How To Make Candles With Essential Oils (5 Steps)

Essential oils have the most relaxing aromas. When looking to unwind after a hard day, I will light a fragranced candle, and the day washes away. Store-bought candles don’t create the same effect as homemade ones.

They also produce dark smoke, which is indicative of impurities or the use of paraffin which can cause pollution. If you love different scented candles, buying them can be expensive, and you can opt to make your candles using essential oils.

Candle making is not complex, but you will become better at making them once you have done it a couple of times. To have the best results, ensure that you follow each step as you should and don’t skip any of them. It is easy to make essential candles in a jar before making fancy-shaped, multiple-colored, or decorative ones.

When candle making, you may have some questions such as, can you mix two essential oils, how much fragrance should you use so that the smell is just right- not too strong and not too light, among other questions. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how easy it is to make your candles and enjoy the fragrance.

Materials Needed

First, you will need to have all the materials assembled so that when you start the process, you will not have to stop halfway to grab something missing. The list of items you will need includes:

• Soy wax is measured to the amount you will use
• The essential oils that you will use
• A cotton wick
• Pot for heating wax
• Thick glass jars
• Sticks longer than the diameter of your jars
• Measuring cup to measure the wax and essential oils

There are different types of wax that you can use. Beeswax is a natural wax made by bees while making honey, and it has a naturally sweet smell that comes from its infusion of love. The disadvantage of using beeswax to make scented candles is that the natural scent of the wax can subtly interfere with the essential oils you use.

It is also more solid than soy wax, making it harder to use. Coconut wax is another alternative that absorbs the fragrance of the essential oils beautifully and burns nicely. However, it is expensive to buy.

An alternative to cotton wicks is hemp wicks made of hemp, and these are organic. They are, however, not as easy to find as cotton wicks. Wooden wicks are also available, but these are harder to work with than cotton wicks.

Candle tins are gaining popularity as a container for holding your candle. Compared to glass candle holders, tin holders are great for smaller-sized candles because they come in smaller sizes than the average glass jar. They also come with a lid which makes them a great travel option.

However, they are not as attractive as using glass candle jars which are great for decorative purposes. Another alternative for holding your candles is using clear plastic tealight cups made of flame retardant plastic that will not burn like other plastics.

These are cheaper than glass jars and look almost as lovely as glass jars; however, there is a slight chance they can catch fire when exposed to fire long enough. They are not advisable for small children and pets who can knock them over.

Fragrance oils are an alternative to essential oils. However, fragrance oils can be natural or synthetically made, and essential oils are natural. Essential oils are preferable to fragrance oils as they carry the ‘real’ smell.

The carrier oil, which holds the scent in fragrance oils, may be altered, which can cause the aroma to be different. The smell in fragrance oils may be changed by the wax, thus changing the intended scent of the candle.

Step-by-step instructions For Candle Making with Essential Oils

Step 1: Prepare the Soy Wax

Put the wax in a pot over low to medium heat. The heat should be enough to heat it slowly. When the wax begins to melt, stir it using a wooden stick until it evenly melts with no chunks or flakes left within it. You can also heat the wax in a microwave until it is fully liquid.

Pro Tip: When heating wax in a pot, use a water bath to regulate the heat. Regulated heat will break down the wax better, and it will set better, without cracks.

Step 2: Add The Essential Oils

When the wax is liquid, let it cool until about 140 °F. Measure the temperature using a candle-making thermometer. This is the ideal temperature for adding in the essential oil.

Adding the essential oil when the wax is too hot burns the oils, leading to less fragrance in the candle. If you add the essential oils when the wax is too cool, it will not mix evenly. Pour in the essential oil and stir continuously with a wooden stick until thoroughly and evenly mixed.

Pro Tip: Mix essential oils and fragrance oils for a longer-lasting fragrance. The synthetic part of the fragrance oils will last longer and cause the scent to go further.

https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/how-to-make-essential-oil-candles

• How Much Essential Oil To Add To Soy Candles

it is vital to use the right amount to ensure that your candle is well fragranced. It is best to use a ratio of roughly half an ounce to one ounce of essential oil for every eight ounces of melted candle wax. This works out to about thirty to forty drops of essential oils in an eight-ounce candle.

Soy wax does not throw the scent, and you can use 30 drops if you are using more potent scented essential oils. If you combine two scents, for instance, lemon and sandalwood, the two scents should be thirty to forty drops in eight ounces of candle wax. Do not put thirty lemons and thirty sandalwoods; it will be too strong for a soy wax candle.

👉 Recommended reading: top 5 best soy waxes

Step 3: Position the Wick

Place the wick to the bottom of your glass jar by using some melted wax to anchor it at the bottom. To hold the wick in place, you may also put some hot glue in the bottom center of the pot, wound it on a stick, and lay the bar over the top of the jar.

Step 4: Pour The Wax Into The Jars

Pour the wax carefully and slowly into the jar, ensuring that it does not touch the sides of the pot. Pour slowly to avoid air bubbles. Ensure that the wick does not move its position. If it does, straighten it before the wax hardens. Fill the jar until about a quarter of an inch of space is left to give the wax room to melt.

Learn how to make your own unique candle mold in this article.

Step 5: Cool The Candle

You can let the candle wax cool and harden out in the open or put it in the refrigerator. Once the wax has hardened, take the wick’s holding stick out and cut it to the right length. You don’t want a wick that is too long because it can cause smoking.

If you want to know that your wax has dried perfectly, it will be firm to the touch, and the wax will turn from clear to a solid white color. If you leave it in the open, it can take four to six hours to harden completely, and in the refrigerator, it will take at least an hour.

Conclusion

Candle making is an easy and fun process. I enjoy making candles and seeing how they will turn out, especially when I follow all the steps precisely as they should be.

I hope you enjoyed the candle-making tutorial as much as I wanted to create it. I have followed this process since I find that it works. When I measure out the wax and the essential oils, I am sure to get a candle that will smell great and burn cleanly. The steps, measurements, and temperatures are necessary to get a great-smelling candle.

Candles are a great personalized gift for family and friends, and you can make a tremendous smelling batch quickly and easily. If you did enjoy the process, I followed, please comment below, and let me know if you followed the same function or a different one. Please share if you liked the article and know someone else who would enjoy it.

Sources images:
https://www.proflowers.com/
https://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/