Making Your Own Scented Candles at Home

Scented candles are a great addition to any home but sometimes the candles available are costly or don’t come in the scents you want. Here are some guidelines for making your own scented candles.

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Instead of buying the very common looking, readymade candles available in the market, why not make one for you when it is so simple. All you need to do is just follow few steps accordingly and you would have your own exclusively crafted candle. Furthermore, you can also add scented fragrance oils to your candles to give them the aroma you desire.

Paraffin wax is generally favored while manufacturing homemade candles, although you can also try using any other variety of wax available in the market.

Let us begin with the procedure:

• Add water into a pan and bring it to a boil on a low flame. Add the wax in a bowl and then put this bowl into the boiling water. Don’t boil on high or the water in the pan will splash into the wax.

• Once the wax begins melting, insert a thermometer into it. Once the temperature reaches about 170 degrees, transfer the molten wax into another container.

Note: Be careful not to touch the thermometer to the sides of the container because the sides or bottom will be a different temperature than the wax.

• Next will be adding color to your candles to make them prettier. Add some dye chips to the mixture, but start off with just a few. If you add too many at first, the mixture may become too dark and it will be harder to make the color lighter. You can always add more chips later if the color shade is too light.

• To this colored wax, add an aromatic scented oil of your choice, and keep stirring so that it mixes with the wax evenly. Do not put more than half a teaspoon of scented oil as using more than that would hamper your candle from burning properly. Begin to slowly pour the wax mixture into your candle mold. Then put the mold back into the pan with the hot water, which will keep it hot.

• Once the mixture starts to cool, the wax will reduce in size. To maintain your candle size, pour some more melted wax in to compensate. Use the skewer to poke the candle a few times every 10-20 minutes. This will allow air to flow into the candle and also allow it to maintain its shape when it is removed from the mold.

• After at least 4 hours, you can attempt to remove the candle from the mold. However, if it is still sticking, then place the mold in the refrigerator for awhile, which will allow the candle to contract from the mold a little more.

Note: Never place your candles in the freezer because the extreme temperature will cause the candles to crack.

• The final step is inserting the wick into your candle. Using the skewer, poke a hold into the cup of the candle where the wick will be inserted. Be sure to hold it straight so the wick will go into the hole easily. Rotate the skewer a few times to prevent it from getting stuck to the wax. If you have trouble inserting the wick then dip the bottom of the wick just a little into the melted wax, allow it to get a little harder and then try to fix it in the candle. This will make sure that the wick is erect in the end where it has to be trimmed from. Trim the wick as per its length.

Note: Always keep the wick short as it ensures that your candle burns longer without spreading a black smoke.

Your home made scented candle is now ready to be used or you can even sell them for profit as candle wedding favors or even insert them into candle stands attached to wedding placecard holders. Candle making is a fun activity, whether you do it for fun or for profit.