How to Make Candles

Making your own candles is a great way to style your home, create a pleasant aroma, and provide light when needed. Making candles is quite easy and anyone can do it with just a few simple instructions. Try handmade candles and make your home more sparkling.

Table of Contents

Making Cup Candles

Choose wax. You can find online stores with a variety of waxes such as paraffin, beeswax, and citronella oil. If you like, you can also choose other scented waxes. Choose the wax you need and buy just enough to make the exact number of candles you want.

Melt the wax. Use a steamer to melt the wax. Wax needs to be cooked to 82 – 88°C; You can use a thermometer to measure the exact temperature. If you want, you can also add essential oils.

Cut the candle wick. Take a wick (with a metal base on the bottom) and place it in the cup. Leave the wick a few centimeters off the top. Tie the tip of the wick to a pencil or ballpoint pen, and place it over the top of the cup so that the thread is perpendicular to the bottom of the cup.

Heat the cup. To get a smooth, non-foaming batch of wax, you’ll need to heat the cup you’ll be pouring the wax into. Place the cup in the oven at about 66°C for a few minutes to warm it up.

Pour in the wax. Hold the pencil/wick firmly on the rim of the cup and slowly pour in the melted wax. Do not touch the side of the cup or pour too quickly, to avoid air bubbles in the wax. Pour only ¾ as much wax as you want.

Wait and pour again. Wait a few hours for the wax in the cup to cool. There may be a concave film on top of the wax. At this point, pour the remaining wax into the top of the cup.

Complete. When the wax is completely dry, you can remove the candle wick from the pencil at the top of the cup and trim off the tip. Light candles and place them around to decorate and light up your home. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Making Pillar Candles

Choose wax. Pillar candles are the largest of all candles so they require a lot of wax. Choose materials: Want to make colored candles? Want to make incense for candles? Do you prefer beeswax, citronella oil, paraffin or other diverse waxes? Consider the use of the type of candle you want to make before making a decision.

Melt the wax. Use a steamer to melt the wax. If you don’t have a steamer, put the wax in a glass bowl and place it over the boiling water. When the wax reaches a temperature of 82 – 88°C, it can be poured into the mold.

Mold preparation. To make a pillar candle, you first need to make a mold. The easiest way is to buy a candle mold, otherwise the joints of the mold need to be tight to make the mold strong. You can also get an elastic band (tie it up tight). Use pieces of wood to make box-shaped molds.

Put the candle wick in. Due to the height of the candlestick, you need a long wick. Insert the wick inside, making sure that the wick touches the bottom of the mold. Temporarily tie the wick to a ballpoint pen or pencil and place it across the rim of the glass to keep the wick from falling into the wax.

Pour in the wax. Pour the wax slowly over the mouth of the mold, being careful not to pour it too quickly. Leave ¼ of the wax, which you can pour later and help fix the shape of the candle.

Wait and then pour again. After it has stabilized and cooled, there will be an indentation in the middle of the candle. At this point, heat the remaining wax and pour it into the rest of the mold.

Take out the mold. Wait 2-4 hours for the candle to dry and thicken. Remove the wick from the pencil and remove the mold. Trim off the excess wick below or above the candle, and enjoy your work! ^{[2] X Research Source}

Find a spacious place and try lighting a candle.

Making Candles from Rolled Beeswax

Cut the beeswax sheet. Usually sheet beeswax is quite large in size and will make the candle not look good. Therefore, cut the beeswax sheet to size 10cm x 40cm.

Put the candle wick in. Place the beeswax sheet on a flat surface. Place the wick close to the edge of the wax sheet. Leave at least 3cm of the wick at the top, while placing the wick close to the bottom of the wax sheet.

Start scrolling. Roll from the candle holder, then slowly roll the wax inward. Try to roll in one direction to avoid the bottom of the candle being uneven or spiraling. Gently press down so that the wax layers stick together.

Complete. When you reach the end of the wax, press down with your fingers to secure the layers of wax. Place the candle between your hands and roll, using the warmth of your skin to soften the wax and help hold the candle in shape. Place the candle on your favorite candlestick and you’re done! Now you have a cute and useful decoration for your home. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Making Candles from Waste Wax

Collect wax. Use the excess wax from the old candles to make new candles. You can also use broken pieces of wax from another product, but use wax of the same type (for example, do not mix citronella oil and paraffin).

Choose pieces of wax that have a similar scent, so you won’t create candles with too strong of a scent mixture.
Do not mix waxes of opposite colors, or you will end up with a dull gray or brown color. Choose wax of the same color and dosage.

Melt the wax. Use a butter knife to cut the wax into small pieces, and place in the steamer. Wait until the wax reaches 85°C before taking it down.

Mold preparation. Place a candle wick with a metal piece in it, tie the wick to a pencil or ballpoint pen, and place it over the mouth of the mold. Preheat the mold in the oven to 66°C to reduce air bubbles in the candle.

Pour in the wax. Use a cheesecloth to filter out the candle wicks or metal that may be in the recycled wax. Pour the wax slowly into the mold through the cloth. Do not pour directly into the candle wick or the edges, but pour evenly and slowly into the bottom of the mold. Leave ¼ of the wax for later.

Wait and then pour again. When the wax in the mold has completely hardened, heat up ¼ of the remaining wax. When the candle hardens, there will be a depression at the bottom of the wick. Pour the remaining wax to the mouth of the mold to fill the hollow.

Complete. Remove the pencil or ballpoint pen from the candle wick and cut off the excess. Candles can be used when fully hardened. Enjoy your recycled products, or give them away to friends. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Advice

Do not mix different waxes when making candles as they may make the candles look different and will not give the same results as using one wax.
Add essential oils to scent the candle. Try mixing different scents to create a unique scent for your home.

Warning

Make sure you use a candle wick! Other materials (such as rope) will burn faster, and may ignite causing a fire.
If you do even the slightest mistake of the above steps, they can cause a fire. As a precaution, you should keep a fire extinguisher nearby when you try the candle for the first time.
Do not pour water into the molten wax . The wax will react like hot oil and explode.

Steps