How to Use an Oil Burner (with Oils or Wax Melts)

To use an oil burner, stand it on a heatproof surface, fill the dish on top with water and add a few drops of fragrance oil, then light a tealight in the space underneath. As the water warms, the scent lifts into the room. With wax melts, skip the water: pop one melt in the dry dish and let the tealight melt it. Top up the water before it runs low, and never leave the burner lit while you're out of the room.

A few details decide whether you get a room-filling fragrance or a scorched dish and a faint smell of hot ceramic. Here's how to get it right with oils, wax melts or simmering granules, and what to check when you can't smell a thing.

What is an oil burner?

An oil burner (also called an oil warmer, wax burner or aroma lamp) is two parts: a dish on top and a space below for a tealight. The candle warms the dish, the dish warms whatever's in it, and the fragrance drifts out. There's no smoke involved, which is the big difference from incense. If smoke is what you're after, our guide to using a backflow incense burner covers the other kind of burner.

The Square Mango Wood Oil Burner, Flower of Life shows the idea neatly: a black metal bowl in the top of a mango wood cube, a matching tealight holder in the base, and open sides that let air reach the flame. Ceramic and stone burners follow the same plan.

Oils, wax melts or simmering granules?

All three work in the same burner, and the difference is mainly whether you add water.

• Fragrance oils go into water, never into a dry dish. They're quick to swap, and you control the strength with the number of drops. Banjara Nag Champa fragrance oil, made in India, is a warm, temple-like blend of frangipani and sandalwood, and a 10ml bottle goes a long way at a few drops a time.
• Wax melts go in dry. They're tidier than oil and each one lasts several burns, which suits anyone who lights the burner most evenings.
• Simmering granules also go in dry. Kickback & Relax is made for scenting a living room, and its listing says no water is needed: the granules go straight into the dish.

What you'll need

• An oil burner. The Buddha Oil Burner in white is a glazed ceramic burner that also looks good as an ornament when it isn't lit.
• Something to warm: fragrance oil, wax melts or simmering granules.
• Tealights. The 30x Unscented Tealights burn for approximately 4 hours each, and because they're unscented they won't compete with the fragrance in the dish.
• Water, if you're using oil.
• A heatproof mat or tile to stand the burner on, and a lighter or long matches.

How to use an oil burner with fragrance oil, step by step

1. Pick your spot. Flat and stable, on a heatproof mat, away from curtains and anything that can catch, and out of reach of children and pets.
2. Fill the dish with water. Most of the way up. The water is what stops the oil scorching.
3. Add a few drops of oil. Start with three or four, and use more next time if the scent is too faint.
4. Light the tealight and slide it into the base. A long match helps with narrow openings.
5. Give it ten minutes. The scent builds as the water warms, and you'll notice it most when you walk back into the room.
6. Keep an eye on the water. Top it up with a little warm water before it gets low. A dish that boils dry burns the oil, and it can crack a ceramic burner.
7. Blow out the tealight when you're done, and let everything cool before you move or empty the burner.

How to use wax melts in an oil burner

1. Put one melt in the dry dish. No water. Agnes + Cat Tea + Roses wax melts are hand-poured in Sheffield from natural soy with British fragrance oils, eight to a box, and each melt lasts up to approximately 15 hours in a standard burner.
2. Light the tealight underneath. The wax softens and pools within a few minutes, and that's when the scent starts.
3. Blow out the tealight when you're done and leave the wax where it is. It sets again as it cools, ready for next time.
4. Change it when the scent fades. The wax doesn't disappear; the fragrance does. When you can't smell it any more, it's time for a fresh melt.

Wax melts make a good small present too, which is why a box made our Secret Santa gifts under £10.

Tip: To change a melt, let the old wax set completely, then pop the burner in the freezer for ten minutes. The wax shrinks slightly and usually lifts out in one piece. Wipe the dish with kitchen roll, and never pour melted wax down the sink.

Why can't I smell my oil burner?

If the scent has gone missing, it's almost always one of these.

You've got used to it

After twenty minutes or so, your nose stops noticing a steady scent. Step outside and come back in: if you can smell it then, the burner is working fine.

The room is too big, or too airy

One tealight can only do so much. In a large open-plan room or by an open window, add a few more drops, or move the burner closer to where you sit.

The melt is spent

Wax keeps its shape long after its scent has gone. Replace an old melt rather than adding a new one on top.

The dish has dried out

If the water has boiled away, the oil scorches and the smell turns sharp and burnt. Blow out the tealight, let it cool, clean the dish and start again with fresh water.

The tealight keeps going out

A flame needs air. Make sure the tealight isn't pushed against the back of the opening, and choose a burner with plenty of openings. That's what the open cube of the mango wood burner is for.

Choosing an oil burner

They all do the same job, so choose one you'll be happy to look at every day. Look for a dish that sits well clear of the flame and openings that let air in.

• Ceramic is the classic: easy to wipe clean, and made in every shape imaginable. The Cauldron Oil Burner, Moon & Stars is black ceramic with cut-out stars, a witchy touch that works well beyond Halloween. For something plainer, the Helping Hand Oil Burner is a cupped hand in white or black.
• Soapstone is carved and weighty. The Small Soapstone Oil Burner, Three Moon Pentagon is 8cm, which suits a desk or windowsill.
• Wood with a metal dish, like the mango wood cube, looks more like furniture than an ornament.

Safety basics

• Never leave a lit burner unattended, and keep it out of reach of children and pets.
• Stand it on a heatproof mat, away from curtains and anything flammable.
• Keep enough water in the dish when using oil, and use good quality tealights.
• Don't move the burner while it's lit or the wax is liquid: both get very hot.
• If a flame gets out of hand, smother it with a damp cloth. Never use water on hot wax.

Buying one as a present? The Wind-Down Set puts a white ceramic moon phase burner with eight White Fig soy wax melts, six tealights to run it and a botanical soy candle, so there is everything to start with.

Oil burner FAQs

Can you use wax melts in an oil burner?

Yes. A standard oil burner takes wax melts as well as oils: put one melt in the dry dish, with no water, and light the tealight underneath. The wax softens and pools within a few minutes, and sets again when you blow the tealight out.

How many drops of oil do you put in an oil burner?

A few drops in a dish of water is plenty to start with, usually three or four. Add more next time if the scent is too light, rather than adding oil to a hot dish.

Do you put water in with wax melts?

No. Wax melts and simmering granules go into a dry dish. Water is only for fragrance oils.

Can you use essential oils in an oil burner?

Yes, in the same way: a few drops in water, never in a dry dish. If you have pets, especially cats, check that an oil is safe to use around them first. Not sure which kind you've got? Here's the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils.

Before you light the first one

Water with oil, no water with wax, a tealight underneath and a heatproof mat below. Keep the dish topped up and the burner in sight, and it will scent a room for the whole evening. When you're ready to choose one, our oil burners and aroma lamps range runs from mango wood cubes to cauldrons, and there are plenty of soy wax melts and fragrance oils to go in them.