Are Lemon Canary’s Natural Candles Triple Scented?

I have been inspired recently to let our beautiful customers know more about our handmade soy candles. We say our candles are made to be the best choice possible, but why? A good starting point on this journey is to answer a question we are asked almost every day, “Are Lemon Canary candles ‘triple scented’?” It sounds like a simple question… but it’s not that easy for me to answer… here goes… I could say they are triple scented but I won’t. Let me explain…

What does a ‘Triple Scented Candle’ mean?

Does it mean 3 times the amount of fragrance oil has been added to the candle? It sounds like it and that’s how most people buying candles would define it. Then the big question is… 3 times what amount of fragrance oil? What is the reference point to make this claim? Is it 3 times what other candles in a particular range have or 3 times the amount of fragrance oil other manufacturers use? It’s seems to be a classic marketing claim. It’s a very vague and unsupported sales statement added to the candle’s packaging in order to sell more product. There is nothing illegal about that, provided it can be justified. You only have to walk around the supermarket and you’ll see lots of marketing claims just like this. Laundry detergents are an especially good example.

Most manufacturer’s who use the term ‘triple scented’ in there marketing and packaging are well within their right to do so. When scented candles started to become popular many manufacturers only added up to about 3-4% fragrance oil to their wax mix. It wasn’t long before candle makers started promoting double scented candles which meant the fragrance oil added was about 6-8%. Now we see triple scented candles everywhere, so to follow this example through, there would now be 9-12% fragrance oil added to the wax. Now it’s important to note that 9-12% is about the very maximum amount of fragrance oil most waxes will hold without causing problems.

For this reason many people in the candle making business will call a candle ‘triple scented’, if it contains the maximum amount of fragrance oil that can be added.

Are there chemicals you can add to the wax so it holds more fragrance oil?

Lemon Canary produces candles of the highest quality and purity. Staying as natural and sustainable as we possibly can is at the core of our personal values. That’s why we use our very own natural wax blend and use no chemical additives. There is some crazy stuff in some candles and people buying them are rarely aware of these nasties because they’re not on the label. One of these nasties is a synthetic chemical additive used to help ‘triple scent’. This additive does a few things but most of all it allows the wax to hold a little more fragrance oil, so that around 9-12% fragrance oil can be comfortably used. The chemical additive increases the saturation point of the wax but it also burns off into the air. That means that when you use and burn these candles you are inhaling that chemical additive and more fragrance oil than the wax can naturally hold. If your candles are made from some paraffin waxes from China you could be unwittingly releasing a chemical cocktail into the air. While we do not use paraffin waxes, we don’t say they are all as bad as each other. Some of the paraffin waxes from China can be terrible and some from Canada are nowhere near as bad but they are all made from petroleum by-products which is why we steer clear.

There is another reason why some manufacturers call their candles ‘triple scented’…

Some candle makers use the term ‘triple scented’ as a way of communicating that their scent combinations contain all three types of scent notes. The three basic scent notes are the base, middle and top notes. An example of a scent combination containing all 3 notes could be Orange (top note), Lavender (middle note) and Rose (base note). This is a reasonable explanation for using the ‘triple scented’ claim, however, in my opinion I think when most candle buyers see ‘triple scented’ they see it as a reference to the quantity of fragrance added to the product. Each to their own I guess.

Are all fragrance oils created equal?

No, absolutely not. All fragrances have there own characteristics. The amount of fragrance oil used is only one factor to consider when judging a candle. There is also the fragrance quality, type and overall blend composition to consider. There’s also the type of wax or combination of waxes used which can have an influence. Most people are not aware that you can achieve superior scent throws by lowing the amount of fragrance oil in order to incorporate an essential oil in the fragrance blend. Sometimes less is more!

“So your pure scent candles have about 8-12% fragrance oil but you won’t call them ‘triple scented’, why not?”

Lemon Canary’s natural candles are scented with only the oil that the wax can hold naturally. There are no additional nasties or additives.

Rest assured when you buy a Lemon Canary candle, you are buying ethically from a candle maker who would not sell a candle that they wouldn’t use around their own home and children.

So while we could call our candles ‘triple scented’, it just doesn’t feel right. ‘Triple scented’ compared to… who knows. So we’re going with our gut and not following the crowd:)