How To Make Natural Candles At Home

When preparing to create natural candles, the thing you will want to select initially is the kind of wax you would like to use? Nowadays, there are more options than ever before!

Each type of wax has its benefits along with some drawbacks that you should consider.

Natural Candle Waxes

Soy Wax

This is the sort of natural candle wax. Since soy is homely produced by U.S. farmers, soy wax will be more affordable than other kinds of natural waxes. You can buy soy wax flakes to make measuring and managing soy wax simpler. And, soy wax candles do not require another wax or any additives pour to top off your own candles.

There are some drawbacks to using soy wax candles, however. First, their ability to deliver a fragrance throw isn’t as successful as other waxes. Soy wax may be used to make container candles, not votives or pillars. Another disadvantage is that soy wax comes with a very low melt point of 115-118°F, therefore, if you’re intending to market and send your natural candles to hotter environments, this might not be the perfect option.

Palm Wax

Palm candle wax is another choice for your natural candles.  You may use the palm wax to form pillar candles. You are also able to mix soy wax and palm wax to make a wax blend you could use to produce pillars containing soy wax in them.

Palm Wax consists of tropical oils and their derivatives. It has a feathering, crystallized or gorgeous surface finish, which you ought to optimize by using aluminum molds. Palm candle wax includes excellent burning qualities. The palm wax provides color stability via a selection of colors.

However, palm wax does pose some challenges. It has a high acidic value. Thus we recommend that you select wicks that go fine with palm wax, such as our HTP, RRD, ECO and CD series in addition to our LX 22, 24 & 26 wicks. Palm waxes can also be challenging to use with particular kinds of candle dyes. Our color blocks have been tested with our hands’ waxes and work wonderfully.

Beeswax

Natural beeswax is thought as the most prestigious and elegant among all the waxes. Additionally, it is often more costly. The candles emit made from these waxes burns gradually and cleanly and emit the sweet aroma of honey.

Beeswax can be used solely to produce candles, or it is possible to combine it with soy wax to help enhance the overall quality of and extend the burn time for your soy wax candles. You can also use beeswax to create pillar candles.

Besides the high price, beeswax contains another disadvantage. In some cases, its soft properties can make it challenging to release sometimes from your candle molds. As a result of this, we suggest that you apply a silicone spray with your molds when creating beeswax candles.

Other Natural Waxes

There are different types of natural wax and candle waxes blends. Some of the Candlewic’s natural candle waxes are coconut-apricot blend and coconut oil wax.

Coconut Oil Wax Blend

This oil wax blends have excellent fragrance throw and display burning characteristics. Additionally, it provides adhesion to glass jars’ side and should be used for making container candles.

Coconut Apricot Candle Wax

Apricot candle wax is an excellent blend of apricot and coconut. This blend produces smooth and rich candles which stick well to containers. It has excellent characteristics and gives unique fragrance through.

Guide To Making Essential Oil Candles

1. Choose the Ideal Wax

There are only a few when it comes to candles options for wax. Most of the people prefer beeswax since it burns and releases a soft honey-like odor, but it’s also costly. Soy wax, on the other hand, is inexpensive and easy to find, but it burns too fast.

But waxes hold scents differently, but if you want to produce candles with a wonderful fragrance and keep their scent, we suggest you go for pure soy wax. (Also wax chips are simple to use.) Soy wax holds the natural scents for longer and releases them gradually while the candle burns, so your candles smell better, more.

2. Pick Your Oils Wisely

There are countless essential oil combinations to select from. When choosing oils, take into consideration personal preference in addition to the health benefits of the oil. Additionally, it helps to choose affordable oils that smell strong right out of the bottle. That way you’ll be able to reap aromatherapy benefits without a hit.

Some options are:

• Lavender — Anti-inflammatory and relaxing
• Lemon — Stimulating and uplifting
• Sweet Orange — Refreshing
• Eucalyptus — Improves respiratory ailments
• Thyme — Relieves stress and anxiety
• Peppermint — uplifting and stimulating

Although not only are they overpowering scents, but they mix and match nicely so you may combine them in lots of ways. As oils have medicinal properties, you should do thorough research and pick the one that suits your needs. And if you have pets or kids make sure they can be used safely with no adverse effects.

3. Use the Perfect Amount of Oil

Since oils do not smell as fragrance oils, you want to use a lot to be able to get an overpowering scent. A good rule of thumb is:

200 drops oil for a candle

You can fix this ratio for container sizes. As an example, if your candle container is 8 oz use 400 drops. This ratio will provide you a roughly 6 percent dilution, which is reported to be the optimal amount for obtaining an odor without any of those side effects.

If you’d prefer not to rely on drop by drop you can add your oils in bulk. While not accurate, you can also measure your oils with a kitchen tsp.

100 drops essential oil = 1 teaspoon

If anything, this ratio could err on the side of too little oil. So if required, adding another 1/2 tsp or so should make sure you have 6% dilution.

4. Add Oils Right Time

To get the maximum scent from your oils, you need to add them after the wax is at the perfect temperature. If the wax is too hot, it can ruin the compounds on your oil and dampen the odor. Too cold and the oils may not evenly disperse through the wax.

You want to include the oils once the wax is nearly 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Since soy wax catches fire quickly, always melt soy wax flakes in a double pot and assess the temperature every few minutes until softened. I use an old kitchen thermometer for then, and this wipes off it when I am done.

5. Maximize the Scent

Once poured, you will have to allow your candles cool (cure) before burning. So the odor doesn’t fade, and always cover candles securely with a lid between uses, so the scent doesn’t fade away.

Lemon Lavender Essential Oil Candles

credit: Stephanie Pollard

Yield 1 4-ounce candle

Ingredients

• One 4-ounce tin or glass
• 100% cotton wicks
• 2 cups pure soy wax flakes
• Saucepan
• Aluminum can or an old Glass jar for melting the wax
• Old kitchen thermometer
• Popsicle sticks or tape to maintain the cords
• 100 drops lemon essential oil
• 100 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions

1. Put the soy wax flakes in an aluminum can or a classic glass jar.
2. Boil 1 inch of water in a saucepan on simmer and set the can with the soy wax in the center. Enable the water to boil until the wax melts perfectly.
3. Remove the pan and put your kitchen thermometer inside the melted wax. Keep checking the thermometer frequently until the wax cools to 185 degrees (it does not need to be precise, but a slightly lower temperature is far better than higher).
4. Add the essential oils and stir to blend.
5. Put the wick in the middle and use popsicle sticks or tape to keep it vertical.
6. Pour into the tin and let it cool for 24 hours before lighting.

How to Generate an Herb-Infused Candle

You’ll find lots of uses for candles using herbs for decoration and scent, and they make gifts. They’re fun and easy to create.

Flowers and herbs can be utilized to color the wax subtle earthy colors. Here, we used oils to scent and to embellish candles, and we opted for a simple method or left the wax undyed, allowing it to dry to white with a bright finish. Here are some tips to help you with candle making.

The Scent

The scent has been an essential element during the long history of the candle. Candles were linked with religious commemorations, and when the Roman emperor Constantine the Great made the first church of Christendom, he bought that scented wax candles be kept burning continuously. Aromatic candles set into glass fittings were a symbol of houses in England during the eighteenth century. The New World provided its own variations introducing on the scented candle, superb material bayberry. An aromatic candle in a natural color and a graceful silhouette is functional and beautiful.

Adding scent can be achieved in many ways. Since everyone reacts differently to scents, do an experiment to locate the level of odor that pleases you. For the fragrance, use several of these techniques.

• Infuse herbs. Heat the wax to flowing temperature (180°F for many candle waxes) and add much-scented herbs like lavender, rosemary, or lemon verbena. Sustain this temperature for about 45 minutes and then strain the wax, which will produce a gentle fragrance. Never leave any wax ignored on a cooker or stove.
• Steep the wick in a small quantity of essential oil before placing it in the mold. This will give a mild fragrance to the candle when lit.
• Add a small amount of essential oil before it’s poured: a few drops no longer than 1/4 teaspoon, for a candle for a pound of wax. Stir well to distribute the oil so it won’t leave spots of discoloration, then pour it into prepared molds.
• Using more or one of those methods will produce an overpowering scent. Commercial candle scents are generally much stronger. If you use these, start with about half of the amount recommended to make sure that the odor of your candle is not overpowering or distracting.

The fragrance is ephemeral. If you have added scents to the wax itself or infused it with fresh herbs the odor on the candle surface that’s exposed to air will dissipate, but the fragrance inside the wax will be released while the candle burns. Its own fragrance will be prolonged by maintaining a candle in a closed container. A simple way to scent any candle store-bought candle or the one which has lost its odor with time is to light it, then add a drop or two of oil to the pool of candle that forms near the wick. The fragrance will be diffused by the fire.

Give some thought to matching the odor to an appropriate color, so the result isn’t jarring. People do not expect a vanilla scent, by way of instance, from a green candle. Take into consideration the odor of the wax when picking a fragrance. Although the candle wax, paraffin, is odorless beeswax has a pleasant honey scent. Herbs mix beautifully with beeswax used alone or blended with paraffin; if you decide to scent it further use oils which complement its amber color and its odor.

The Design

Flower types and herbal leaf shapes offer an abundance of decorating possibilities. Herbs can go in, on, and around candles in ways that are creative, and experimentation is the fun part. If you do not like what you wind up with, melt it down, strain the wax if required, and begin again.

Embed a dried leaf or twig within a candle so that it reveals throughout the wax with results that are interestingly subtle and eerie. Using dried material is essential to avoid mildew. Place the leaves near the surface of the candle so that they might be viewed but not too close to the wick so they can catch fire. Use the following arrangement to secure them in place.

Pour melted wax onto the mold. After outside has been set by a thickness of approximately 1/8 inches, pour the wax back in the container you are using for the hot wax leaving a shell of hardened wax in the mold. Place the leaves where you wish. From wax of the same color, cut chunks with a knife or ice pick and pile them in the middle of the mold against the leaves to hold them in position. Fill the frame with melted wax till the desired length. Using chunks of different-colored wax from that of the shell will cause light or dark stains that will show through to the outside. In case you have melted all your wax you will want to let some of it harden so you can make chunks of it.

Emboss a flower or a leaf on a candle after its face has cooled and been taken out of the mold. For this purpose, flowers and herbs have to be dried and pressed for a couple of days in a flower press, such as a thick phone book. Place the pressed leaves onto your work surface then dab them with a little bit of white glue or hot wax and then place them on candles pushing them until the wax hardens or the adhesive dries, and they are held securely in place. Coat the layout with a thin coating of wax to maintain the herbs in place permanently and to keep them from being scratched or wrecked. There are many ways to accomplish this.

The easiest way is to apply hot wax onto the candle surface until the herbs are entirely coated. You can dip the candle with its wick for a couple of seconds in wax up to its border to make flatter and smoother surface. Do not fill the wax container to the top because as you dip the candle it will displace its quantity in wax and the level will rise; experimentation to discover how much wax it requires, and use a double boiler so that any overflow will go into the water.

If you do not have leftover wax to dip the entire candle, consider putting a small quantity of wax into a container of hot water, the wax will float to the surface. Dip the candle into the wax-covered water. The candle will pick the surface wax-up as you pull it out gradually. Watch for water bubbles and then smooth them out or redip if needed.

Adding crushed herbs into the wax before you pour will provide an attractive appearance to the finished candle. Use loose dried leaves of an herb like rosemary, matching the herb to an essential oil added to the wax for fragrance. The leaves or the crushed herbs will tend to drift toward the bottom of the candle, creating a beautiful effect with homemade molds such as milk cartons where the mold and finished candle possess the same orientation.

If after reading all these helpful tips for making your natural candles at home, it still too difficult for you then read our list of store bought natural candles available at your local stores or online.