Is it always necessary to mix fragrance oils with solvents before mixing with wax?

[Alexis73]

Is it always necessary to use a carrier/solvent (DEP/DOA) or the fragrance can be mixed directly into the wax?
Are there specific types of fragrances that need a solvent and others not?
My latest attempt for a fragrance for a candle was Bornafix (IFF) (10%) DOA solvent (15%) and paraffin wax (75%) but there is no smell at all.
I was surprised because according to IFF Borfafix works very well in candles.

[mnitabach]

Bornafix on its own is a pretty subtle scent & in a candle may not be particularly discernable above the burning candle smell itself. Perhaps try including higher impact materials in the fragrance blend along with the bornafix?

[Bill Roberts]

I don't know the answer to your question; I would think probably not. Some materials will dissolve directly into wax, others will require a cosolvent. But you should get a better answer from someone who makes candles, as I do not.

The reason for replying despite that lack of knowledge is to advise it would be clearer to not use the term "fragrance oil" for aromachemicals such as Bornafix, or for essential oils, absolutes, or resins.

The term refers to commercial diluted mixtures of aromachemicals and/or naturals, usually cheaply formulated.

[Alexis73]

Bornafix on its own is a pretty subtle scent & in a candle may not be particularly discernable above the burning candle smell itself. Perhaps try including higher impact materials in the fragrance blend along with the bornafix?

Indeed I added 30gr of Bornafix in 150gr of wax (without using any solvent), although it blended well (no bleeding) there is no smell still

[mnitabach]

As far as I am aware, Bornafix is not intended as a standalone scent, but is a supporting material for fragrance blends. Your observations make perfect sense, relate to the intrinsic properties of Bornafix, and have nothing to do with inclusion or exclusion of solvents. If you want to make a candle that smells good, you need to design or obtain an actual fragrance blend and use that.

[Kittycat74]

I have a little candle biz and am now branching out into making my own fragrance oil blends, though I don't use paraffin wax. A single aroma chemical is really unlikely to project much at all, and particularly base notes - they tend to get lost. You would need to create a blend, just as you would for a regular perfume. And concentrate on amplifying the top and mid notes. That being said, citrus and oils with low boiling points can behave very badly (burn, smell acrid etc). Consider aroma chemicals with greater odour impact and avoid things that are too balsamic and thick and ethereal - they'll get completely lost. Your wick is probably the most important aspect, so make sure it's the correct wick for your wax and diameter of vessel. Hope that helps : )

One more thought..your fragrance content (including solvent) amounts to 25% of your formula. Fragrance load shouldn’t be more than around 10%- often more likely around 8% for paraffin. So, for example, a 10% fragrance load for 200g total finished product weight (wax and fragrance combined) would be 181.8g of wax and 18.2g of frag. Many people get confused and add 10% frag to the wax weight, which effectively lowers your fragrance load, resulting in a weaker hot throw. Hope that makes sense!

[Alexis73]

Thank you very much for all the info, very helpful! My initial approach was to search in the IFF website for products that perform well in candles and have good volatility (https://www.iff.com/en/scent/fragran...ine-compendium) - you can sort your search based on that. But apparently that was less helpful than I thought.
I will keep experimenting with essential and fragrance oils.