As a company owner in the home fragrance industry, I get a lot of questions about how safe oil warmers are and how to select the best oils.
I will consolidate on scented oils first (not critical oils, that's a whole separate ballgame).
Fragrance
Oils that are Not critical are manufactured using a compound of natural & artificial ingredients. They are considered processed so they are favorable & safe for home or bath & body use.
So what makes one fellowships oils good (stronger, longer lasting) than another?
Home Fragrance - Scented Oils & Warmers
This largely depends on the manufacturer. If a distributor isn't buying a good potential oil, it doesn't take long to find out that it's cheap. The oils may lose the fragrance after a short time, or have no fragrance at all when heat is applied!
Fragrance
Depending on what type of fragrance you get, the oils can react differently when used in a singular application.
This is why I have all the time stressed to people who want to start a home fragrance company to all the time test oils before buying a large quantity. You will know right away if it is a potential stock & Ok to use in your application. This will save you a lot of money & keep your customers in the long run.
I have tested many many oils from several separate manufacturers & only sell the top potential to my customers (best pricing too). Like critical oils, fragrance oils can also have "calming" or other soothing effects on your body. I have one buyer that oftentimes orders my fragrance "Boysenberry" because she says it relaxes her.
Another tip to buying oils, I suggest buying your base oils, institution blend yourself and test, test, test. It takes a exiguous more time & effort, but if you buy oils in "ready to sell" bottles (which also has their label on it), you have no idea if the potential is the same bottle for bottle.
Now for the warmers. Two popular forms of oil warmers are tealight & electric. I will interpret why electric warmers are your safest bet.
First, tealight warmers use a small candle with a flame to heat up the oil. All oils have a flash point, meaning if they exceed a determined degree the oil will likely catch on fire. Think of this in terms of vegetable oil in a pan on a hot stove. If you leave the stove on high, the oil will absolutely catch on fire at some point!
Tealight warmers can be risky because you have no operate over how hot the flame gets, thus creating a fire hazard.
You are also wasting your oils!
I have tested my oils in tealight warmers and the oil ultimately boiled, sputtered & burned in a very short whole of time. There was a nice scent at first, but it didn't last long!
When I poured the oil out, it was a dark brownish/black color (I used French Vanilla which was clear when I started). The oil was ruined, not to mention ready to flame up!
If you prefer to use (or sell) tealight warmers, I suggest that you stay close by while burning in case you need to intercept. It is recommended that you also share this with your customers.
Most electric warmers use a 35watt light-bulb & are adequate with a dimmer switch. This invention is not only ingenious, but so much safer to use!
I normally turn my warmer on high for about 15 minutes, then turn it down halfway. The oil rarely burns (the bulb doesn't get hot enough), and the scent is constant and fantastic!
You will see "white smoke" rising from the oil, but this is not smoke, it is vapor from the oil which is wholly normal. The vapor is the oil evaporating into the air which in turn fragrances your entire home.
Also very nice (unlike candles) there is no black soot linked with burning oils.
Another tip for warming oils, if you get a fragrance that is particularly strong, you can all the time add water to your warmer and add a few drops of oil until you get to a comfortable level.
