How To Make Soy Candles

These candle holders were made by my daughter. We bought some votive candle holders at Wal-Mart for 88cents. She used fishing line and strung some shells and beads, wrapped around the rim and tied it off. Really simple but pretty. I'll be posting more on candle holders so be on the lookout for that.

I remember making my first candle when I was about 18yrs. old. It was a layered candle made from paraffin wax. I made a macrame holder for it too. Now, I really like soy candles, first of all because they're environmentally friendly and second because it's so easy to clean. It doesn't stick to surfaces like paraffin wax.

Almost everyone I know loves candles. They make great gifts and if you're into crafting like I am you might even want to make the gift even more special by making soy candles yourself. And if you don't know how it's ok because I found a tutorial that'll teach you just how to do it. :>D

How to Make Soy Candles

There are many kinds of candles made by people these days and soy candles are one of them.  Soy candle popularity has risen because of the safety and cost of them.  They are much safer and also much cheaper than paraffin candles.  Soy candles are made from soy wax, which is hydrogenated during the candle making process.  Michael Richards introduced this in 1992. Even more people now prefer to use soy candles over paraffin candles because of the advantages that soy has.  These are also known as natural wax candles.   Soy making kits and products are available in most markets, so how to make these soy candles will be an easy question to answer.   

You can make soy candles easily at home and they are simple to do.  To make these candles you will need fragrance, dye, and soy wax.  As with any other art form, which is what candle making is, practice makes perfect.  If your first candle doesn’t come out the way you intended, keep practicing and don’t lose hope.  You will get the hang of it and become great at making soy candles.  

Instructions on how to make soy candles are provided below.  You will be able to make eight soy candles with the ingredients listed. 

The required items are: a cookie sheet, a Double boiler, Soy votive molds, a Thermometer, a large glass measuring cup, a Wire whisk, and Fragrance oil, Candle dye in various colors, candle wicks, and sixteen ounces of flaked soy wax. 

Making Soy Candles:

Place the soy wax flakes in the double boiler and heat them until they begin to melt.  Attach the thermometer on the side of the double boiler to guarantee that you know what temperature the liquid is at all times.  The most important thing to remember while making soy candles is the temperature.  The temperature must be kept in mind.  The use of a double boiler is very important because the wax could become inflamed by using any other type of heating equipment.  If the temperature is not well maintained, the quality of the candles will become poor.

The correct time to add dye to the wax is when they temperature in the boiler reaches between one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty degrees.  Do not let the temperature go beyond these numbers or there is chance of flaming to occur from the wax. Using the wire whisk, keep stirring the wax while adding dye to it.  This will ensure that all the dye is blended evenly.  By adding the dye slowly you will be able to get the color that you desire more easily.  Do not substitute any type of paint, crayon, or food coloring for the wax dye because these things can prevent the candle wick from burning evenly and continuously.

After adding color to the candle you will need to add fragrance.  Pour one and one half ounces of fragrance oil into the boiler that contains the melted soy wax.  Spread the scent evenly by stirring the wax again slowly.  Preparing the votive candle molds is the next step in the soy candle making process.  The molds should be a little bit warm, but not too hot or too cold.  The molds have to be warm to pour the soy wax mixture.  To warm them, set the oven on a very low temperature and place the molds on a cookie sheet.  Place the molds in the oven for around ten minutes to get them warm enough for pouring.

With the large glass measuring cup, pour the wax into the votive molds.  Let the wax cool just a little before placing the wick in the center.  A soft layer will form on the cop of each mold and you will know that it is time.  If, while placing the wick, a small hole is formed; you can fix this by placing a hot flame to the top layer so that the wax will melt and the hole will disappear.  Complete set up of the wax will take around four to six hours.  Don’t try to touch the wick or remove the soy candle from the votive mold during the set up process time.  When you are certain that the candles are fully dried, take them from the mold by gently pulling the wick.