Wax Melts - Equipment List
Chances are that if you are reading this you know exactly what wax melts are, but just in case you have stumbled upon this blog accidentally and your interest has been piqued here's a little explanation.
Wax melts are scented, wickless chunks of wax. They are placed wax burner where the heat gently melts the wax and releases the fragrance. The scent lasts anywhere from several hours to several days, depending on the amount of fragrance oil added. When the wax melt is exhausted, the remaining wax is discarded, and a new chunk of wax can be added to the wax burner as desired.
Below I've listed the equipment you will need to get your wax melt business off to the perfect start.
Wax
Wax Melter
When you are starting out, creating a double boiler is the recommended way to melt your wax. Investing in a good quality metal jug that you sit in a saucepan on boiling water will do the trick. Be careful not to drop any water into your wax though, if this happens you will need to discard your wax as it will result in spitting wax melts that can burn your customers.
You may soon find that you outgrow this method as your business grows and at this time you may start looking for a more efficient way to work.
This buffalo soup boilers prove very popular with wax melt companies. You can melt larger quantities of wax at at time and them just ladle out portions into jugs to be fragrance and pour into moulds
Fragrance oil
So many fabulous fragrance oils to choose from. These starter kits are great. Remember, the law regarding selling candles and melts means you need to include CLP information. Make sure your fragrance oil supplier can offer you SDS and/or CLP information.
Scales
Depending on what wax you use will depend on the maximum percentage of fragrance oil it will hold. As a rule most waxes will not hold more than a 10% fragrance load. Knowing how much oil to load your wax with will be down to a personal choice. You will want to figure out your costings too as fragrance oil will be your biggest cost factor. Most companies offer anywhere between 6% and 10%.
Using scales will give you a much more accurate measurement rather than using a measuring jug.
Thermometer
Making sure you add the fragrance oil at the right temperature is the key to making strong smelling melts. Invest in this thermometer and you won't go wrong. You are aiming for a temperature of 175F to add your oils
Moulds
Below are some of the most popular wax melt shapes at the time of writing. There are literally hundreds of moulds to choose from and theres a market for almost everything so you can really have fun with this.
Mica, Dyes and Glitter
This is where you can really make your melts stand out. Add micas and dyes direct to your hot wax before pouring to colour your wax, glitters are best sprinkled directly into the moulds just before pouring.
Have fun!
