Candle Making Resources

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Although there are many ways to add fragrance to candles, only an oil based form of scent will work.

The most popular way to scent your candles is by using a commercially prepared synthetic fragrance. These come in liquid, powder, and wax form and are recommended for the budding candle maker.

Just stir liquid scent into the melting wax at the last possible moment before you pour. Powdered scent should be mixed into melted stearin and then combined with your melted wax. Solid scent is generally in wax blocks; break a chunk off and add to your melted wax as needed.

Don’t add too much scent. If you do, you may have oil coming out of your candle, white splotches (called mottling) may appear, and the candle may smoke. As a general rule, use 1/2 teaspoon of fragrance per one pound of wax.

Using essential oils to scent candles is a trickier process. Some oils will clog the wick or cause sudden flare ups, so proceed with caution. Essential oils are powerful, so consult Essential Oil Dos and Don’ts as well as Basic Blending Techniques before you proceed.

The following types of oils should comprise less than 30% of your Essential Oil blend:

Citrus oils (bergamot, grapefuit, lemon, orange)
Spicey oils (clove, coriander, ginger)
Highly resinous oils (benzoin, frankincense, myrrh)

Your candle scent formula will last longer if it includes an oil that serves as a fixative. The resinous oils above will all serve as a fixative, along with patchouli and vetiver.

Because essential oils tend to clog the wick, I have two important recommendations:

One, use a slightly bigger wick than recommended for your candle size.

Two, prime your wick with the essential oil blend before you prime it with wax.

Although lavender, rose and citronella are traditional candle scents, once you learn how to blend essential oils, you can start making your own unique scents. You may find Creating Your Own Essential Oil Formulas helpful.

November 13, 2009 | No comments

Color Mixing Guide for Candle Makers

Red, yellow and blue are considered primary colors, this is because these are the basic colors used to mix all others.

The primary colors are blended to make secondary colors:
Red + yellow = orange
Yellow + blue = green
Red + blue = purple

Varying the proportions of primary colors will give you different shades of the secondary colors. For instance, red with just a hint of yellow will give you a cherry red.

The color wheel below will help you blend dye chips to achieve the final color results you are looking for.

color-wheel_3

When mixing colors for candle making, you must remember you are starting with whatever color your wax is, not with color. Therefore, a touch of red in white wax will give you a lovely pink hue. You must always take into account the color of your wax and its opacity when deciding how much dye and which color to use to get the results you want.

Red and blue are both very over powering dyes and can take over your color; proceed slowly.

Start with making pastels colors, and remember you can purchase a whitener, which will make the final color less translucent.

Although adding a bit of black will darker the color, be very cautious, as it can ruin your final results.

Once you have become proficient in making pastel colors, you can move on to the full-bodied colors. Remember that you want to blot out the white base with color, so you will need a lot more dye.

All candle colors fade with time, although you can purchase an ultraviolet inhibitor, which helps to prevent candles from fading.

If you are into using nature to scent your candles through the use of essential oils (and I hope you are!), you may also be interested in using botanicals to dye your candles. Candle color must be oil soluble, so soak your botanicals in oil or melted candle wax and expect relatively pale colors.

November 5, 2009 | 6 comments

Your Candle Making Notebook

Keeping a written history of your candle making sessions is a valuable step for the amateur and professional alike. In the long run it will save both time and money, since it allows you to repeat your successes and learn from your failures.

What should you keep in your candle making notebook? Everything you would need to refer to if you were going to recreate a session exactly several weeks later.

What kind of wax did you use? Be specific as to type, brand, and quantity.
If you mixed different kinds of wax, be specific as to quantities.
What additives were used? Again, be as specific as possible.
What kind of wick did you use? How did you anchor it?
What dye did you use? Be specific as to what proportions were used to get what color.
What scent was used? In what quantities?
What temperature was the wax when the candle was made?
How much left over wax was there?
If the candle was molded, how long did it take to cool? Did you use a water bath to speed the process?
Where did you purchase your materials, and at what price? (This is very important if you are serious about candle making costs.)

Whenever possible, keep a sample of every candle you make so when you burn it, you can make additional notes. Knowing exactly how the finished product turned out in terms of appearance, burn rate, and scent thrown is invaluable.

October 28, 2009 | 1 comment

Candle Making Glossary

Back Fill / Topping Off
As a general rule, all waxes have some degree of shrinkage. As the candle sets up it will shrink around the middle, requiring a back fill or topping off to create a smooth surface.

Bayberry
Bayberry is a type of natural wax from the berries of the bayberry shrub. Not commonly in use due to the expense.

Beeswax
A natural wax made from the secretion of honeybees. Beeswax burns slowly and with a wonderful scent. It is often mixed with paraffin to create a more long lasting and affordable candle.

Burn Rate
Burn rate is the amount of wax that is consumed in one hour of burning. It is used to determine how well a wax and wick combination performs.

Cooling Bath
A cold water bath designed to speed up the setting process.

Cored Wick
These wicks have zinc, lead, paper or cotton in the center to provide rigidity and kept them erect. (Note: The use of lead cored wicks is decreasing due to health concerns.)

Flat Braid
A flat wick made of a three-strand braid. This type of wick comes in different sizes and is most often used for tapers and pillars.

Fully Refined Wax
Fully refined waxes have been through the maximum in refined process and are generally used to make pillars, votives and most non-container candles

Melting Point
The temperature needed to melt wax. This varies by the type of wax you are using. Note that there is a difference between melting temperature and pouring temperature.

Melt Pool
A term used to describe the diameter of liquid wax that occurs when the wick is burned.

Mottling
A textured surface on the candle caused by a fracturing of the wax. This is often done on purpose for a special effect.

Paraffin
Paraffin is a type of candle wax made from petroleum, or more accurately, as a by product of the petroleum refining process. The only kind of paraffin suitable for candle making is fully refined. (Forget the stuff from the grocery store!). Candle making paraffin is generally rated by melting point: low, medium, or high.

Pre-Wick Assembly
A pre-wick assembly is one cut to a specific length, and that has a wax coating and a metal base.

Scent Load
Scent load is the percentage of fragrance placed in the wax. Scent load varies from 1% to 10%. If using pure essential oils in your candles, the recommended scent load is 3%.

Soy Wax
Soy Wax is made from hydrogenated soybean oil. It is the latest trend in candle making waxes because it is biodegradable, projects less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and burns at a low rate. This low burn rate results in even burning and more fragrance distribution.

Square Braid
A wick of many strands that looks like a square with rounded corners. It is often used in beeswax candles, pillars, and novelty candles. Many think a square braid will stand up straighter and keep a flame centered in its candle.

Straight Paraffin
A standard wax used in candles that does not contain additives, such as stearic acid.

September 28, 2009 | 6 comments