Soy wax candles have gained popularity due to their eco-friendly nature, clean burn, and longer-lasting performance compared to traditional paraffin candles. Made from renewable, biodegradable soybeans, these candles are a healthier choice for both your home and the environment. They produce less soot, making them a cleaner and more sustainable option for creating a cozy, inviting atmosphere in any space. Whether you’re looking to make your own or simply enjoy their benefits, soy wax candles offer a superior, eco-conscious alternative to conventional options.
If you’re looking for a natural and vegan-friendly candle wax alternative, then there can’t be anything better than soy wax. Today, we’ll discuss how to make soy wax candles at home.
Working with soy wax is much easier than working with petroleum-based wax like paraffin wax or microcrystalline wax. Soy wax is made of hydrogenated soybean oil and is 100% natural in its composition. In addition, soy wax produces less soot and is one of the best waxes for container candles. The most amazing feature of soy wax is that although you can blend it with any color, it is also a cool option if you just want an all-plain white candle.
DIY soy wax candles are easy to make and will give you immense pleasure or maybe a new hobby that who knows might turn into a venture one day. You can use any scents or colors with soy wax. So gather all the material required and read this article.
Safety Precautions For Making Soy Wax Candles
Learning how to make soy candles is good, but these safety measures are also necessary to keep in mind:
- Always use safety gloves, oven mitts, or kitchen towels while working around with hot utensils.
- Don’t allow kids and pets near the working (candle-making) area.
- Never melt candle wax directly on the stove.
- In case of ignition, use a fire extinguisher, not water, otherwise, it can spread the fire.
- Cover your eyes with shades or safety goggles to avoid any contact with color dye or hot wax.
Basic Supplies
- Soy Wax- 100g (flakes)
- Infrared/Food Thermometer
- 8 oz Glass Candle Containers/Jars- 6-8
- Spatula/Wooden Stick/Spoon/Heat-resistant Glass Stirring Rod for stirring
- Weighing Scales
- Pouring Cup
- Ice Cream Sticks/Any Wick Centering Tools
- Scissors
- Metal Pitcher (or a saucepan)
Optional Supplies
- Liquid Dye Color (any color of your choice)- 2-3g (refer to point 4 in the below section)
- Fragrance Oil (Vanilla + Musk or any fragrance of your choice) 10% of solution (refer to point 4 in the below section)
- Old Newspapers- to cover countertop
Soy Wax Details
| 1 | Melting Point: | 113-131℉ (45-55℃) |
| 2 | Color: | Opaque/White |
| 3 | Pouring Point: | 130-135℉ (54-57℃). |
| 4 | Natural Aroma: | Very light gaelic forest aroma |
How To Make Soy Wax Candles?
We’re using the double boiler method to melt the soy wax, you can melt the wax in the microwave as well; just remember to use a microwave-safe bowl for melting the wax.
Here is the step-by-step procedure on how to make soy wax candles at home:
1. Prepare The Candle Containers
Start with preparing candle containers so that once you have the melted soy wax ready to pour, you can transfer it without any delay. This is so because soy wax needs to be poured at a temperature ranging between 130-135℉/54-57℃. So choose a countertop that you can use for a couple of hours and quickly lay down some old newspapers to prepare for a workstation. Newspapers will save you from tedious after-cleaning and any wax drop that might otherwise get deposited on the platform surface.
Then take candle jars/containers, whatever you prefer depending on the shape you want to give to your soy candle. Now place the wick inside the container or molds. To secure the wick either use ice cream sticks or wick centering tools. If your wick has a sticker at the end that will also do.
2. Ready The Double Boiler
Prepare a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water and let the water come to a boil.
3. Melt Soy Wax
Now, turn the flame to medium-low, put the soy wax flakes into the melting pitcher, and place it inside the boiling water. You can also use another large saucepan or a heat-resistant bowl for this purpose. Just ensure that the bottom size of this saucepan is smaller so that it can sit over the first pan.
If you’re using a soy wax bar, you might need to wait a little longer for it to melt. Whichever form of soy wax you’re using, just ensure that the water droplets don’t enter inside the melting pitcher. Constantly stir the wax as it melts and keep a check on its temperature. When the temperature of melted soy wax is about to reach 70℃/150℉, it’s time to move on to the next step.
4. Mix In Color & The Fragrance Oil
Ensuring that the temperature of melted wax isn’t more than 70℃/150℉ and the color of your soy wax is transparent. Add the liquid color dye or block (whatever you have). You can refer to the prescribed quantity on your color package or else add 2-3g of liquid dye color into the melted soy wax. Give it a nice stir so that the color dissolves completely.
Once the soy wax attains the desired shade, turn off the flame and check the temperature of the wax. Now if you want to know how to make soy wax candles using scents, read further.
For adding fragrance oil, you must ensure that the wax temperature remains between 180-185℉ (82-85℃). Now give the wax solution a nice stir and add the fragrance oil.
As for how much fragrance oil you should add to the melted soy wax, fragrance load of 6%-8% of wax melt liquid is recommended. In other words, if you’ve 100g of wax solution, you should add about 6g-8g of fragrance oil to it. However, this percentage might vary based on the quality and type of the candle wax, but can’t exceed 10%, otherwise, it can cause candle sweating. You can use a single fragrance oil or combine 2 or 3 different essential oils to add to the wax melt solution; but remember to use them in the recommended ratio.
5. Time For Pouring
Now for starting with pouring, you must ensure that the temperature of soy wax is 130-135℉ (54-57℃). Give the wax solution a nice stir before putting it into the pouring container. Now stir your wax once again and then transfer it from the pouring container to candle containers. Make sure the containers aren’t overbrimming with the wax solution.
6. Leave The Wax To Set
Now comes the most important part—setting the candle wax. Now, ideally, you must leave your soy wax candles for about 1-2 weeks to set.
However, if you can’t wait that long, you can use them after a couple of hours, though it is recommended to wait for at least a day or two. Not allowing proper time to set the candles can result in uneven melting after it is lit.
7. Trim The Wick
After the wax is completely set, trim the extra wick using scissors. This will ensure that your candle burns evenly. Ideally, your wick size should be such that it burns your candle 1 inch in diameter of the candle size every hour.
Attaining the right wick size will not be that easy at first. You’ll only get a grasp of it after a few trials because wick size varies for different series even if you look for the same size number. Furthermore, it depends on the type of candle you are making and the size of your candle container.
8. Enjoy Your Candle
Now that your candle is ready to use, you can use it in whichever room you want. You can also use them for gifting purposes once you feel confident about their color and scent propositions.
A Few Tips
- Never leave the wax unattended and unstirred while melting, otherwise, lumps can be formed.
- Ensure that your soy wax turns transparent before you add in the color.
- Add color to the wax before adding the fragrance oil.
- Keep a check on the melted wax temperature because overheating can cause the wax to lose its colors.
- To avoid candle tunnelling, ensure to use the right wick size which burns rightly.
Wrapping Up
One of the most productive things to learn in your free time is how to make soy wax candles at home. It is a creative and fun-oriented activity that you’ll also find eco-friendly because soy wax is a vegan-friendly 100% natural wax. The best part about soy wax is that you can do any number of variations with it. You can make scented candles with soy wax, but its natural aroma is itself very soothing; or you can add colors to soy wax, nonetheless, its inherent white/opaque color is also beautiful.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
#1. What Fragrance Oil Combinations Are Good For Soy Candle Wax?
You can use a single fragrance or a combination of 2-3 fragrance oils for soy candles. Some of the best scents that can be used with soy wax candles are: Apple+Cinnamon, Spiced Rose, Vanilla + Musk, Pumpkin+Vanilla+Cinnamon, and Watermelon+Honeydew Melon.
#2. At What Temperature Should I Add Color To The Melted Soy Wax?
You should add color only once the wax attains the temperature of 70℃/150℉.
#3. When To Add Fragrance Oil To The Wax Solution?
Fragrance oil delivers the best results if added after the wax binds completely with the color and its temperature reaches between 180-185℉ (82-85℃). Ensure to turn off the heat flame before adding fragrance oil.
#4. How Much Fragrance For 8 oz Candles?
It depends on how many candles you’re making. Usually, fragrance load should remain between 6%-8% of wax solution. This gives you an ideal quantity of 6 to 8 grams of oil solution in a 100g of wax solution and can be exceeded to only 10 grams (10%).
#5. What Is The Best Wick Centering Tool For Container Candles?
There are plenty of wick-centering tools available in the market. You can use wick-placing tubes, metal wick holders, wick-centering round stickers, etc. However, wooden candle wick holders can sit quite well on candle containers/jars based on their diameter.