How to make a candle Tips and advice

More than just a decorative object, candles create a cocooning, romantic and warm atmosphere, while giving our homes a pleasant scent.
Why not try your hand at creating handmade candles? They're quick and easy to make, but you need to know the right ingredients. Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know to make a homemade candle:

What ingredients are needed to make a candle?

1 - Wax

Unsurprisingly, wax is the main ingredient in the creation of homemade candles. It must be melted in a bain-marie in sufficient quantity to fill the mold you've chosen.

Which wax to use for candles?

• The soy wax is the idealplant-based candle wax for beginners. Easy to work with, it melts at relatively low temperatures, making it safer to handle. Its texture is smooth and can produce a glossy, transparent finish. Soy wax candles burn cleanly with little soot or smoke. It has an excellent ability to retain fragrances and essential oils. This type of candle wax is recommended for molded candles, jar candles and tea lights.
  It is also environmentally friendly, as it is biodegradable and derived from renewable resources.
• The rapeseed wax is another vegetable wax. It has a slightly granular texture. Rapeseed wax has a higher melting point than soy wax. It requires particular care when melting and when pouring into molds or containers. It also tends to crystallize, crack or crack when poured in large quantities.
• The beeswax is a wax of animal origin. It is yellow, or white, and has a pleasant honey scent. Economical, as beeswax candles burn more slowly and evenly. It is best poured into small glasses, as it is difficult to unmold. Beeswax has a good scent-holding capacity, which means it diffuses scents well. Rape wax candles burn cleanly, releasing little or no soot or smoke.

2 - The fragrance

In a scented candle, the fragrance is provided by a cosmetic perfume, essential oil,scented oil... This is the essential step in creating a scented candle.

A question often asked: can I put essential oil on a candle? Yes, but be careful to respect the dosage for each ingredient. For essential oils, check that the flash point (the temperature at which the oil catches fire) is higher than the candle's melting point, to prevent it from igniting. Each EO has a different flash point, so be sure to check this before using them.
In addition, excess essential oil can make the wax unstable, affecting combustion quality and causing excessive smoke. In general, 5-10% fragrance is recommended for a scented candle.

Please note that perfumes containing alcohol, even in minute quantities, should be avoided.

How do you naturally scent a candle? You can mix dried herbs (mint, sage, rosemary), ground spices (cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom..), dried citrus peel or dried flowers(mallow, marigold, chamomile, rose, calendula, lavender...) with melted wax.

3 - The colorant

How do you color candles? Choose the colorant you wish to use, and always mix it with the melted wax. The coloring step is optional, but it allows you to personalize your creations.
There are different colorants specially designed for making handmade candles. They are available as pigments, liquid dyes or tablets.

• Pigments in fragments or powder are added to the melted wax. They offer a wide variety of bright, intense colors. They are miscible with each other to create customized hues and resist fading. But they can be difficult to mix with wax. That's why they need to be mixed well.
• Liquid colorants should be added to melted wax. They are easy to dose and mix well with wax. But their colors may be less intense than those of pigments.
• Pastilles, which are added directly to the melted wax, are easy to quantify and mix well with the wax. However, they are limited in color choice and hues are less vivid than those of pigments.

4 - The mold

What mould should I use for a candle? The possibilities are numerous. The mold must be heat-resistant and must not have a painted or glossy interior. It can be made of metal, plastic, latex, acrylic... You can use an old cup, an empty jam jar, a shell picked up on the beach, a coconut cut in half or a terracotta pot. It's also a great way to give a second life to salvaged objects.

Silicone molds are ideal because they're flexible, durable and easy to unmold. It's easier to make cast candles when you're new to candle-making
For cast candles, we recommend a glass mold, as you can see the candle burning through the container. Before handling your candle, make sure the glass container has cooled down completely to avoid burning yourself.

5 - The wick

Make sure the wick is primed, i.e. well coated with melted wax. Wick priming, also known as priming, is very important in homemade candle making. When the wick is correctly primed, it picks up the molten wax and transports it to the flame to burn more efficiently and evenly. A primed wick generates less smoke during combustion and prevents the formation of hollows or holes in the candle. What's more, the wick will be stiff and therefore easier to insert into the wick-holder.
To help you create your own handmade candles, you'll find ready-to-use waxed wicks.

6 - Decorating

How do you decorate a candle? There are many ways to decorate a handmade candle: with gemstones, dried flowers (don't put them too close to the wick so they don't catch fire), cut-out wax plates, candle paint pens...

7 - DIY candle-making ideas

Here are a few ideas for hand-crafted candles that you can create to suit your own tastes and desires. For yourself or as a gift, a candle is always a pleasure! :

• The scented candle decorated with dried flowers.
• The message candle: a perfect gift idea.
• The bubble candle: with its original design, it will add a trendy touch to your home.
• The stone candle: as it burns, you'll discover a real treasure. Be sure to choose natural stone beads. If they're made of resin or plastic, the heat will melt them.

Never leave candles unattended.

If you're planning to sell your candles on the market, be sure to consult the regulations in force and the requirements for candle sales.