% soy wax. They are specially suitable for jar candles. Another disadvantage of soy is it's incompatibility with fragrance oils and essential oils. Soy soaks or eats the fragrance up so you can not really prepare scented waxes and candles which smell over a long period. Soy has a melting point around 50 ^oC and is available in blocks or pellets.

3- Stearin or better say Palmstearin is achieved from palm oil, so if you meticulously avoid palm oil and its products, you'll avoid stearin. Stearin has a very beautiful crystalline texture which is seen in stearin waxes and candles. It's very compatible with fragrance oils and essential oils. Has a melting point between  54-56 ^oC and is easy to weight and apply because is supplied in flakes. We apply exclusively stearin in AromaCare® scented waxes.

4- Rapeseed wax is very popular in Europe. Rapeseed is one of the most ecological waxes both from a production and an application point of view. There are different waxes available on the market with melting points from 52-70 ^oC for freestanding candles as well as jar candles. Rapeseed wax is very compatible with fragrance oils and essential oils and keeps the scent for a long time to then liberate it by melting. All of AromaCare® scented candles are made with Rapeseed wax.

b)Colorants
Like candle making, you may apply color tablets or pigments for preparation of scented tarts and waxes.

Color tablets are pigments already dissolved in a paraffin matrix. They are generally easier to apply than pigments. 

Pigments are wax/oil soluble coloring agents and are slightly more difficult to apply than tablets.

Both pigments and color tablets should be applied in very small quantities. A small piece is enough for 1-5 kg of wax. 

c)Fragrance
you may apply essential oils or perfume oils for your scented waxes and candles. In both cases it is important to make sure that your fragrance material is heat safe and do not produce any unwanted, poisonous by products under the influence of heat. Fragrance oils are applied between 9-15%. Essential oils between 6-10%.

d) Mold
You can apply each desired mold for your scented wax. We recommend silicone chocolate molds. It is easy to demold the wax pieces and the waxes are exactly the right weight (6-8 gr)

e) Wax pot
You can apply any heat safe pot to melt and pour the wax. Please keep in mind that Stearin wax is slightly acidic so you can not apply aluminum for this wax. A stainless steel milk pot is a very good choice. 

f) Utensils

you may need a large pot for the water bath. Never heat wax directly or in a microwave. Fill your larger pot up to 1/3 with water and put it on the oven. You wax melter is placed in the bigger pot. The temperature depends on the applied wax .

A thermometer to read the temperature. It's specially important to know the  temperature before adding fragrance.

Spatulas to weight or stir. We apply chopsticks to stir wax.

Disposable pipettes for your fragrance.

And of course a scale. A small kitchen scale would suffice for preparing scented wax. If you're already an alchemist and prepare cosmetics yourself and have other scales available, then use them. 

Application of scented tarts and general safety information:

Scented waxes/tarts are placed in the bowl of an aroma lamp (without water) in which a candle is burning. You may use the wax for several days and weeks depending on the quality and quantity of the applied fragrance. 
Use the aroma lamp in 1 hour intervals. Air the room thoroughly between intervals.  
Never let a burning candle unattended. Burn candles out of reach of children and pets.
Keep lit candles a safe distance from flammable materials such as curtains or dry spruce.