DIY Soy Candles
Sarah N.
During the pandemic, we haven’t been able to get together for girls’ nights like we used to “pre-covid,” so we started meeting via Zoom to do planned craft nights.
Our most recent Girls’ Night Craft was DIY Soy Candles. I was in Oklahoma for the weekend, so 4 of us were able to share supplies while our beloved Sarah S. zoomed in from Ohio with her own supplies.
In this post I will talk about everything you need to know in order to make your own soy candles, whether you decide to plan a fun night with friends, or just have some crafty alone time.
Gather Your Supplies:
There are many options available, but the supplies we used are listed and linked below. We did not want to buy lots of fancy candle making supplies since we weren’t sure if we’d do this again or not. So there are “better” things you can buy, but you definitely don’t have to.
Soy wax – we chose soy wax because it is a clean wax. It’s not filled with chemicals that can be harmful when burned. It also has a long burn time with little to no soot. Other clean options include beeswax and coconut wax.
Wood wicks – we wanted to use wood wicks because they are nontoxic and they flicker like “real” fire. You can also use wax coated cotton wicks.
Fragrance oils – we used fragrance oils made specifically for candle making. From what I’ve read, you can use essential oils but pouring them into hot wax isn’t ideal for the oils or their scent. Or leave the scents out and enjoy the ambience without the smell. See the links to our other fragrance oils here (this one smelled so good!) and here (we tried a few different scents from this line at Hobby Lobby).
Heat safe containers – hit up the thrift stores and clearance aisles and look for cute, heat safe containers to pour your wax into. Look for glass, ceramic, stoneware, etc. Mason jars like these would work great, or reuse old candle containers!
Old pot – anything that you melt wax in will be pretty much useless for anything else afterwards. So get a cheap or old pot that you can dedicate to use only for candle making.
Old thermometer – same for the thermometer, use an old or cheap one.
Old ladle or cup – again, wax makes them yucky.
Old spoon – something to stir the wax while it melts.
Scissors – for trimming the wicks.
Wax paper – or something similar to protect your workspace from wax drips and fragrance spills.
STEP ONE: MELT YOUR WAX
We made about a dozen candles of various sizes, and used about 8 pounds of wax. If you plan on only making one candle, it’s a good estimate to use your container to put two scoops of wax into your pot. So, measure the wax out to about double the volume of your container.
You’ll want to use an old or cheap pot to melt the wax in on your stove because once it’s used for wax, it’s best to reserve it for only that purpose. The same goes for everything else that touches the wax.
We waited for our wax to reach 135 degrees F before we started pouring our candles. There are varying opinions on the appropriate temperature though. Some say it’s best to add your fragrance oil at around 170-180 degrees F and then pour at 135 degrees, but we were all using different scents and wanted to melt one large pot of wax for us all to share, and then add our own scents after pouring,
STEP TWO: PREPARE YOUR WICKS
While keeping an eye on your melting wax, prepare your wood wicks. The wicks we used came with their own clips. It’s best to use two wicks for each clip. To measure your wicks, hold them to the bottom of your container, and use scissors to snip the tops just above the edge of the container. You can also trim them after your candle is poured and cured.
For the best aroma and burning, you’ll need to soak your wicks in fragrance oil. We tried both holding the wicks in the oil jars, and dropping oil onto the wicks (make sure your work surface is covered with wax paper).
Then, insert the wicks (remember, two wicks per clip) into the clip and set them in the middle of your container. If your container is very large, you can use two or three sets of wicks to burn the wax more evenly.
In hindsight, we probably could have used hot glue to attach the wick clips to the bottom of the containers so they didn’t move around when we poured our wax… but we still made it work!
STEP THREE: POUR YOUR WAX
We used a plastic cup to scoop wax from the pot and pour it into our containers. An old ladle would also work. Fill your containers to just under the top edge. Be careful, the wax is hot and spills easily!
STEP FOUR: MIX IN YOUR FRAGRANCE
Once your wax is in your container, pour your desired amount of fragrance oil into the hot wax. The amount of oil you need will vary depending on how much wax you have, and on the brand/type of fragrance oil you are using. Read the instructions that come with your fragrance oils to find out (or be like us and just pour some in! haha). Most people use about 2 ounces per 1 pound of wax.
Because we had a few people and a variety of fragrances, we chose not to mix our fragrance before we poured. If you want the same fragrance for all your candles, you can certainly mix your fragrance into the pot instead of into each candle, or prepare your scented wax in batches.
Be sure to thoroughly mix your fragrance oil with your wax. Use an extra wood wick, a chopstick, or an old spoon, etc to stir for about two minutes.
A word of caution here: the fragrance oils are very strong before they are mixed. Be sure you are in a well ventilated area, and if you are prone to scent induced migraines or other reactions, be prepared for the possibility of that happening.
STEP FIVE: LET YOUR CANDLE COOL
Once your fragrance oil is mixed into your wax, make sure your wick is still centered and then leave your candle alone! We found it useful to brace our wicks with extra wicks to hold them steady and straight.
The cooling time for your candle will depend mostly on its size, but the longer you let it cure, the stronger the aroma will be…or so we heard. We were all pretty impatient to light our candles! It does need to set up for at least 24 hours though.
We left ours to cool while we ate Chinese take-out and streamed a movie. By the time we were ready to head home, the candles were cool enough to travel (carefully).
STEP SIX: ENJOY YOUR CANDLE!
As I’m typing this, I can smell the light scent of grapefruit and vanilla, and I can hear the gentle crackling of the wood wick inside my lit candle. I’ve never been a huge candle fan, mainly because they tend to be so expensive and I don’t always love the containers they come in. But I definitely think I will make more of my own candles so I can control the scent and appearance. They would make great gifts too! And I’m excited to try some other fragrance oils that weren’t at my local craft store. Etsy has plenty of vendors who have a variety of scents.
CANDLE ISSUES: UNEVEN WAX
When we poured our candles, they all cooled pretty evenly and looked nice. But some have formed little holes or caved in areas once they were burned. We think this could have to do with the temperature the wax was poured at. If the wax is too hot when it’s poured, it will basically form air bubbles under the top layer of cooled wax. Then, once the candle is burned, the melting wax runs into the holes, leaving the top uneven once it hardens. I also wonder if we didn’t mix some of the fragrance oils into the wax well enough.
This really doesn’t bother me, since it doesn’t affect how the candle burns or smells. But I will experiment more with the wax temps the next time I make candles. I’ll try to remember to update about that here!
Let us know if you decide to try making your own soy candles! Or if you’re a pro already, feel free to share your tips in the comments!
