With the popularity of wax melts ever growing, many often wonder how long does a wax melt last? How long can you use the same wax melt before it will need to be changed? The answer isn't as simple as you would hope due to a number of factors. Many of these reasons rest on the make up of the wax melt including the wax blend and type of fragrance oil used. Even the type of scent itself can have an influence on how long a wax melt will last.
As we know, the point of using wax melts is to fragrance our home. With this in mind, a wax melt would be considered 'finished' when it's scent has diminished and is no longer strong enough to fragrance the room that it is in. The average size wax melt that will go into a wax melt burner will often give off a strong fragrance for around 8 - 12 hours.
There are a few steps that can be taken when using wax melts to ensure that you receive the best possible performance.
How to make wax melts last longer
The main point to take into consideration is the temperature that your wax melter is running at. While a burner that uses a tealight will often run hotter and therefore produce a stronger scent throw, this will shorten the effective life span of the wax melt.
Using an electric warmer will allow the wax melt to release it's fragrance oil over a longer period of time as the wax is melted at a lower temperature. The scent throw will still be strong and you have the added benefit of less fire hazard due there being no naked flame.
Always make sure that your wax burner is kept clean in between uses. A build up of old wax from previous uses can impede the effectiveness of the burner and therefore effect the scent throw of the wax melt.
If you constantly use the same fragrance you can become 'nose blind'. Over time you become so used to the same smell that you can no longer detect it. This is easily remedied by making sure that you keep a rotation of different scents in your collection.
Types of wax melt
There are generally two types of wax used when making melts. There are natural waxes such as soy wax melts and paraffin based blends. It is best to avoid any wax blends containing paraffin for several reasons. Paraffin is non-renewable meaning that it is not an ec0-friendly product. Paraffin may also pose health risks when burned although this has yet to be confirmed.
Natural soy wax melts will have a lower melting point than synthetic wax blends. This means that less energy is needed to release the fragrance oils from the wax and fragrance your home.
Electric wax warmer vs tealight burner
As touched on above, this is all about the temperature that the scented wax is heated to.
Electric wax warmers will run at a lower temperature allowing the scented wax to release its fragrance oils over a longer period of time.
A wax melter that uses a tealight will run hotter and use up that fragrance oil much quicker.
Therefore it is best to use an electric wax warmer to get the maximum amount of time from your wax melts.
Fragrance oil
The type of fragrance oil used as well as the strength will have some bearing on how long the wax melt will last. Fragrance blends can be made of synthetic components, essential oils or a blend of both.
Fragrance oils come in a variety of scents and combinations and are specifically formulated to give the highest scent throw. Because of this, they will give the best results when looking to fragrance your home over an extended period.
Essential oils, while natural (to an extent), will often perform less well when used in wax melts. Each type of essential oil may require a different temperature in order to fill the room with a scent.
How much fragrance oil there is in the wax melt is a very important factor. It is standard practice to use around 6% fragrance oil in a wax blend. This mean that 100 grams of wax will contain 6 grams of fragrance.
Different types of wax can hold different percentages of fragrance oil. Using too high of a percentage can cause issues and even lead to a potential fire hazard.
It goes without saying that a melt with a higher percentage of fragrance oil will perform better than that of a lower percentage. At the Fragrance Studio, all our wax melts contain 10% to give the maximum performance.
It is worth noting that some scent types are just stronger than others. For example, baby powder is a far stronger scent than vanilla. Keep this in mind when selecting your scents. Some people prefer a lighter fragrance for a bedroom than they might have in the living room.
How should you store wax melts?
To ensure the best performance from your wax melts they should be kept in their original packaging until you are ready to use them. Keep your wax melts in a dark place that is cool. For obvious reasons if they get too warm they could start to melt and will lose their fragrance.
If you have multiple wax melts in different scents, keep them in their packaging if you wish to stack them together. This stops multiple fragrances muddling together and causing any issues.
Will wax melts lose their fragrance over time?
As long as your wax melts are stored correctly, as above, they will not lose their scent when in storage. A longer storage time can actually make the scent throw stronger! This is due to the wax having longer to cure which ensures the fragrance oil and wax blend have properly combined.
When in use, wax melts will lose their scent throw over time as the fragrance oil is used up. Once you start to notice that the scent is no longer as strong as you would like, it is time to change wax melts.
Conclusion
As you can see, your wax melts should last on average 8 - 12 hours of use before they will need to be changed. Any less than this and you may be running them too hot or they have an inferior fragrance blend.
Storing wax melts should not be an issue as long as you follow the steps above. They will be ready when you need them!