How to Make Soy Candles at Home – Beginners Tutorial
I love a good candle! They create such a cosy mood and they make your home smell simply wonderful.
There really is nothing better than lighting your favourite candle and snuggling up under a blanket with a movie and a big warm mug of hot chocolate – bliss!
If you’re a candle lover like me, you’ve probably found yourself at some point googling how to make soy candles at home. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s actually really easy! And with just a few little bits you can start making your very own candles to enjoy in just 30 minutes…
Let’s get started!
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How to Make Soy Candles
Candle making can be a serious business! If you’re wanting to make and sell professional items then you may need to be a bit more scientific than my beginners instructions here…
But if you’re simply looking to try a new hobby and make a few candles for yourself or your family and friends, then you’re in the right place!
Let’s take a look at a basic candle making kit and a simple how to, then we can talk specifics to make your homemade candles work perfectly for you…
What You Need:
- A Candle Jar
- Soy Wax
- Wicks – String or Wood
- Fragrance Oils
- A Saucepan
Buy everything in one place: Candle Making Amazon List
You can also get candle making kits like this with everything you need to get started in one box!
How To:
- Using your candle jar, measure out two full jars of soy wax into your saucepan. As a general rule, the wax will melt down to about half it’s size – so two scoops of wax will make enough to fill one jar.
- Melt your wax in the saucepan over a gently heat until it’s all dissolved. You might want to use an old saucepan for this, but I find they tend to clean up absolutely fine!
- Turn off the heat and allow your wax to cool slightly before adding your fragrance. Stir it up and make sure the oils are well mixed in.
- Pour the scented wax into your jar and pop in your wick
- Leave to set for a minimum of 24 hours before lighting
…and that’s a homemade candle!
Which Wicks to Choose?
There are a couple of wicks you might find on your candle making journey – traditional string wicks and wooden wicks. Personally I love the wooden wicks as they give off a gentle crackle like a fireplace as they burn. I also find them a little easier to work out the right sizing than traditional wicks – but it’s all just personal preference.
Wooden wicks often come with little metal holders that fix them to the bottom of your jar and help them stand up straight. String wicks need propping up or fixing as the wax hardens to make sure they don’t fall over! You can buy special wick holders like these to help you do that, but a clothes peg (or even a pair of chopsticks!) work just as well.
As a rule, the thicker your wick, the bigger the circumference of wax it will be able to melt. As you might imagine, a larger candle will need a bigger wick (or several wicks) to be hot enough to melt the whole candle. Figuring out the right wick for your candle size is a little trial an error…but that’s part of the fun! Just keep an eye on the pool of wax your wick creates and adjust with your next batch if you need to.
Make sure you trim your wick before lighting – I tend to leave around half an inch for burning. Just trim bits at a time and see what works well for your size jar.
How Much Oil Should I Use?
How much oil to use in your candles depends on a few things. How strong your oil is, how much wax you’re using and how strong you want things to smell.
As a general rule, for the little candles I make, I tend to use around 50 drops of essential oils that gives a lovely throw across my living room. You should be able to smell how strong your candle is when mixing the oils into your melted wax. This will usually give you a good idea of how well that will translate in your finished candle.
Just remember to keep a note of how much you’ve used so you can do the same (or add more/less) next time!
Essential oils work really well in homemade candles, but synthetic fragrance oils are ok too. They’re often artificial and a little stronger per drop which makes them a bit cheaper to use. Again, it’s all just personal preference – your candle, your rules!
Experimenting with different fragrance combinations is so much fun! Here are some of my favourites that you might like to try:
- Lavender & Bergamot
- Rosemary & Orange
- Clary sage & Sandlewood
- Basil & Grapefruit
- Jasmine, Lavender & Rose
Be careful if you have pets around not to use any essential oils that could be toxic to them
What Size Jar Do I Need?
You can use any jar you like! Pick up some empty candle jars online, or simply save some of your old candle jars and re-use them. I even saw this clever idea in the Wayfair Christmas section for Orange Peel candles and they worked really well when I made them (see below!) and will look lovely on a festive table. Basically, if it can hold your wax, it can be made into a candle – get creative!
The bigger the jar, the more wax and oil you’ll need. You’ll also need to adjust your wick size to make sure it burns wide enough to melt the top layer of wax. Too big and your flame will smoke, too small and it will burn unevenly.
I find that doubling up a standard wooden wick tends to work well in both small and medium jars. And I get a pool about 2 inches across from a medium thickness string wick.
TOP TIP: You could even drop some dried flowers or herbs into your hardening wax for even more scent and a lovely finished look!
How to Burn Your New Candle
The first time you burn your candle its important to leave it lit until the entire top layer of wax has melted. If you find that only a small pool of wax is melting and the candle is ‘tunneling’ downwards, your wick my not be big enough for the size of your candle – see which wicks to choose above!
By waiting until the entire top layer of your candle is melted before blowing it out, you’ll get a lovely even burn every time you light it.
It’s also important to wait at least 24 hours before lighting your candle to allow the oils and fragrance to cure. This ensures you get a nice ‘throw’ of scent and your candle fills a room nicely.
Take a look at the process in my 30 second Instagram video!
So there we have it – how to make soy candles at home…I told you it was easy! As you experiment with different scents, sizes and wicks you’ll soon learn what works for you and what doesn’t.
And that’s the fun of crafting!
I’ve added everything I use into a handy list on Amazon so you can simply add it all to your basket and start making candles as soon as it arrives!
You could also try this candle making kit with everything you need in one box!
I’d love to see your homemade candles if you give them a go –
tag me in your pictures on instagram @xameliax!
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How to make Soy Candles