Let me take you on a journey where science, meets scent and together, we'll unlock the mysteries of fragrance load, melt pool dynamics and the art of creating an olfactory masterpiece in your home.
First things first, let's talk about fragrance load – the magic ingredient that gives our wax melts it's incredible power.
Now the melt pool – that gorgeous liquid pool of wax that forms as your wax melt begins to melt in its burner dish.
The size of the melt pool is crucial for scent dispersion which is the process by which odour molecules travel through the air, spreading out and becoming perceptible to the olfactory system.
When an object emits an odour, volatile molecules are released into the surrounding environment.
These molecules move randomly and disperse throughout the air, carried by air currents, the wax melt burner heat and room temperature.
The dispersion of scent can be affected by various factors such as temperature, humidity, air currents, and the properties of the odour molecules themselves, as it determines how far and wide your fragrance will travel.
A larger melt pool means more surface area for fragrance molecules to escape into the air, resulting in a stronger scent throw that can fill your entire space.
But a high quality burner is needed for the right heat to carry the scent molecules into the air and throw it all around.
Here's where things get interesting – finding the perfect balance between how much wax to use to suit your space and personal preferences.
Let me share a personal anecdote to illustrate:
In my Victorian townhouse with high ceilings and ample square footage, I've found that using a FULL tub of wax melt in my living room burner works wonders, I literally only ever use one melt and one burner, this is purely because one melt suffices.
The scent reaches almost right into my attic, which serves as my home office, situated two flights of stairs up.
However, on days when I'm looking for a slightly milder aroma, I opt for half a tub of wax melt. This still reaches into the kitchen and the top of the first flight of stairs.
Certain fragrances are designed to be mega strong such as Dettol Pine and Dove Supreme etc, whereas the gentler fragrances such as White Gardiner and Jasmine, Uplift and Lovers Island are the perfect softer notes but still work strongly but not like Dettol or Dove, this is down to the chemicals within the oils which design the scent.
What's the science behind all of this? Well, let me break it down for you:
- Volatility Vibes:
Fragrance molecules evaporate at different rates, known as volatility. Higher volatility means molecules evaporate faster, spreading fragrance into the air more quickly and effectively. Our wax melts have a volatility of 30%, which is higher than the market standard of 10%. This higher volatility ensures a stronger and longer-lasting scent experience, making our wax melts an excellent choice for those who want powerful fragrance diffusion.
- Temperature Tango:
The temperature within your living space plays a significant role in the effectiveness of your wax melts.
Scientifically speaking, higher temperatures increase the kinetic energy of fragrance molecules, allowing them to move more freely and disperse their scent more effectively throughout the room. This phenomenon, known as diffusion, it's crucial for ensuring that the fragrance reaches every corner of your space.
So, if you're not getting the desired fragrance intensity from your wax melts, consider raising the temperature slightly to enhance the diffusion process, look at your wax melt burner wattage too.
However, it's important to strike a balance, as excessively high temperatures in the home can cause the molecules to become heavier, potentially altering the scent profile.
In essence, maintaining a comfortable room temperature optimises air diffusion
I have a blog talking about air diffusion on my website in more detail. See here.
Another example for you.
Imagine you have two batches of wax melts, both containing 30% fragrance load. One batch consists of 20 grams of wax melt, while the other consists of 10 grams.
When you use the 20-gram wax melt in your burner, the fragrance fills the whole house with its intense scent because you have a lot of wax in your dish.
On the other hand, when you use the 10-gram wax melt, the scent is still amazing but it won't reach as far as a 20g fill tub due to its smaller size.
Now, consider the experience of one of our valued customers, who recently experimented with our Sweet Queen wax melt in her home.
She decided to use the wax melt in two burners placed in the same room, with half of the wax melt in each dish.
The result?
A brilliant scent throw that filled her whole home, she was curious to test the effects of wax melt quantity on scent strength.
So she decided to try a different approach the next day.
This time, she used only half of the wax melt in one burner, leaving the other burner empty.
While the scent was still present and noticeable, it wasn't as intense as the day before but still didn't disappoint.
This outcome makes sense when you consider that technically, she had only HALF of the wax grams in her dish making the melt pool smaller, instead of her using a full tub in one burner.
When I get asked how much should I use, I tend to tell people:
Whole tub approx 20g = average 30 hours usage you'll get the entire full strength that wraps itself around multiple rooms.
Half tub approx 10g = average 18 hours, half strength, full room and reaching to other areas in your home but not as far as an entire tub.
Quarter tub this is like 5 grams depending on how great your cutting skills are = average 8 hours subtler strength more than likely to stay in that one room.
Still incredible!
So remember:
Full tub is bigger melt pool you've got the entire 30% oil whereas the less wax you melt the smaller the melt pool so it won't give the same result as using an entire tub.
These wax melts are designed so you can cut to your strength desire, some people like hardcore in your face strength whereas other people cut to preference to suit them.
The above examples are based on using electric burners, the wattage of the burner does matter too, because the melted wax pool needs a good heat source to carry the scent vapours and throw it. Candle burners the longevity is less due to the higher heat.
Some pointers I want to say:
Glass dishes burn incredibly high heat which lessens the longevity.
Oil burners too are not recommended due to high heat. The clue is in its name.
Certain bulbs such as g9 these tend to centre the most heat right in the centre of the dish frying off that fragrance oil.
I very very much prefer GU10 bulb 35w, ceramic dishes, or 20 to 35w hotplate.
Position and where you have your burners is a factor as well.
So you see, its not just about wax and oil, so many factors are involved, wax melts are sensitive products and need to be used correctly to really work.
These real-life examples illustrate how adjusting the quantity of wax melt used in your burner can directly impact the intensity of the scent experience.
That's why people ask " How much should I use?"
We test all our fragrances and every one on our website passed our quality testing in different aspects, but if at all, I suss any of our scents to have any concerns I will take action.
Dayas Essence's heart and soul is always first class quality and service every time.