Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified herbalist or chemist. I do, however, have over 14 years of skin care industry experience and 2 years of naturopathic training. Otherwise I am self-educated on health and homemade body care products and want to share my knowledge.

While the greatest care has been taken to provide accurate information in this eBook, it should not replace your own research.

Melting wax is a key part of the candle making process, but it should be done with great caution as it has a flashpoint at which is it flammable. You must never leave melting wax on a burner unattended.

Candles, while beautiful additions to home decor, are also potential fire hazards, so you must make sure that you burn candles safely and never leave a burning candle unattended. Please see the Safety First Tips before starting to make your own candles.

Homemade Candles Made Simple is intended for information purposes only. 

History of Candle Making

 

Candles have been used for thousands of years to light up the night, with each country independently devising its own version of a wick staying alight by burning fuel. While candles were the sole source of artificial light until the early 1900s, they have also held a prominent position in religious services of most faiths and are now widely used in home decoration. Among other things, they symbolise holiday festivities, romance and birthday celebrations. The simple wick-and-wax combo has proved a perennial hit.

            As with most items, the Romans are generally credited with developing the candle as we know it today, with a wick made from papyrus, hemp, flax or cotton dipped repeatedly in tallow (animal fat from cows or sheep). Ancient Egyptians fashioned their candles from reed cores covered with melted animal fat. The Chinese used rice paper for the wick and a wax made from insects and seeds, wrapped in paper to burn. The fruit of the cinnamon tree was boiled and turned into a wax in India, while the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest simply lit dried fish, the eulachon or candlefish, on a fork.

The most common candles historically were made from tallow, which was cheap and readily available, but gave off smoke while it burnt as well as a stomach-churning stench. By the 13th century, candle making had become a guild craft in England and France, and the candle makers (chandlers) either went from house to house making candles from the kitchen fats saved for that purpose, or made and sold their own candles from small outlets. Tallow was popularly used to light both indoor and outdoor lamps, with street lighting introduced by 1415.

A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when Europe discovered beeswax candles. They were expensive and used primarily by churches and wealthy individuals, but burnt cleanly, without a smoky flame, and emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the putrid tallow.

Early settlers in colonial America created a nicely fragranced wax by boiling the berries from the bayberry shrub. Although the candles burnt well, the process was time-consuming and the yield was poor in comparison to the effort required. Whale fat (originally used in candles by the Chinese in 221 BC) was then produced in mass quantity as whaling took off in the 18th century. The resulting spermaceti wax didn’t smell very nice, but was hard enough to keep its shape in the hot summer months.

With the industrial revolution in the early 19th century, candle making machines were invented and significantly increased production and availability. Then, in 1825, the chemists Chevreul and Lussac patented a candle made from crude Stearic, one of the fatty acids in tallow.

The next developments in the history of candle making came with a new and improved wick, achieved by braiding the cotton instead of just twisting it, and the discovery of paraffin as a by-product of both distilling coal and refining petroleum. Paraffin wax, which gave a bright, clean, odour-free flame, was combined with Stearic to create a superior and cheaper candle.

During the New Romantic era of the 1980s, candles became popular household items as decorations and mood-makers. Suddenly they were available in a variety of colours, shapes, sizes, smells and styles. Candle making had become such big business again, that the following decade new types of wax were being developed to improve the burn.

Today the market offers candle lovers an endless array of candles in all shapes and styles, produced from a wide variety of waxes: paraffin, vegetable wax, beeswax and the newest trend of gel wax. 

Benefits of making your own candles

 

 

With such a variety of candles available, you might wonder why people bother making their own, but there are many compelling reasons why you should try your hand at homemade candles.

• Basic candles are fun and easy to make, but you can also stretch your skill by mastering advanced techniques such as ice candles, chunk candles, rustic candles and even a hurricane shell.
• You can unleash your creativity as you produce all manner of crazy candles, from rolls of money or a chain of bullets, to sandcastles and body parts.
• Candlelight creates a wonderful mood, both romantic and calming at the same time, as well as providing a welcome relief from the technology glare we subject our eyes to most of the time.
• Candles come in all colours and designs and can be tailored to decorate your home in your individual style.
• You can personalise a candle to make a unique and thoughtful handmade gift.
• You can easily make candles in bulk and find it becomes a profitable hobby, bringing in a second income.

What’s in a candle

 

The modern candle uses wax as a fuel to burn the wick, creating a small flame for light. Once the wick has been lit, the heat from the flame melts the surrounding wax which is in turn absorbed into the wick thus fuelling the flame. While the colour and smell are nice additives, it is important therefore to make sure that the two main ingredients are right for your desired result.

 

Wax

 

As candles became increasingly popular as decorative items, for the first time in more than a century new waxes have been developed. Now you have a wide choice of fuel from the original paraffin and beeswax, to insect and vegetable-based products as well as gel innovations. As each type of wax has different melting points, properties and appearance, you should choose the right one to suit the individual project and the effect that you want achieve.

 

Beeswax

 

Other than tallow, Beeswax is one of the oldest candle-making waxes. Produced by bees as a by-product of making honey, the wax is excreted into combs to incubate their larvae.

 

• Organically infused with honey, beeswax is available in either yellow or white, has a naturally sweet smell and is a slow burning wax which is virtually drip and smoke-free.
• Beeswax melts at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit and can be bought in blocks or slabs, in easy-to-melt pastilles, or in pre-rolled sheets which don’t even need melting. Although it’s a hard wax, it is sticky and so is best suited to candles that aren’t moulded. The big downside is simply that it is very expensive, making it a luxury item.

 

  Paraffin Wax

 

Paraffin wax is the oldest and most commonly used wax, not least due to its versatility and affordability. It comes in a variety of grades, differentiated by melting point. However, paraffin wax is a by-product of the crude oil refinement process and many environmentally-friendly folk prefer not to use it because of its link to petroleum. Others argue that paraffin is being produced anyway and would otherwise be discarded, so it’s best to put it to good use. Some people are allergic to paraffin and so they should look to other natural waxes as a base anyway.

 

• Low melting point paraffin turns to liquid at temperatures of 130 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. This grade is very soft and therefore only suitable for making candles in containers.
• Medium melting point paraffin changes consistency at temperatures between 130 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit, but is still too soft to make moulded or carved candles.
• High melting point paraffin needs to be heated to a temperature in excess of 145 degrees Fahrenheit in order to liquefy. This hard wax is suitable for carved or moulded candles and will burn for longer than the softer grades.
• You can also get 'one-pour' paraffin wax which is designed not to shrink as it cools, which is ideal for container candles.

 

Pure paraffin candles are rare as they burn fast and are very soft, so they are augmented with additives to strengthen the resulting wax, increase burn time and withstand hot weather.

 

Two other petroleum waxes are available from the process: Petrolatum and Microcrystallines.

 

Petrolatum wax is a natural blend of microcrystalline wax and oil, and has good oil-holding capacity. It is more commonly known, once filtered and blended as mineral jelly, but when it is fully refined it becomes microcrystalline wax. However, it is a very soft wax and is primarily used for container candles to help the wax stick to the container walls and prevent shrinkage.

 

Microcrystalline wax is tougher and more flexible, with a higher melting point. These waxes have a finer structure and bind solvents as they are more adhesive, preventing ingredients from sweating out. It is often used as an additive in wax blends.

Soy Wax

Soy wax is a new wax on the block, only developed in the 1990s as a green alternative to paraffin and cheaper than beeswax. Made from hydrogenating soybeans, it is a clean and long-burning inexpensive natural wax which comes in a variety of blends and melting points.

• The melting point of soy wax ranges from 120 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the blend, and it can be safely melted in the microwave.
• Soy waxes are non-toxic, biodegradable, environmentally safe and easy to clean up with just hot water and soap.
• Soy wax contains natural oils which mix well with fragrances and retain the smell for longer than other waxes.
• It also suffers minimal shrinkage during the candle making process and rarely forms pockets of air.

 

Soy wax can be either 100% soybean oil, or mixed with vegetables oils like coconut or waxes such as beeswax or palm wax – as long as soy makes up at least 51% of the mix it will be labelled a soy wax blend. Low melt point soy blends are best suited to container candles, while higher melt point blends are available for pillar candles.

 

Palm Wax

Palm wax is another natural wax by-product, this time from palm oil. About 25% of the palm oil harvested worldwide is used in a wide range of goods, but the wax is one of the longest-burning natural waxes.

• Palm wax is a very firm, almost brittle, wax with a high melt point around 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It works particularly well in pillars and votives, but can be bought as a container wax blend as well.
• It can be used to create a beautiful crystalline, feathered effect in the candle, although it can be difficult to work with.
• It is virtually smokeless and leaves almost no soot in the air when used with a cotton wick.

It is usually bought in flake form and can be used on its own or as an additive to harden other waxes.

 

Bayberry Wax

Colonial Americans discovered that you can extract wax from boiling the berries obtained from the bayberry bush, but as the process is so time-consuming it is a very expensive wax.

However, if you want to splash out on a little luxury, you will get a wax with both a beautiful natural scent of freshly cut hay and a lovely shade of olive green.

• Also known as ‘myrtle wax’ or ‘candle berry’, its melting point is approximately 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
• It does not burn so well on its own in a large diameter, and so is best suited to tarts or taper candles.

Bayberry is often blended with other waxes – partly to alleviate the cost, but also to eliminate the brittleness of pure bayberry wax which is very hard.

 

Gel Wax

Gel wax for candle making is not actually a wax, but instead a mix of resin and mineral oil. However, like a wax it melts and burns, as well as being a carrier for fragrance and colour.

The beauty is in its transparency, which allows for a whole new way of designing candles and has started a trend for clear container candles with a variety of embedded objects. Gel candles got a bad reputation for a while as they were often full of bubbles and were thought to explode, causing fires or thermal burns. In fact, the problem usually lay in a container which was not strong enough to withstand the heat of a burning candle.

New gel wax products are now becoming available which are firm enough to make pillar candles as well.

 

Wax Blends

Many suppliers will provide ready-mixed wax blends to make it easier for home candle makers. They will tell you what’s in the blend – this will usually include additives as well as fragrance – its melting point and best uses, so that all you have to think about is how to design your new creation.

 

  Recycled Wax

You can always recycle leftover candle stubs and either remelt the wax for use again, or break them up into chunks to use as interesting pieces in a gel or chunk candle.

 

  Wax additives

As well as mixing waxes to get the right consistency and adding colorants and fragrances, there are several other additives that many candle makers use to improve the end result. These include, but are not limited to, Stearic acid, Vybar, micro wax and poly crystals, as well as household items such as petroleum jelly, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil and mineral oil which can be used in container candles. Additives can help enhance the candle’s burning time, throw a stronger scent and prevent colour fade.

 

How to measure your wax

 

Make sure that you measure all ingredients in the same method to ensure you have comparable quantities. All measurements should be done by weight, not by volume or unspecified measures such as cups.

 

One pound of wax melts down to between 16 and 20 ounces, depending on the type of wax, and so calculations are done based on 20 ounces. First you need to know how much your container will hold to work out how much wax you need.

For example, if you want to fill five 12 ounce containers, then you would calculate the amount of wax as follows:

5 (containers) x 12 (ozs per container) = 60 ozs / 20 (ozs per pound of wax) = 3 pounds of wax needed.

 

To calculate how much wax you need for each container, check out the handy calculators on this site: http://www.candletech.com/candle-making/tips-and-tricks/handy-calculators/

 

If you’re using grams, then the calculation is much easier because 1 ml of water weighs 1 g. However, wax is slightly less dense, so

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Jennifer Stepanik
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.08.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-3391-3

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Candles are instant mood enhancers, stress-relievers and natural relaxants; fill your home with flickering flames and enjoy the peace and serenity they bring. To receive candle making recipes, step-by-step tutorial videos, as well as ideas on how to recreate a home spa experience, visit www.spanationcandles.com