Wax Melting & Oil Burning: How are they different?

At a glance, wax melts and their oil counterparts seem to serve a similar function in the same way: heating a substance containing fragrance so that the scent evaporates and fills the room. Wax melts just start solid, whereas oils are already in a liquid state. So why might people choose one over the other? Continue reading and we’ll briefly go over some reasons people might prefer either product.

Oil Burner Description

Oil burers can be tealight or electricity powered. They produce fragrance by heating liquid oil in their dish until the fragrance within the oil evaporates and creates a scented atmosphere. The oils used are typically essential oils (derived from natural sources, such as trees, plants or various animal parts), and may be used with a carrier oil to dilute the scent and aid in evaporation. Synthetic oils are also available.

Wax Melter Description

Wax melters heat wax blended with a certain concentration of scented oil. As the wax melts, the oil within it is heated and evaporates producing an aroma. The wax serves as a way to dilute the scent so as not to be overpowering, as well as aiding evaporation as when some of it evaporates, it carries the oil with it. Wax melts may contain either essential of synthetic oils, perhaps even a blend of the two.

Pros & Cons

Due to typically being undiluted, or using minimal diluting material, oil burners typically have the potential to create a much more intense atmosphere of fragrance. If you fill the whole dish with oil, that could be 10x the amount of fragrance being heated at once when compared to a wax melt. This may be desirable when attempting aromatherapy (heating natural oils to breathe them in and gain their health benefits), with more oil meaning you get more fumes through inhalation and increasing the intensity of the therapy.  This may be a double edged sword, however, as if your oils are not genuine, or have spoiled, you may actually be breathing in harmful fumes at a very high rate. When choosing oils to burn, always ensure they’re from a reputable suppliers with the right certifications from industry regulators.

Assuming you’re using the genuine products, this is where the advantages of oil burning end. Although their level of fragrance is unparalled, hey are not the most efficient item for longer periods of scent diffusion. As burning oils typically lack a carrier material, or have very little of it, they are used up much faster than products that have a lower concentration of fragrance. All the oil is heated simultaneously, producing that incredibly strong scent, but as it is all escaping at once, soon runs out of the scented agents. Wax melts on the other hand, typically having 10% of their mass or less being scented oil, release their scent over an extended period as the wax provides a physical barrier to the oil. Wax also has higher melting and evaporation points, so the fragrance is slowly released as the wax turns into liquid and some of it as gas. This not only means that they can produce scent while burning for longer, but typically increases their shelf life as most of the oil is not open to the air and allowed to decompose. Essential oils on the other hand typically expire faster once opened, as fragrance can escape over time as well as the ingredients in them breaking down. This is especially true for essential oils, as their organic (from living material, in this sense) may also be vulnerable to biological decomposition.

The lower concentration of fragrance in melts may also be a boon if you wish for a more subtle background fragrance. While we all appreciate strong scents, many of your favourite smells can rapidly become sickly or overpowering if experienced too intensely (scents can be strong and noticable even at about 5% concentration), particularly sweeter notes such as fruits.  It also means that various artificial oils (which may be unsafe to use as raw oils or in high concentrations) can be used to provide a wider range of scents, as many smells we like are simply unable to be made from natural ingredients. This means that when browsing scents, there are far more available when using melts over oils.

Finally, is the issue of cost. Due to using oils in larger amounts (if you put too little in the dish it may burn or evaporate very quickly), burning oils tends to be more expensive than melts. They release their fragrance faster, so burn for a shorter duration and require replacing more frequently. Not only this, but they typically have a higher cost for the quantity, so 80g of oil maye cost several times more than 80g of wax melts. If you’re interested in using essential oils for aromatherapy, this cost disparity only rises further as they are typically available in smaller quantities than synthetic oils and have a much more labour intensive prodcution (see our previous article on different types of oils).

Conclusion

Ultimately, the best product for comes down to what you want out of a fragrance product. If you wish to use oils for aromatherapy, or really love intense scents around the home, oils burners are for you. Although aromatherapy can be done with the appropriate wax melts, the quantities are much lower than you’d get from the oils so it may be more time/cost efficient to go with oils if you seek the health benefits (provided you get the right oils and know how to use them). If you want pleasant, noticeable, but not as dense scents that last a long time, wax melts are the way to go. Although they may have a lot less fragrance oil (~9% of their mass on the upper end), this is usually more than enough to enjoy the scent of your choice, which may also be unavailble as a burning oil. They’ll also be a lot lighter on the wallet. Finally, if convenience matters, it’s generally easier to pop out a lump of solid wax than it is to wipe out all the oil without making a mess.

Published: 22/04/22