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6 Essential Tools Every Candle Maker Needs

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essential candle making supplies

Making your own candles from home not only allows you to create your very own unique style and finished product, but also helps you to save some money on purchasing expensive candles from the department store. Although this process does not mean you have to purchase or spend a lot of money on tools and equipment, there are a few items that will help make your candle making journey a lot easier.

Here we will discuss the basic candle making supplies you will need to start making your very own candles from the comfort of your own home. As your skills and requirements grow you can certainly add to this initial toolbox of essential equipment!

Item One: Wax

This will be the foundation of any type of candle that you make, and therefore it is important that you select a good quality wax. Flaked wax is the easiest to work with, however you can also get block wax which you can then chip into smaller pieces. The smaller the pieces you use, the easier it is for the wax to melt consistently.

If you are making candles that stand on their own, you will need a harder wax such as pillar wax. However, if you are making candles in a container, tin or glass jar then you can use a softer wax such as soy wax.

Item Two: Wicks

The wick is a very important component to your candle, and to be honest can be the trickiest element to get right when selecting the correct size and style of wick. Your wick should preferably be made of natural fibres and should be coated in wax. The wax coating on the wick will allow your wick to remain upright when burning.

There are a few elements that determine the style and size of wick you should use in your candle, including:

  • Type of wax you are using
  • Size (diameter) of the candle you are making
  • Type of fragrance you are adding (i.e. the acidity will impact the burning of the wick)
  • If color will be added or the candle will be left natural.

All the above elements impact the end performance of your candle wick. We know firsthand how daunting it can be when it comes to finding the perfect wick. We discuss many different types of wicks and provide easy-to-use testing solutions to help you gain the best results for your finished candle product in our eBook.

Item Three: Container or Mold

The type of container you use will depend on how you want your finished product to look like. These can come in all different shapes and sized, and there are many different types you can select from, such as:

  • Glass jars
  • Aluminum travel tins
  • Terracotta pots
  • Tealight cups

Just to name a few. Whatever style you decide upon, it important that your container should be non-flammable, should be able to withstand high heat, and is properly sealed as not to leak when the wax is melting. If you are making free-standing pillars ensure to choose a good quality candle mold.

Item Four: Double Boiler

This will be used to melt your wax in. You can either purchase one from a department store, or make your own double boiler by using a metal bowl (or smaller saucepan) over a large saucepan of boiling water. However, it is important to ensure no water mixes into your bowl of wax.

This method of melting wax is the easiest as it allows you to closely monitor the temperature of your wax as it melts. Remember to add additional water to your large saucepan if this starts to evaporate.

Item Five: Scales

A good quality scale is important to use when weighing your wax and fragrance oil. Either kitchen scales or digital scales are fine to use, however whichever you choose the important element is that it provides you with an accurate reading.

Item Six: Thermometer

There is some debate on the importance of using a thermometer when making your candles. However, we personally recommend using a thermometer, as this allows you to accurately monitor the temperature of your wax as it is heating, and when it has cooled enough to add your fragrance and then to pour into your mold or container. For all you perfectionists, you can go all out and purchase a fancy digital thermometer. However, a simple candy thermometer also works well for measuring the temperature of your melted wax.

 

These are what we consider essential pieces of candle making equipment you will need to begin your candle making journey. There are many more elements you will need over time and you may decide to get multiples of certain things so you can make larger batches of candles at the same time. We discuss everything you need in depth in our candle making eBook.

Simple Candle Making At Home

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Woman Making Candles At Home, Simple Candle Making At HomeWith candle making you need to follow the directions on the candle wax packaging which will tell you how much wax to measure based on the size of the candle or mold you want.

Measuring the Wax

You can take a large bowl and place it on your kitchen scale and zero out the scale so that it does not include the weight of the bowl. If you do not have a zeroing out ability you can always write down the weight of the bowl and simply subtract it from your total amount until you have the amount of wax you need.

You always want to include a little bit of extra above and beyond the measured amount because as you add scents and coloring to the wax the last thing you want is to run out of that particular scent and color. You will be unable to re-create it exactly. It is also important to have a little bit of extra to compensate for any spills.

Once you have the wax measured, it is time to actually melt your soy wax, paraffin wax, or beeswax and add any colors and any smells that you prefer. To do this, you want to fill up a large sauce pan three quarters of the way full of water and allow it to boil. In your candle melting pot you want to start placing the wax pieces and you want to fill it three quarters of the way up. As the wax melts it will get smaller and smaller and you can begin to add more of the chunks. You want to then place your wax melting container inside of the hot water with the handle resting outside. You want to keep a close eye on the wax and always look at it. Never walk away for fear of starting a fire. You want to watch it melt and add more wax chips as it begins to melt. You should verify with the instructions on your wax packaging as to what temperature you want.

While it is still hot you want to put on your oven mitts and pour the wax into your wax mold. You want to dry the bottom of the pot off because it will have water left over from the double boiler. You want to pour until just below the masking tape. You can choose of course to pour it as short or as tall as you want. If you want to make three different candles with the same color and scent you can simply use the same batch to make all three sizes. Save the rest of your wax for another project, it can always be melted down again. Check to make sure that your wick is stabilized in the center because once the wax begins to solidify you will not be able to move its location. At this point you want to let it cool for roughly one hour.

Progress Reports for Candle Making

Now you want to check back on the candle and look to see if the top of the candle has started to set and if it is starting to create a divot at the top. The divot at the top is called the well. You will see that it is higher along the perimeter and then the wax begins to sink as it nears the wick and it will bubble up a bit higher around the wick. At this point you want to “fill the well”. There might be air bubbles located inside next to the wick and if you leave the air bubbles then they will burst soon as the candle melts down far enough. The minute the air bubble bursts it will extinguish the flame. For this reason you want to make sure you take a skewer to poke a few holes poking down toward the wick all the way to the bottom of your candle mold. The wax will be solidified at the top but it will be liquid underneath. As you poke down into the wax the entire level of the wax will drop if there is a hole. Because there may be a hole inside and by poking it the wax will move and fill up that hole.

At this point you want to reheat the remaining wax up to the ideal temperature and measure with your thermometer. Then you want to fill up the top of your candle mold right on top of the wick until you have filled up the mold and filled up the holes. Again, you do not want to pour over the original fill line. You can choose to do this one or two more times every hour. If you see more divots you can begin to refill the well.

Now, you want to mold the candle and trim the wick. You want to make sure that the candle is cool before you do this. The best way to do this is let it cool overnight. The first thing you want to do is remove the pencil. Once that is done you want to remove the masking tape around the perimeter because the candle is so tight inside the candle mold but it may not come out if you leave the masking tape.

At this point you want to flip the mold over and remove the mold sealer at the bottom. You want to hold onto the wick because you will begin to feel the candle slip out the bottom. If it is stuck you want to place it in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes. The candle should slip right out. At this point you want to see that the bottom area where you refill the mold is actually the bottom of the candle. You want to cut off any remaining wax and flipped over the final product. Trim down the wax at the top until it reaches about 1/4 inch. Do that each time you burn the candle. If you have a line along the perimeter of your candle from the sealed line inside of the metal candle mold after candle making, you can take a sharp knife or razor blade and slowly trim that away.