Wax melts are an excellent way to add a lovely aroma to your room to help you relax after a long day. You can also use different scented wax melts for different situations, as certain scents can help you concentrate if needed.
But what happens if the scent in your wax melts is not strong enough? Can you make the fragrance stronger?
There are several aspects that can affect the strength of the scent of your wax melts, but you can help increase the strength of the smell by adding more fragrance oils to the wax, curing the wax properly, or adding the fragrance oils to the wax at a lower temperature.
What are a few things that could affect the strength of the fragrance of your wax melts? We will go through this and how to make the scents stronger in detail below!
What Could Affect the Scent Throw of Wax Melts?
With wax melts and candles, the term we use to describe the fragrance’s strength when used is called the scent throw of the wax melt or candle.
This scent throw is then further broken down into cold throw (the fragrance the wax gives off while solid) and hot throw (the fragrance the wax gives off when melted).
In this article, we will cover the hot throw of your wax melts as nothing is more disappointing than when you try to relax after a busy day with the calming scents of your wax melts, only to have them not throw their fragrance like you thought they would.
There are several reasons why your wax melts might not be throwing their scent as well as you hoped they would. Let’s look at these reasons to better understand your wax melts and how their scent throw works.
You Did Not Add Enough Scent to the Wax Melt
Whether you are making your own wax melts or buying them, this reason for them not throwing their scent well will apply to both.
If you do not add enough of the fragrance into your wax melts when you are making them, they will not have a good scent throw as the fragrance is not strong enough to permeate through the entire room you are using them in.
This could be due to low-quality ingredients used in the making if the wax melts or inexperience, but both can easily be fixed. When you are buying ready-made wax melts, it may be worth it to go for the slightly more expensive options to ensure you have a good scent throw when you use them.
The more subtle the fragrance type is in your wax melts, the more they will struggle to defuse across the room in heated wax burners. So, if you have a heated wax burner, you need to add more wax to the wax melts to allow the fragrance to be released before it burns away.
The Size of The Room You Use Wax Melts In
When you are using your wax melts, you need to keep in mind the size of the room you are using them in. Larger rooms or open spaces will require more or stronger fragranced wax melts than smaller rooms or enclosed spaces.
This is because the fragrance of the wax melts needs to travel a greater distance in a larger room to reach you than if they were used in a smaller room, and the fragrance will take a longer time to get to you in a larger space.
This may make you feel like your wax melts are not fragranced well when they are. So, you need to use the right amount of wax melts for the room you are using them in to ensure you receive the best results.
The Type of Burner Used Can Affect Scent Throw
The type or strength of the wax burner you use can also affect the scent throw of the wax melts you have. If you know you have good quality wax melts with a good fragrance, but you are having trouble with the scent throw of the product, then this could be due to your wax burner.
If you use your wax melts in a large room, you need to have a wax burner bulb with a wattage of 40, but don’t go higher than this as this could decrease the lifespan of your wax burner itself.
If you have a smaller space, the recommended bulb for your wax burner is between 15 and 35 watts. If you use these recommended strengths for your burner, you will most likely get your desired results.
The type of wax burner you use can also determine the scent throw of your wax melts. You need to ensure you buy a good quality burner with a good reputation to get the best results.
Where Your Wax Burner Is Situated in the Room
The location and height of your wax burner in the room will also affect the scent throw of the wax melts you use.
Suppose you want to optimize the scent throw of your wax melts. In that case, you need to place your wax burner at a low or medium height, like on a coffee table or a mantelpiece, ensuring it’s safely out of reach from children or pets, and avoid closed areas like bookshelves for safety.
This will help with the scent throw as heat rises, and so will the fragrance of the wax melts. This will help the scent defuse over a wider area at nose height, ensuring you smell the lovely aroma you have chosen to burn.
How Long You Leave Your Wax Burner On
The length of time you leave your wax burner on is important to note as it can decrease your sensitivity to the scent in the wax melts you are using. If you leave your Wax burner on 24/7, then this can subconsciously cause something known as nose blinding.
If you do this, then you are making yourself immune to that particular scent, and you will not be able to smell it as well as you did before you used it for long periods on your burner. You have basically gotten used to the smell when this happens, so you will not notice it as much.
The Curing Process You Used for Your Wax Melts
The way that your wax melts were cured will also affect the scent throw they have and the longevity of the fragrance itself. Curing is the chemical process that occurs when the fragrance oils and the wax bind together to make the wax melts.
This curing process can take anywhere between 2 to 21 days to complete. The length of time will be determined by the type of wax used to make the wax melts.
Soy wax generally takes two weeks to cure completely, while some paraffin wax can cure in 48 hours. The general rule with curing is that the longer you leave your wax melts to cure, the stronger both the cold and hot scent throw will be, so cure your wax melts for as long as you can.
How You Stored the Wax Melts
The way you store your wax melts could affect the longevity of the fragrance oils in them. You need to ensure that your wax melts are stored in a dry and cool location that doesn’t receive direct sunlight or heat that could begin to melt the wax.
You need to make sure your wax melts are in an airtight container and are not exposed to the scents around them. If your wax melts are not stored correctly, they can begin to lose their scent after a few days, so this is really important if you want to preserve their smell.
The Airflow in the Room You Use Wax Melts In
When you are using your wax melts, you need to take note of the airflow in the room you are using them. We all generally use air conditioners in the summer and central heating in the winter, both of which can affect the airflow in the room and the way the scent from the wax melts spread.
You need to try and keep your wax burners away from the direct airflow from these systems and away from open windows as these can decrease the scent throw of the wax melts and affect the direction of the scent.
How to Help Increase the Scent Throw of Wax Melts
Now that you know what could be affecting the strength of the scent throw of your wax melts, we can go over how you can try to increase the strength of their fragrance.
If you have gone through and fixed all the possible reasons mentioned above, and you still don’t have a strong fragrance defusing from your wax melts, then one of the methods below could help you fix the problem.
Let’s go through these fixes so you can go back to enjoying strong, relaxing fragrances from your wax melts.
Add More Fragrance to Your Wax Melts
When you are making your wax melts and you know you are using a particularly delicate smell, you can add a bit extra of the fragrance oils you are using. This should help boost the fragrance when you place the melts in your wax burner.
Alternatively, if you have already made the wax melts and don’t want to start the whole process again, you can add a few drops of the fragrance oils into the wax burner as the wax melts start melting. This will help the smell defuse better and be stronger.
Use Stronger Scents in Your Wax Melts
If you find that you always need to use extra fragrance oils in your wax melts or you always need to add extra to your wax burner, then you may need to try stronger scents.
This could be due to you becoming used to that particular smell as you use it often, or the scent is very delicate by nature, and it’s difficult to increase the strength of its aroma.
You can use essential oils in your wax melts as they tend to have a stronger fragrance than other scent options, so you will need to use less of these oils to create stronger smelling wax melts.
Cure Your Wax Melts Properly
Whether you are making your wax melts or buying them, this will apply to both circumstances. You need to cure your wax melts correctly, or they will not have a strong smell when you use them, or they could begin to lose their scent faster.
It is recommended that you cure your wax melts for at least two weeks, no matter the type of wax you use. This will ensure that the wax and the fragrance oil you used to make the melts are mixed well.
If you brought your wax melts, then it’s recommended that you leave them to cure for an extra few days before you use them as you don’t know how long they were cured for. This will ensure you get the best scent throw out of them that you can.
Add Your Fragrance in at a Lower Temperature
If you keep having problems with the strength of your wax melts fragrance, then you could be adding the fragrance oils into the wax too early when the wax is still too hot. This can cause the fragrance oils to burn away before the wax solidifies, basically making an unscented wax melt.
The best time to add your fragrance oils into your wax is when the wax is at 185°F, and stir it in gently, ensuring it’s mixed thoroughly into the melted wax.
Use a Different Type of Wax
If you are having problems with the strength of the fragrance in your wax melts, it might be due to the type of wax you are using to make the melts. There are many different types of wax that you can use to create your wax melts.
Each type of wax has different melting points and a unique chemical makeup that will affect how the fragrance oils react and how long they last when you add them to the wax. You should experiment with various wax types to find the one that works best for you and the fragrance oils you use.
Final Thoughts
Many things can affect the scent throw of your wax melts in varying degrees, but you should be able to fix them all to help increase the smell of your wax melts. There are various methods you can use to help improve the fragrance of the melts that are easy to do and will not require a lot more time and effort from you.
Good Luck with your wax melts!
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.