Posted by Les Mauvaises Herbes
Making your own soy wax candles… with top-of-the-line crackling wood wicks might seem intimidating.
We invite you to get that idea out of your head RIGHT. NOW.
Can you make a Kraft Dinner? You're more than capable of handling this, and you'll know how to make candles. No joke! It takes a few specific skills, but we're going to explain it so well that you'll have no choice but to get started!
In this post, we're offering you a tried-and-true method! For a while, we gave an express recipe without a thermometer, but now we're sharing a more comprehensive recipe for better results!
For candle making, you'll need:
- a digital scale (if you use essential oils or fragrances, you'll need a precision scale)
- a digital thermometer
- a calculator, or a pencil if you're more old-school when it comes time to do multiplication
- a double boiler
- a few simple ingredients
- cute little containers and a little time.
As you know, we have everything you need to make your candles on our online store and at our brick-and-mortar store: wax, wicks, and essential oil blends to naturally scent the whole thing!
Little flames that have accompanied us for a long time
"Candles" are part of human history. From oil lamps to wax candles, they were originally utilitarian: a source of light. Now, we use them more for ambiance, the comfort they bring, ritual, and celebration.
A good hot bath accompanied by a crackling homemade candle (a little like your own personal fireplace) and a good lunar latte, once in a while, warms the heart.
While we're at it, warming the heart with candles, we invite you to make your own, personalized ones, using simple and natural ingredients… rather than opting for a drugstore version with a lingering smell of who-knows-what.
Photo: Jacinthe Morin
The different types of wax
When it comes time to choose the type of plant-based wax to make your candles, there's no shortage of options on the market: soy wax, beeswax, coconut wax, paraffin, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, etc.
Is one better than another when it comes to health? Not really.
As soon as you're burning something, you shouldn't expect it to be really beneficial. Let's be realistic.
Are candles dangerous to our health? The impact of candle smoke in a well-ventilated area will probably not have more of an impact than the ambient air pollution. So no, there isn't really a negative impact on health. Not to mention that the positive effect on morale is not negligible!
It's rather the ethical and environmental side that needs to be evaluated to make our choice.
We chose to offer you only one type of wax in our store: pure soy wax, without additives.
Is it the perfect wax? Probably not, but we think it's an EXCELLENT choice. We'll explain why.
Let's review the options:
- Paraffin is a petroleum derivative. We prefer to avoid it;
- Beeswax? It's a precious material made by our dear friends the bees. We prefer to reserve it for making products that will truly allow us to benefit from its benefits (for the skin, for example). Candles are not among them;
- Coconut wax is very "soft", we often add paraffin to it to firm it up, it doesn't really appeal to us!
- Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a palm tree in northeastern Brazil. In addition to not being very local, its production would contribute to deforestation in the Amazon. Avoid it!
- Candelilla wax, for its part, in addition to not being local, involves a sulfuric acid extraction method… a process that is often dangerous for Mexican workers under otherwise very questionable conditions. That's why we stopped selling this product on our online store after being made aware of this situation.
The soy wax we offer you comes from sustainable, non-GMO soy crops in the United States. It is 100% free of additives. A hard thing to find!
Ours contains hydrogenated soy oil, nothing else (the hydrogenation process, without hexane, is mandatory to turn soy oil into wax).
In addition, our wax is 100% safe for cosmetic use. Double YEAH!
Making candles with your eyes closed (or almost)
Ingredients/tools
- Soy wax in sufficient quantity. Soy wax flakes are bulky, but very light. Here's a little tip to calculate the required quantity, depending on the volume of your containers. To know the amount of wax needed in grams:
Container volume (ml) x number of containers x 0.77
= amount of wax needed (in grams)
You don't know the volume of your container because you found it in a thrift store? Nothing simpler. Fill your container with water and pour it into a measuring cup! Tadaa!
- container(s) of your choice (vintage cup, tin can, Mason jar, etc.)
- wooden wick of the appropriate width* + metal base
- epoxy glue, Krazy Glue, or industrial glue
- optional: 5 to 10% essential oils calculated based on your amount of wax in grams. So, if you weighed 100 g of wax, you'll need 5 to 10 g of essential oils in total.
- large Pyrex cup, stainless steel bowl, or other heat-resistant container to melt the candle wax
- digital scale
- digital thermometer
*How to choose the right wick size for your container?
We'll choose a wick size based on the diameter of our container.
| Wooden wick size | Container diameter |
| Small (0.375 in or 10 mm) | 6-7 cm |
| Medium (0.5 in or 13 mm) | 7 to 9 cm (ex.: small-mouth Mason jar) |
| Large (0.625 in or 16 mm) | 9 to 11 cm (ex.: wide-mouth Mason jar) |
Photo: Jacinthe Morin
Making
1. To be extra safe, we recommend securing the wick to the bottom of the container with epoxy or industrial glue. Some people simply insert the wick into the wax when it starts to harden. It works great! But we prefer to secure it, simply to avoid the risk of it slipping once the wax is completely melted. A flame in direct contact with a glass wall, it shatters…
2. Measure the amount of wax needed based on your container(s) (see formula above).
3. Melt in a double boiler, stirring regularly so that the temperature increases evenly. We like to use a pot of water with a cloth at the bottom, on which we place a large Pyrex measuring cup or a stainless steel bowl containing the wax.
4. When the wax temperature has reached 80°C (176° F), turn off the heat and remove the wax from the double boiler.
5. Let it cool until the temperature indicates 60°C (140° F).
Photo: Jacinthe Morin
6. Add the essential oils to the wax and stir for one minute with a fork or a small whisk.
7. Let the wax cool again until it reaches 55°C (131°F) and slowly pour the wax into the container(s) avoiding pouring any on the wick!
8. Even if the urge to light our beautiful candle is very, very strong, leave it to rest for a minimum of 24 hours before using it, to properly set the essential oils.
9. After this endless waiting time, cut the wooden wick to about 5 mm from the surface of the candle. You can use the tools you have on hand. No need for a fancy wick trimmer. A pair of scissors, nail clippers, or cable-cutting pliers do the job perfectly!
Use
Little tips to maintain the flame (of your candle, uh-huh).
Rule 1: Always let it burn long enough, until the wax pool reaches the edges of the container. This corresponds to about 1 hour per 2.5 cm of diameter. Otherwise, a tunnel of wax will be created and your candle will hollow out. Not only will it burn really faster, but the flame may suffocate at some point. We don't want that.
Rule 2: Always trim your wick after a little session. How? By letting the wax cool completely and trimming the wick to about 5 mm from the surface. Our method? We take the cooled candle, turn it upside down (so that the burnt wick ends don't collect on the wax), pinch the wooden wick between the thumb and index finger, and simply remove what remains between our fingers. Voilà! Let's call it the "wick-pinch" method. We just invented the name.
Rule 3: Obviously, we never leave a lit candle unattended, huh!
That's it!
Essential oils, flashpoints… Let's demystify!
Putting essential oils in a homemade candle? Yes, it's possible, but you must remain aware that they are heat-sensitive materials. Ideally, we can opt for essential oils that have higher flash points (or flashpoints) than the melting point of our wax, so that they resist the impact of heat more. That being said, the use of essential oils in a candle is more for the smell and the pleasure they bring us than for the aromatherapy properties. If you are looking to benefit from the properties of essential oils, we invite you to turn rather towards diffusion!
What is the flash point?
The flash point is the lowest temperature at which the combustible gas emanating from a liquid can ignite upon contact with an open flame or a spark. In other words, it is the combustibility index of a liquid upon contact with an ignition source.
It should not be confused with the ignition point (temperature of auto-ignition), which represents the lowest temperature at which a substance can ignite without an external source of ignition (flame or spark).
Several websites suggest, during manufacturing, not to add essential oils to liquefied wax if its temperature is higher than the flash point of the essential oil, for fear that it will auto-ignite. We reassure you: the ignition points of essential oils, when listed, are very high. There is no chance of reaching them with simple melted soy wax. For example, the flash point of palo santo is 75°C, and its auto-ignition temperature is 235°C.
"Yes, but when we burn the candle, there is a flame. Can the essential oils in the wax ignite?"
It must be kept in mind that the flash point applies to pure and undiluted essential oils. In a candle, essential oils are diluted and dispersed in the wax. This data therefore no longer applies directly.
Obviously, never add essential oil directly into the melted wax while your candle is lit, let's say you find that your candle doesn't smell enough…! That would be a real problem, since it would be really concentrated! Too bad, you'll adjust your recipe for the next making. Your current candle remains as is.
Photo: Jacinthe Morin
Our opinion and experience? There is A LOT of conflicting information online about the famous flash points, and very few reliable sources… For our part, we believe that with an essential oil concentration of 5 to 10%, it poses no danger. We have done numerous tests, we have used a torch directed directly into the melted wax containing essential oils (regardless of their flash point), and we have never had any problems. This is also the opinion of Robert Tisserand, an authority in the world of essential oils.
It must be kept in mind that it is still a CANDLE. It is fire. The object itself poses a fire hazard, with or without essential oils. But it is not the addition of a small amount of diluted essential oils that will increase the risks.
There is a second reason why it is relevant to look into the flash point of essential oils: the longevity of the scents.
And in general, we can agree that it is better not to denature the molecules of essential oils if we want to take advantage of their scent and their properties. That is why in our method, we wait a little while before adding the essential oils, to allow the temperature of the wax to drop a bit.
In the case of our wax, the melting point is 51.67 °C (125 °F). The temperature of the melted wax when we use our candle? Around 60 °C. We will therefore favor essential oils with a flash point of more than 60 °C, to ensure that we do not denature the aromas of these precious ingredients.
That being said, we invite you to do your own tests! Some essential oils will have a lasting scent, despite a flash point below this temperature. As you can see, it is not an exact science!
THAT SAID, making soy wax candles is quite safe, let's remind ourselves, because:
- the melting point of our wax is super low;
- essential oils are added during the manufacturing process to melted wax (NO flame is involved during this step);
- since the molecules of essential oils are liposoluble, they dilute evenly in the wax, which means that even when burning a scented candle with essential oils, the candle flame should not come into contact with pure essential oil.
When in doubt, we choose essential oils whose flash point is greater than 60 °C because 1) we want to avoid combustion possibilities and 2) we want to avoid denaturing the molecules of our precious essential oils.
Essential oils to favor
We have prepared a small non-exhaustive list of essential oils with higher flash points that we can favor to make our own homemade candles.
"Is it serious if I take an essential oil with a lower flash point?"
No, it is not serious. In fact, we use essential oils that are not on this list in our own candles, including our wonderful Winter Candle, and we promise, they smell amazing! What could happen is that the scent is sometimes less lasting in certain cases.
Here are therefore some essential oils with high flash points:
| Essential oils | Flash points |
| Star anise | 90 |
| Exotic basil | 75 |
| Cinnamon (leaf) | 90 |
| Clary sage | 75 |
| Clove | 93 |
| Field mint | 87 |
| Geranium | 64 |
| Ho wood | 75 |
| True lavender | 71 |
| Ceylan citronella | 81 |
| Palmarosa | 93 |
| Patchouli | 116 |
| Peppermint | 75 |
| Bigarade petitgrain | 75 |
| Tea tree | 60 |
| Ylang-ylang | 87 |
You now have everything you need to create ambiance in your home, warmth in your heart, hygge in your bedroom, lagom in your bathroom, LOVE IN THE AIR.
Happy candle making! (We just invented that too.)
Troubleshooting
"My candle wicks won't stay lit or the flame is very small. Why?"
Wooden wicks are a bit more "fussy", but once you learn to know them and use them properly, you will never want to go back, promise!
About 80% of the time, the wick size is the problem. And it is not that it is too short! No, no!
It is the opposite. Often it is that it is too long!
Yes! Because it is not the wood that keeps the wick lit… it is thanks to the wax that rises! This is what fuels the flame: if the wick is too long, the wax will have more difficulty rising (by capillary action) to the top. It is therefore super important to trim the wick properly before the first use (0.5 cm) but also to maintain it between uses by removing the charred parts.
Second thing: during the first session (and all the others too, but especially the first), it is super important to let it burn long enough for the melted wax to reach the edge. If we do not do this, it will create a tunnel and a small "depression" near the wick. This is not optimal for the flame in the long run, because the oxygen level will not be optimal.
This last point also involves selecting the right wick width for the container. A wick that is too thin in a wide container will not allow the wax to burn to the edge during one session.
Do not get discouraged if it does not work the first time or the second! It is part of the pleasure of doing it yourself. Candle making is both simple and complex. There are many factors that can play into the effectiveness of the wick (the type of wax, the container, the wick width, the alignment of the stars haha).
"I have difficulty lighting the wooden wick. What should I do?"
To light these beautiful crackling wooden wicks, the ideal is to use a BBQ lighter. It takes a little longer to light than a cotton wick. A small match is not enough!
Do you have other questions? Would you like to see the manufacturing in person before getting started? Well, that is perfect! We offer a candle making workshop at our boutique!
