Your questions, answered
Clear answers, with sources. The questions candle and scent makers, workshop studios and employers ask us most, each answered in a few lines with a link to the law or guidance behind it.
Candle and scent makers
How much essential oil do I put in a candle?
Fragrance load is a percentage of the wax weight, often 6–10%. Never go above your wax supplier’s maximum, or the candle limit (IFRA Category 12) on your oil’s certificate. The Blend Studio turns your load into exact grams for your jar size.
What if my candle smells strong cold but weak when it’s lit?
The cold throw comes mostly from light top notes; the hot throw leans on heavier notes such as woods, resins and vanilla. Add a base note, check the wick makes a full melt pool, and let the candle cure before you judge it.
Source: AFI, why your candle scent isn’t strong enough; Makesy, essential oils for candle making
How long should a candle cure before I test it?
About 1–2 weeks for soy, around 2 weeks for coconut and 3–5 days for paraffin, according to one supplier. Follow your own wax supplier’s guidance.
Which essential oils work best in candles?
Base and heart notes such as cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli, lavender and geranium tend to hold up well. Delicate florals such as rose, neroli and jasmine are weak or costly in wax. The Blend Studio rates every oil in its library for candles.
Do I need a CLP label on my candles or wax melts?
Only if the finished product is classed as hazardous, which usually depends on the fragrance. Your fragrance supplier’s safety data sheet tells you. Wax melts carry the same hazard statements as a candle with the same fragrance percentage, without the candle burning-safety symbols (such as never leave a burning candle unattended).
Source: Business Companion (Trading Standards); Candle Shack, CLP questions answered
What has to go on a candle label in the UK?
If a CLP label is needed: your name, address and phone number, the product name, hazard pictograms and statements, a signal word such as “Warning”, any “Contains…” allergen line and the net quantity. Add a batch number and the BS EN 15494 candle safety pictograms.
Source: Candle Shack, CLP questions answered; Business Companion (Trading Standards)
Is fragrance load the same as the percentage on my CLP label?
No. Load is measured against the wax alone; CLP templates usually use content, measured against wax plus fragrance. A 10% load is roughly 9% content.
Where do I find the CLP information for my fragrance?
In the safety data sheet from your fragrance supplier. Some suppliers, such as Candle Shack, also offer free label tools for their own oils.
Source: Candle Shack, CLP questions answered; Candle Shack CLP label tool
Do the rules apply to small makers selling from home?
Yes. Product safety duties apply to small home-based makers in the same way as large ones, and keeping records of your testing helps show you took care.
Can I say my candle is relaxing or helps you sleep?
Saying the aroma promotes a sense of relaxation or wellbeing is likely to be acceptable. Claims about sleep, treating anything or medical conditions are not, unless the product is a licensed medicine. Describe the scent and the moment instead.
Check your wording in the Blend Studio →
Source: ASA/CAP, Health: aromatherapy
What do I need to sell handmade soap in the UK?
Soap is a cosmetic. You need a UK Responsible Person (this can be you), a safety assessment by a qualified assessor before sale, a product information file, good manufacturing practice, and a notification through the government’s cosmetic notification service. The label needs the Responsible Person’s name and address, ingredients, quantity, batch number and use-by information.
Source: GOV.UK, making cosmetic products available in Great Britain
Where can I buy essential oils I can trust?
Sana Essencia doesn’t sell oils. Choose suppliers that give you a safety data sheet and an IFRA certificate for every oil, and ideally a batch report (GC/MS). We’re building a short list of UK suppliers who do.
The Blend Studio
How much does the Blend Studio cost?
The Blend Studio is free. The Maker plan is £59 a year (£45 for founding makers), with costing and printable sheets. The Studio plan for workshop studios is £199 a year; founding studios start with a free 3-month pilot, then pay £149 a year. Paid plans open on 16 November 2026.
Does the Studio work with fragrance oils and soap?
Not yet. Today it covers essential oils for candles, wax melts, reeds, sprays and perfume. Fragrance oils from your own catalogue, and soap, are next, built with our founding studios.
Who owns the blends I create?
You do. Blends you create, and those your guests create in your studio version, are yours. Sana Essencia claims no rights in them.
Can my workshop guests design their blend before they arrive?
Yes, with the Studio plan. Guests open your link or QR code and build a blend from your own oils, and you get one prep list for the group, formula cards and follow-up emails.
Employers and managers
Do I need a stress risk assessment?
Yes. Employers have a legal duty to assess the risk of work-related stress and act on it. If you have five or more workers, you must write the assessment down.
Source: HSE, stress risk assessment
What are HSE’s Management Standards?
Six areas of work design that affect stress: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. They’re the basis of HSE’s approach to stress risk assessment.
Source: HSE, stress risk assessment
What changes on 30 October 2026 for harassment?
Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and can be liable for harassment of staff by third parties such as customers and clients. It applies in England, Wales and Scotland.
Source: Acas, sexual harassment; Business.gov.uk
What if a customer harasses one of my staff?
Since 30 October 2026, you can be liable unless you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Acas suggests assessing the risks, a policy, training, recording incidents, updating customer terms and telling customers the consequences.
Source: Acas, third-party harassment
What do “all reasonable steps” mean for a small business?
Acas says it depends on your size, sector and type of work, and means doing what is possible with the resources you have. If you decide a step isn’t reasonable, write down why.
Source: Acas, third-party harassment
How much do Sana Essencia’s workplace tools cost?
The Psychosocial Risk Toolkit is free. The Manager’s Pack is £59 for up to 50 staff or £149 for 51–250. The Risk Management System is £249 for up to 50 staff or £449 for 51–250 staff, one-off with 12 months of updates. Consultant partner licences start at £495 a year.
Scent at work
Can we use a diffuser or room scent in the office?
No UK law bans it, but the air is shared. In a UK survey, 27.8% of adults reported health problems from fragranced products, such as migraines or asthma attacks. Agree it with your team, keep scent-free areas, make it easy to opt out, and keep the space well ventilated, as the Workplace Regulations require.
Source: Steinemann (2018), fragranced products in the UK; Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
Can we burn candles at work?
Check your building’s fire rules first: many shared workspaces don’t allow open flames. Paper scent strips or a reed diffuser in a single room are simpler options.
Have a question we haven’t answered?
Send it to us. We add new answers here every month, starting with the questions people ask most.
General information, not legal, medical or product-safety advice. Check the current law and your suppliers’ safety documents, and take advice for your own situation.