Tips for Maximizing Scent Throw

Let’s face it, the majority of us burn candles not only for the great mood they can set, but also for the awesome aromas in which they can fill an area with.  The scent throw of a candle correlates to how strong a candle’s aromas are and how large of an area where that scent can be detected while it’s burning.  The stronger the scent throw means the further away from the candle you can expect to smell the fragrance.  For most of us candle aficionados (although not all) we want our candles to give us that great scent throw.

So how can we be sure we’re doing everything to get the most throw from our candles?  For starters, the first thing to do is to make sure you’re getting the right kinds of candles that are capable of providing good throws.  A lot can be dependent upon the scent type of the candle.  Many manufacturers produce a huge number of differently scented candles each with their own varying degree of throw.  Take the manufacturer Yankee Candles for instance.  A Yankee Candle with one particular scent can have a vastly different throw compared to one of their candles with a different scent.  One thing I tend to do that seems to help me get great candles with great scent throw is to read reviews online and check for references to the scent throw.  Amazon is a great place to read honest reviews from real folks who have already purchased and used the candles and you’ll almost always find mentions of how good the throw is for the particular candle you’re researching.

The second thing you should do is make sure you are getting the best type of candles for producing the strongest scent throws.  As popular as soy wax candles are these days they are not very good at putting out scent throw.  It’s universally recognized that the typical paraffin wax (which most candles today are made from) gives off the best throw of any of the wax varieties.

A third thing to consider is how large of a wax pool can the candle generate?  The larger the wax pool the more scent throw you’re going to get with your candle.  Larger candles are capable of producing larger wax pools so they tend to be best.  Furthermore, I’ve found that 2-wick and 3-wick larger paraffin wax candles to be the absolute best kind of candle for producing great throws.  This is because they are capable of generating a large wax pool much quicker.  So this means you are going to want to avoid scented tea lights because they’re only capable of producing a tiny wax pool. And if you happen to be using soy wax scented tea lights for the fragrances you’re more than likely to be disappointed.

Now if you’re really fiending for the ultimate scent throw and the large 2 and 3-wick paraffin candles just aren’t enough (you crazy aroma lover!), you’re going to want to read my article about melting wax tarts.  Wax tarts (or wax melts) are typically packed with fragrance oils and work almost immediately since the wax is able to melt quickly.  I warn you to be careful with these though as sometimes some variety of the wax melts scents can actually be overbearing!

I hope you’ve been surrounded by a lovely scent throw as you’ve read this post!  If you’ve got other tips you’d like to share feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below and if you would like to be emailed whenever I post new content be sure to subscribe to our mailing list on the right side of the blog!  Happy candle burning, candle aficionados!