Fragrance Oils vs Essential Oils In Candles: What’s The Difference?
We tried fragrance oils vs essential oils for our fantasy-inspired candles, including our D&D candles and book lover's soy candles.
Based on our research, fragrance oils are synthetic oils manufactured in a lab. Essential oils are oil extracts from plants. However, we chose fragrance oils because they are specifically designed to produce a stronger scent throw in candles, while essential oils are not. They’re also much more stable to use, which is why essential oils are not recommended for candle making.
With that said, let’s dig deeper into the difference between the two.
What’s The Difference Between Fragrance Oils vs Essential Oils In Candles?
The primary difference between fragrance oils vs essential oils is that fragrance oils are synthetically made in a lab, while essential oils are extracts from plants and other natural materials.
With that said, let’s take a step back.
What Are Fragrance Oils?
Fragrance oils are oils made in a lab.
The Pros And Cons Of Fragrance Oils
Pros
- Produce scents not found in nature
- Much more affordable than essential oils
- Are much more stable for candle making
- Retain their fragrance for much longer
Cons
- They are synthetically made
- Evaporate more quickly, so candles don’t retain their scent for as long
- Quality can be variable based on how the plants were grown, stored, and transported
- Much more expensive than synthetic fragrance oils
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are oils extracted from natural sources including herbs, flowers, and plants through a process called steam distillation. Unlike fragrance oils, essential oils are 100% pure in that there are no additives, dilution, or any sort of process that comprises the integrity of the oil (the proper term for this is “neat”).
The Pros And Cons Of Essential Oils
Pros
- 100% natural and pure
- Extracted from herbs, flowers, and plants
- Some essential oils have health benefits, like lavender
Cons
- Limited selection of scents you can use
- Have a lower boiling point, making them difficult to use for candles
- Evaporate more quickly, so candles don’t retain their scent for as long
- Quality can be variable based on how the plants were grown, stored, and transported
- Much more expensive than synthetic fragrance oils
Conclusion
While both essential oils and fragrance oils can be used to make high quality candles, most candles will use fragrance oils because they produce much better candles, while still being safe to use. All The Wicked Warlock candles use fragrance oils so you can have the best immersive fantasy experience for movies, tabletop, RPGs, and gaming in general.