I've always loved candles.
I love how candles set the mood. I love how candles can provide a soft scent, changing how we're feeling in the moment. Just the right scent can bring thoughts of summer vacations or memories of favourite places, homes and people. They truly are lovely little inventions, that do so much more than just light the way during a black out.
A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to start making my own candles. I did lots and lots of research, trying to find the right essential oil to wax ratio, what kind of wax was the cleanest burn, what kind of wicks to use. I went to the school of Google for most of my research, but I also sat in the classroom of YouTube videos, Pinterest became my best friend and my kitchen turned into my science room.
As a maker, as a crafter, and as an artist I'm not a fan of gatekeeping as they say on TikTok, so I thought I'd share what I learned in my candle making journey, this way if you're interested in making your own candles you don't have to spend hours at the school of Google like I did.
First let's start with a short lesson on waxes.
There are quite a few waxes to choose from. I’ll highlight the most common here, but there are many more...
Soy Wax
Clean burn | No Color | No Aroma
This wax is one of the most popular waxes with candle makers. It's made from soy beans, which is a natural and renewable resource, which makes it eco-friendly. Soy wax is also soot free, making it a clean burn. This wax may require stronger fragrance varieties to keep the scent strong at high heat. Because this wax is odourless, it will give you a pure smelling candle.
Bees Wax
Clean Burn | Soft Golden Color | Soft Honey Aroma
Beeswax is one of the oldest forms of candle wax and it's another eco-friendly option since it's comes from bees during the honey making process. It does have a very subtle, naturally sweet aroma that helps purify the air. This natural aroma will mix with your scents so you’ll want to test out what scents work best with this type of wax to get the aromatherapy you are shooting for. Beeswax is a harder wax, so it is a great choice when making pillar type candles, but that said you can use beeswax in containers. Because it is a harder wax, it has a longer, soot free burn time compared to other waxes. Beeswax is around the same price point as soy wax.
Coconut Wax
Mostly Clean Burn | No Color | No Aroma
Coconut wax is also eco-friendly and vegan. It releases very little soot as it burns making it a safe choice for your home. It does not smell like coconut (surprise!) when you burn it and it's colorless. This wax carries scents very well. Some choose coconut wax over soy wax simply because it is made from a high yield harvest, making it more earth friendly than the more popular soy wax. The dilemma is coconut wax is more expensive than soy or paraffin wax.
Parafin Wax
Soot Burn | No Color | No Aroma
Paraffin wax is widely used across mass produced candle making companies. Paraffin can hold a high amount of fragrance without degrading the wax and paraffin burns at various flashpoints, making it suitable for all types of containers. However, it's not the most eco-friendly type of candle wax because it's made from a byproduct of the oil industry and a paraffin candle will create soot when burning, making it a less clean burn in the home. As you might guess, this wax is the most affordable of the waxes.
There are quite a few more waxes that I don't list out here, including palm, gel options, blended options and more. Every option has pros and cons, so it’s important to do some quick research to determine what wax fits your aesthetic, your intentions, what you want in your home or what you want to sell to your customers.
Next, let’s talk about wick options.
If you don’t choose the right wick, your candle will not burn properly.
As you may have guessed there are lots of wick options to choose from.
What you need to consider is how big your candle is, the type of vessel you plan to use and how much scent you plan to add (aroma strength). Each wick type will burn at different flash points and emit varying levels of heat, all of which impact how your candle will burn. Below is a quick summary of wick types and a sizing chart.
Flat wicks:
These are the most common types of knitted wicks which bend slightly while the candle is burning. These are ideal for taper and pillar candles.
Square wicks:
These wicks are either braided or knitted and they also bend slightly while the candle is burning. However, they are stiffer and slightly larger giving them the “power” needed to burn a wax that has a higher melting point, such as beeswax. They are also a good choice for larger, wider candles.
Cored wicks:
These wicks are either knitted or braided and they remain straight when burning. These are used for pillar, votive, jar and novelties candles. The two most common cores are paper or zinc, both burn cooler making them ideal for soy or paraffin waxes and smaller candles.
Hemp wicks:
Hemp wicks are extra rigid and also a tad warmer than most other candle wicks when it comes to the candle flame. Derived from the hemp plant, hemp wicks are generally coated with beeswax to make them more effective. Hemp wicks work great with most natural waxes, like soy wax.
Wood Wicks
These wicks are stunning in candles, I truly love them. They’re ideal to use with natural wax such a soy. Wood wicks are known for the unique crackling sound they omit when the candle is being burned, and their. gorgeous flame. The crackling sound is affected by the wax blend, container size and the level of fragrance. They can be tricky to work with though. Pick a pre-treated wood wick (this are dipped in wax to improve their burn rate), and follow the wick manufacturers recommendation regarding wick length.
Now lets talk about scents, the best part of making candles in my opinion!
Candle Fragrance.
Essential oils
Some essential oil fragrance will shift when exposed to heat, so if you use essential oils, definitely do a test run.
Organic Fragrance oils
These oils are a more reliable choice as they are made for candle making.
The general formula is a 6% fragrance load. Candle wax weight x 6% = Amount of Fragrance
Example: 300 grams dry wax x 6% = 18 grams of fragrance oil
You may want to adjust this formula slightly as you test different scents with your wax choice.
Many scents are gorgeous on their own, such as vanilla, cedar, lavender, lemon or orange. However you may want to blend scents to create something entirely unique. To test out scent combinations us blotter strips. Dip a blotter into each scent, the stronger you want the scent the deeper you should dip the blotter. Let the blotters dry for about 30 seconds, then hold the blotters together and gently fan them under your nose to smell. Repeat until you get to a scent you enjoy. Be sure to note the scent on the blotter strip to stay organised. The blotter that you dipped deeper to pull the scent indicates you will want more of that scent in your blend ratio. If you dipped all blotters to the same level, start your mix using equal parts of each scent.
Now we assemble the candle.
Gather up:
Jar with lid - jelly jars are great
Wax
Wicks
Wick Stickers or wick wax to attach the wick to the vessel
Clothes pins, popsicle sticks or wick holders to center and hold the wick in place
Stove top pan to create double boiler
Metal pour picture to melt and pour wax
Candy thermometer
Digital scale
Fragrance oils for candles
Steps:
Heat about 3 inches of water in a wide sauce pan to about 185 degree Fahrenheit.
While the water heats, place your pouring pitcher on your digital scale and zero it out.
Add your wax to the pouring pitcher until it reads your desired weight.
Place the pouring pitcher in the double boiler.
While the wax melts mix and weigh out your fragrance based on the formula above.
Once the wax melts and reaches 185 degree Fahrenheit, add your fragrance and remove from heat
Stir the wax and fragrance for 1 - 2 minutes to mix thoroughly.
Allow the wax to cool to 135 degrees farenheit
While the wax is cooling, attach your wicks to the center of your jars.
Pour the cooled wax gently into the jars and center the wicks using your wick holder tools
Fill to about 1/2 to 1/4 of an inch from the top of the jar (tip: save a small amount of your scented wax for trouble shooting during the drying process)
Allow your candle to cool for 8 - 10 hours (over night), keep the room temperature consistent and keep the candles away from drafts during this period.
Once fully dried, trim the wick to about 1/4 of an inch and put the lid on.
Store your candles in a draft free room and allow to cure for a minimum of one week, longer is better.
Common Troubleshooting
The candle dried with surface bubbles.
Pop and break up any bubbles using a tooth pick. Gently heat the surface using a hair dryer to remelt the top layer of wax till the surface is smooth, allow to dry undisturbed.
The candle dried with pot holes around the wick.
This is likely due to air trapped around the wick. Take a tooth pick or chop stick and gently poke the wax around the wick to break down any pockets. Use a hair dryer to remelt the wax till smooth. If needed, add more wax to fill in the pot holes. Allow to dry undisturbed.
The fragrance oil is beading on the surface.
This is likely due to an extreme temperature change. It does not hurt the candle. Wipe away the beaded oil with a soft cloth.
The wax is soft when dried.
This is likely due to too much fragrance oil in your wax. The only fix is to try again, reducing the amount of fragrance oils you add to your wax.
My candle doesn’t smell like anything when I burn it.
This is common with soy wax, it will smell great when cool, but the hotter it gets the less fragrance you will smell. If you are using soy wax, experiment with blending waxes. You can also add more fragrance next time around, but be careful not to add too much (see “soft wax” above).
There you have it, candle making basics to get you started on your own candle making journey. Happy making!
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