The 14 Best Essential Oils for Candles 2020 (Plus Recipes)

Essential oils are versatile.

There are essential oils for colds, sinus infections, and allergies.

You can also use essential oils for sleeping and relaxation.

Even for weight loss, essential oils can help!

In this short guide, however, our focus will be on the essential oils that you can use for making DIY candles. Whether for your own use, as a gift, or for business, essential oils can provide a unique scent to home-made candles. These scents, on the other hand, will trigger a good effect, such as a state of relaxation.

Are you looking for the best essential oils for candles? Keep on reading and I will share some of the top choices.

Unleash the Power of Scent

The main reason why we use essential oils in candles is because of their unique fragrance. The oils are the ones responsible for giving your candles a distinct scent.

Fragrances have a direct impact on the psychological and physiological conditions of humans (1). It affects the brainwaves, which also makes it responsible for your emotions.

Using scented candles can deliver a plethora of benefits. It can promote focus, enhance memory, induce relaxation, and alter mood, among other things. It can even be used to express your personality and create an intimate mood. With all of these things, it is unsurprising that essential oils are used in candles.

However, while they can be good, it is also important to note that some types of candles can pollute indoor air (2). Be careful with its use.

Our Top Picks for the Best Essential Oils for Candles

Clueless about the essential oil to use when making candles? Here are some of the top products that should be on your radar.

Healing Solutions Organic Patchouli Essential Oil

If you want a candle that produces an earthy scent, it is hard to go wrong with this essential oil. When mixed with clary sage, it will have a floral and herbaceous aroma. On the other hand, when you use this essential oil with juniper berry, it will have an evergreen scent.

When patchouli is the dominant oil in your scented candle, it will give off a distinct smell that reminds you of the rain.

Plant Therapy Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender is known for its calming properties. With that, this will make a nice essential oil for candles that you will use in the bedroom or bathroom, among other areas where you want to feel relaxed. It has a sedative effect, making it a great choice for a candle that helps you sleep quicker.

When you smell a lavender essential oil, it will affect your parasympathetic nervous system. This is what will put your mind into a relaxed state.

doTerra Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil

The star-shaped flowers of ylang-ylang have beneficial essential oils. When used in candles, this oil will have a calming effect, making it a great wat to instantly feel positive.

It has a sweet and floral scent. The oil contains a compound known as linalool. This compound is believed to have stress-reducing benefits.

Now Essential Oils Bergamot Essential

Bergamot essential oil is another great choice in aromatherapy candles. This oil comes with a sweet and fruity scent, which is ideal if you want to uplift your mood. If you need more energy in the room, candles with this bergamot essential oil will help.

When added in candles, a few drops can go a long way. This is because the oil is 100% pure and undiluted, so you can make the most out of every drop.

Artizen Peppermint Essential Oil

This essential oil has a smell that everyone is familiar with. It can help to relieve muscle pain, digestive problems, and headaches. It is also believed to be an excellent oil when you are suffering from mental exhaustion. Whether you are studying or working, this essential oil can give you better mental clarity while also being relaxed.

Ola Prima Vanilla Essential Oil

The woody and oriental scent of vanilla is also believed to have sedative properties. This makes it a good essential oil for candles meant to be used in the bedroom as it can make you more relaxed, especially during bedtime.

If you are looking for a candle that can effectively provide relief from restlessness, anger, and anxiety, vanilla essential oil is a great option.

However, vanilla might remind you of sweet desserts. So, be careful with its use as it can lead to cravings.

Grandma’s Home Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil

Cinnamon essential oil creates an inviting scent, which is similar to baked cookies. Similar to vanillas, it will be reminiscent of sweet treats, so be ready if it can induce instant cravings.

Lighting a candle with cinnamon essential oil can provide immediate relief from fatigue and exhaustion.

The soothing aroma of essential oil can be a great energy booster. If you are working at home, cinnamon candles can instantly provide stress relief.

Sun Essential Oils Australian Sandalwood Essential Oil

This sandalwood essential oil has a deep and woody scent. It has floral and balsamic notes, making it a common ingredient in perfumes, especially fragrances designed for men.

Despite having a pronounced fragrance, it has calming and relaxing benefits. It can instantly put you in a meditative state. This is a great choice for a candle that will help you find inner peace.

Santalol is one of the main compounds that you will find in this sandalwood essential oil. This is also the one mostly responsible for its sedative effects.

Woolzies Jasmine Essential Oil

Jasmine is considered one of the best spiritual flowers. When this essential oil is used in candles, it will be effective in putting you in a spiritual or relaxed state. No wonder, it is a common scent associated with spiritual activities, such as tarot reading and dream interpretation.

The delicate smell of jasmine is also known for its mood and mind-boosting benefits. It uplifts the soul and clears the mind. It can also provide you with mental clarity.

Edens Garden Geranium Essential Oil

Geranium has a scent reminiscent of roses. It has a sweet and uplifting floral scent, which will help induce relaxation.

This is also a great oil if you are looking for effective relief from physical and mental stress. It has comforting benefits that can help balance your emotions. Geranium essential oil, when used in candles, can also be effective in the improvement of cognitive function and concentration.

L&I Apothecary Organic Clary Sage Oil

Clary sage is bright, earthy, and herbaceous, making it another great option for the best essential oils for candles.

This essential oil is believed to have therapeutic benefits, making it a great way to fight depression. It can also help post emotional strength.

Like many of the options that are mentioned in this guide, clary sage also delivers sedative effects. It alleviates anxiety and irritability.

Green Health Sweet Orange Essential Oil

For those who prefer fruit scents, sweet orange is a great alternative for the best essential oils for candles.

When used in aromatherapy, sweet orange is popular for its cheerful and uplifting properties. Whenever you are feeling down, a sweet orange candle can instantly boost your mood. It can alter your emotions to take you from sad to happy in an instant.

Another good thing about sweet orange is that it is effective in the elimination of airborne bacteria.

Wood Smith USA Cedarwood Essential Oil

The woody and sweet scent of this essential oil make it a great choice if you want to have a candle with a sharp fragrance.

Cedarwood is a popular aromatherapy essential oil because of its sedative benefits, making it an effective choice for inducing sleep. It can be effective for alleviating occasional insomnia. It can also have a soothing effect, making it great for stress and anxiety.

Nature’s Oil Grapefruit Essential Oil

With its zesty and fruit scent, grapefruit essential oil will be a good choice if you want to make DIY candles that will be effective for uplifting your mood.  It brings out a cheerful energy in the room when you have a candle with grapefruit essential oil.

Like other citrus oils, grapefruit can also help in balancing mood, making it a great oil of choice for those who have anxiety and depression.

How to Make Candles Using Essential Oils

Now that you have an idea of the essential oils to use. Let’s talk about a few recipes that are worth trying. We’ll try to keep things as simple as possible!

Lemon Lavender Essential Oil Candle

Lemon and lavender are two of the best essential oils for relaxation. This candle will make a great choice if you want a calming effect. It will be great to have it in the bedroom. Here are the materials that you will need when making this candle.

• 100 drops of lemon essential oil
• 100 drops of lavender essential oil
• 2 cups of pure soy wax flakes
• Cotton wicks
• Popsicle sticks
• Pan
• Thermometer
• Glass

First, you need to add the wax flakes in the aluminum can. Heat water in a pan and put the can in the middle. This will melt the wax in the can. Take the can off the pan and let it cool. During this process, use the thermometer to monitor the temperature of the wax until it reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit. At such point, add the essential oils and stir. In a clean glass, use popsicles to position the wick, making sure that it is in the center. Transfer the wax and let it cool.

Cassia and Orange Essential Oil Candle

If you are looking for something unique, then this will be a great choice for a candle. It is not often that you encounter cassia and orange essential oils, but when combined, they will have a good scent.

• 30 drops of orange essential oil
• 10 drops of cassia essential oil
• 3 tablespoons of soy wax
• 1 tablespoon of beeswax
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• Wick
• 3-ounce jar

First, melt all the solid materials. Once they are melted, remove from the heat. Add the essential oils and stir for at least half a minute. Transfer the mixture in a jar. Place the wick in the middle. Find a way to make sure that it stays in place as you let the candle cool down and solidify.

FAQs

Before we end this short guide, allow us to answer a few questions that many of you might have about essential oils and candles.

Q: How much essential oils should you add in candles?

A: This depends on what the recipe requires and the size of the candles that you want. A good rule of thumb to follow is that for every three ounces of solid material that you will melt, you should use 35 to 40 drops of essential oil.

Q: Are essential oils flammable?

A: On their own, essential oils will be flammable. So, make sure to do not pour them directly when a candle is already burning.

Q: What are the best essential oils for candles?

A: This depends on several things, such as what you want the candle to do. If you want it to be relaxing, lavender is a good choice. For candles that are stimulating and uplifting, lemon is a great choice. For stress and anxiety relief, go for thyme. Meanwhile, if you want a refreshing candle, orange is great.

Conclusion

If you haven’t tried making candles by yourself, now is the time to give it a shot. It is an easy craft, even if you have no experience.
The best essential oils for candles, including those mentioned above, will give a unique fragrance. More than smelling good, it can have other benefits, such as for inducing relaxation.

What are you waiting for? Now is the time to try your hand in making candles! Use the essential oils above and for sure, your candles will smell great!

Sources: 

1. https://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/21/candles.air.pollution/, Accessed Nov 13, 2020
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198031/, Accessed Nov 13, 2020