The Top 6 Tips for Mastering Candle Making

January 27, 2025

The Ultimate Guide to Candle Making: Tips for Beginners and Experts

Candle making is more than just a craft—it’s a creative escape that allows you to create something both beautiful and functional. Whether you’re a beginner just getting started or a seasoned pro looking to refine your skills, these tips will help you create candles that look, smell, and burn beautifully!

1. Choose the Right Wax for Your Project

The foundation of every great candle starts with the right wax. Each type of wax offers unique benefits:

Soy Wax: A natural, eco-friendly option that burns longer and cleaner. Perfect for those who love subtle, long-lasting scents.
Paraffin Wax: Known for its vibrant colors and strong scent throw, making it ideal for decorative or highly fragranced candles.
Beeswax: A luxurious, all-natural wax with a subtle honey scent, great for clean-burning candles.
Coconut Wax: A premium wax that offers excellent scent throw, smooth texture, and an eco-friendly burn. It's perfect for creating luxurious, highly fragranced candles.
Blends: Many candle makers use wax blends (like soy-paraffin or coconut-soy) to get the best of both worlds, balancing performance, appearance, and scent throw.

2. Choose the Perfect Wick

The wick plays a critical role in how your candle burns.

Wick Size Matters: A wick that's too small will cause tunneling, while a wick that's too large may lead to excessive soot or uneven burning.
Testing is Key: Always test-burn your candles to ensure you’ve chosen the right wick size for your wax, jar size, and fragrance load.
Here’s a list of different types of candle wicks, highlighting their unique features and uses:

Types of Candle Wicks
1. Cotton Wicks:
  - Made from braided, twisted, or knitted cotton fibers.
  - Provide a consistent burn with minimal soot.
  - Best for natural waxes like soy, coconut, or beeswax.
2. Wooden Wicks:
  - Flat or cross-shaped strips of wood that create a crackling sound while burning.
  - Suitable for luxury candles or when aiming for a rustic aesthetic.
  - Work well with soy or wax blends for optimal burn.
3. Eco Wicks:
  - Cotton-based wicks reinforced with paper or other sustainable materials.
  - Designed for clean-burning and reduced mushrooming.
  - Ideal for natural and eco-friendly candles.
4. Hemp Wicks:
  - Made from braided hemp fibers, often coated in beeswax.
  - Known for their eco-friendliness and steady flame.
  - Work well with natural waxes like beeswax or soy.
5. Zinc-Core Wicks:
  - Cotton wicks with a zinc wire core that helps them stay upright while burning.
  - Ideal for container candles or paraffin wax with high fragrance loads.
  - Provides a hotter flame for better scent throw.
6. Paper-Core Wicks:
  - Cotton wicks with a paper core to maintain rigidity.
  - Suitable for container or pillar candles.
  - Burns consistently with good performance in various wax types.
7. CD (Stabilized) Wicks:
  - Flat-braided cotton wicks with a special treatment to improve burning stability.
  - Excellent for soy and other natural waxes.
  - Reduces mushrooming and provides a controlled flame.
8. HTP Wicks:
  - Flat-braided cotton with a rigid core for better flame control.
  - Designed to minimize sooting and smoking.
  - Perfect for container candles and waxes with heavy fragrance loads.
9. LX Wicks:
  - Flat-braided cotton wicks designed to ensure a smooth, even burn.
  - Helps reduce afterglow, smoke, and soot.
  - Great for container candles or low-viscosity waxes.
10. Metal-Core Wicks:
  - Wicks with a metal core (e.g., zinc or tin) for added rigidity.
  - Ensures the wick stays upright in larger-diameter candles.
  - Commonly used in paraffin wax candles.
Choosing the Right Wick

The type of wick you choose will depend on your wax type, candle size, and desired burn characteristics. Testing different wicks is key to finding the perfect match for your candle project!

3. Measure Fragrance Oil Accurately

Adding fragrance oil is one of the most exciting parts of candle making, but precision is crucial:

Follow Guidelines: Most waxes can hold 6-10% fragrance oil by weight. Adding too much can cause burning issues or a weak scent throw.
Pro Tip: Pair complementary fragrances for unique blends. For example, blend our Spiced Apples & Cardamom with Snow Kissed Christmas Trees for a festive, cozy scent!

4. Monitor Your Pouring Temperature

The temperature at which you pour your wax can make or break your candles.

Pour too hot, and you risk evaporating the fragrance oil.
Pour too cold, and you may get sinkholes or a bumpy surface.
Check your wax's guidelines to determine the ideal pouring temperature for your project.

5. Allow Proper Cure Time

Patience pays off in candle making!

After pouring, let your candles cure for at least 24-48 hours before burning (soy wax often benefits from a longer cure time of 1-2 weeks).
This allows the fragrance oil to fully bind with the wax, resulting in a stronger scent throw when burned.

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Tunneling: Usually caused by an under-sized wick. Ensure the wick is appropriate for the container and wax.
Frosting: A natural characteristic of soy wax, but you can reduce it by controlling the temperature and using additives.
Uneven Surface: Use a heat gun to smooth out the top of your candle after it sets.

Final Tip: Get Creative!

Experimenting with different waxes, colors, and fragrances is half the fun. Play around with layering colors, embedding decorations, or creating custom fragrance blends to make your candles truly unique.

At our fragrance oil business, we offer a variety of premium oils like Confetti Cake, Vampire’s Bite, and Sparkling Pear Prosecco—all designed to help you craft unforgettable candles.