The making of candles has a history that stretches back to thousands of years. Candles are no longer used as a source of light. That changed when electric lighting was introduced more than a hundred years ago but it still has its uses.
Scented candles are quite popular today. They are used for decorative as well as relaxing effects. It would even be cooler if you can make your own scented candles. By making your own scented candles, you can get the scents and flavors that you want. Sometimes, the scented candles that you are looking for are unavailable in the market.
In the next few minutes, you will learn how you can make your own scented candles. Before you can get started with the actual process of making the candles, you need a list of the materials that you would need.
1. Wax
You need the wax for your candle, which is the most important material. There are three kinds of wax that you can use:
- Paraffin
- Beeswax
- Soy
Paraffin is the most commonly used wax for making candles. The downside to using it is that it can have toxic effects. Beeswax is naturally produced by bees and candle made from it can produce a golden light. Soy is becoming popular as an alternative.
2. Wick
The wick is the material which will burn. The width of the wick is the most important factor to consider. Don’t worry about the length since you can always trim it.
3. Fragrance Oils
You’re not making candles because you need it for lighting. So, you must pick the right fragrance oils which would provide the right scent. There are various fragrance oils available, just pick the one with the ideal scent for you.
4. Containers
Anything that can withstand the heat of making the candles will do. Jars and other types of containers will be ideal. You can use emptied containers in order to recycle them.
5. Accessories
You are going to need other materials and accessories in order to do candle making properly. You’ll need a thermometer, spoon, spatula, and a pencil.
Making the Scented Candles
Now, you can get started with making your scented candles.
- Make sure that you prepare the work area. Working with wax can be messy so you have to prepare. Spread newspapers or paper towels in your work area. It would be inevitable that there would be some wax that would get to your tools and work area, but it’s a good thing that it’s not difficult to remove wax.
- You can start by melting the wax in a double boiler. It would only take 10-15 minutes to melt the wax in a boiler. Make sure that you stir the wax regularly.
- Place the wick into a container while the wax is still melting. Many wicks have weights at the bottom. Once the wax hardens, it will be stuck to the bottom.
- Once you have placed the wick, you can add the fragrance oils to it. Each type of wax is different and would require different amounts of fragrance oils. While the wax has been melted, just pour in the fragrance oils.
- Let the wax cool down and then pour it into a container. There would be an ideal temperature for you to pour the melted wax into a container. Make sure that you secure the wick properly, so it does not get out of being centered. Don’t pour all the wax right away. Leave some because you’ll need that as the wax will form a little sinkhole at the center.
- Secure the wick using the pencil so that it stays centered as the wax is starting to cool down. The wick does not have to be super-secured, it just needs to be centered.
- Let the wax cool down. Once the wax has become cool enough then you can handle it. You should also trim the wick. If the wick is too big then it will burn too hot and big.
- Once you are done that, you can start cleaning up. If you set it up properly then clean-up will not be too hard.
These are the steps that you can follow to create your own scented candles. Go through these steps and you would be in the right direction. Start enjoying your scented candles in order to relax.
Author Bio
Amanda Bentley has 5 years’ experience in the food and beverage industry and currently works as a Content writer at Qavashop (www.qavashop.com). Qavashop.com is an online store for all the “coffee aficionados” located in the GCC. Apart from providing its customers with quality coffee machines and consumables, it also provides them with skilled, knowledgeable advice on how to make their own restaurant quality espresso at home.