Scent Almanac

Terms & safety

Last updated Oct 9, 2026

Please read before you make anything

  • Lye (sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide) is caustic. It causes severe burns and can blind. Wear goggles and gloves, add lye to water (never water to lye), work with ventilation, and keep children and pets away. Check every recipe with a second lye calculator.
  • Hot wax and open flames can cause burns and fires. Never leave melting wax or a lit candle unattended, heat wax indirectly, use a thermometer, and smother a wax fire with a lid or baking soda, never water.
  • Essential and fragrance oils can irritate or sensitize skin and some are hazardous to pets (especially cats and birds), children or in pregnancy. Follow your supplier's IFRA certificate for the product you're making.
  • Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia, alcohol or other cleaners. See cleaning safety.

Information only

Scent Almanac is general information for hobby makers. It isn't professional, medical, safety or regulatory advice, and no claim on this site is a health or therapeutic claim. Figures (temperatures, fragrance loads, wick sizes, lye amounts, usage rates) are typical starting points that vary by supplier and conditions. You're responsible for checking them against your materials' data sheets and for testing what you make.

No warranty

The site and its content are provided "as is", without warranties of any kind, including accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. To the extent the law allows, indie.io isn't liable for any loss, injury or damage arising from use of the site or anything made with its information.

Accounts

An account is free and optional. Keep access to your email account secure, since sign-in links go there. Don't use the service to store anything unlawful or to overload it. We may suspend accounts that abuse the service. You can delete your account at any time from My workshop.

Selling what you make

If you sell candles, soap or other products, you're responsible for meeting the labeling, safety and cosmetic regulations where you sell (for example ASTM F2058 for candles in the US, or CLP and the Cosmetics Regulation in the UK and EU).

Content

Text and illustrations are © indie.io. You may print labels and guides for your own use. Please don't republish the content in bulk.

Changes

We may update these terms and the content at any time. Continued use means you accept the current version.

Contact

Scent Almanac is published by indie.io.