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Table of Content

About Candle Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.

Step-by-Step Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.

Essential Oil Recipe Guide + Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.

Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.

Label Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 1

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 About Candle-Makin

The History of Candle-Makin

The art and science of candle-making dates back to ancient times. Thousands of years ago,
animal fats, beeswax and even waxes made from plants and insects were used to make the
very rst candles in ancient civilizations spanning from Egypt to Asia

Candles went mostly unchanged for centuries upon centuries, and remained the primary light
source for human beings all the way through the late 19th century when man discovered how to
harness the powers of electricity

During the mid 1800s, chemists also discovered paraf n wax: a byproduct of petroleum that was
both odourless and white in colour. From this time forward, candles were by and large made
from a mixture of paraf n wax and stearic acid (an animal byproduct that is extracted from fat)

Many candles are still made from paraf n wax today, but recent studies have found that there
are toxic chemicals in paraf n wax that can be quite harmful when burned in the home.

Likewise, many of the dyes and fragrances that were added to candles in the 20th century when
they became sought-after decorative items have been shown to release toxic carcinogens into
the air when burned.

A recent spike in interest in healthier, more natural products has led to the development of more
natural candles as well. Soy wax was developed in the late 20th century and has become a
popular choice for candle wax due to being a clean-burning, plant-based wax with no known
health risks.

Likewise, people are opting for candles without added dyes, and synthetic fragrances are slowly
being replaced by essential oils

While the market is still saturated with scented, dyed candles that are full of toxins, people are
becoming more knowledgeable about the dangers of these traditional store-bought candles and
are looking for safer alternatives.

Over millennia, candles have evolved from items of necessity to decorative pieces in most
homes, and from purely decorative accents to products that also support and nurture our health.
So I’m very excited to share with you today how to make all-natural soy wax candles at home
for yourself and your friends and family

Making Candles vs. Buying The

While it is possible to buy all-natural soy candles with essential oils and no dyes, they will likely
cost you a fortune, especially if you’re buying them on any regular basis. Also, there’s been

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 some discussion that not all soy candles on the market are 100% soy (even if they say they
are), and that some are actually mixed with paraf n. And even if they are 100% soy, soy is often
a heavily genetically modi ed crop, meaning they’re not all that environmentally friendly and
may even be sprayed with chemical pesticides

As with many things, the only way to really know exactly what’s in your candles is to make them
yourself. It is possible to buy 100% non-GMO soy wax to make your candles and then you can
add your own pure essential oils, omit the dyes, use cotton wicks (no lead core!) and even
reuse old glass jars to save money, help the environment and make sure you’re burning clean,
safe, natural candles in your home

Soy vs. Beeswa

While the dangers of paraf n wax are known and obvious, you may be wondering why you
should choose soy wax over beeswax. To be honest, you shouldn’t. Well, not necessarily.

Beeswax is still one of the oldest forms of candle wax and the most natural, and may even have
health bene ts when burned. But there are downsides to beeswax too, depending on what
you’re hoping for in a candle

Beeswax, for one, can be very expensive (even when buying the wax to make your own). Also,
beeswax also has a distinct scent and colour of its own, so if you’re looking for an odourless,
colourless candle wax, soy wins over beeswax in this department. I usually prefer an odourless
wax when making scented candles as then the scent of the oils comes through rather than the
scent of the beeswax

Lastly, if you’re vegan and don’t use any animal byproducts (or you’re gifting to someone who
is), soy wax is 100% plant-based so no issues there

Honestly, both are good options as far as natural waxes go. It’s just a matter of personal
preference.

While you can make homemade candles out of both soy and beeswax, the process is slightly
different as beeswax is a hard wax and soy is soft, so you may not get the same results with
beeswax if you follow the instructions in this guide. However, if you’ve chosen soy, then let’s get
started

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 Getting Starte

What You’ll Need

(All links that follow are to af liate products that I use or recommend)

• Soy wax ( akes or pellets

• Essential oils (I use and recommend Plant Therapy essential oils
• Fragrance oils (these are optional, but will help your candles to throw more scen
• Wicks (either pre-made or cotton wicking by the length plus wick tabs to make your own
• Wick holders (store-bought or using items from home such as clothespins
• Jars (Mason jars work great!
• Glue gun (for sticking wicks to jars
• Pouring pot plus sauce pan to use as double boile
• Digital kitchen scal
• Wooden spoon or dowel for mixin
• Kitchen thermomete
• Customized printable labels *Downloadable labels on page

Buying Guid
Here is a link to all of the candle-making supplies and ingredients that I use and recommend.
Below is a breakdown of each one

Wa
I always purchase EcoSoya© brand CB-Advanced Soy Wax. I have purchased Ecosoya© wax
in both akes and pellets before and both work great. Ecosoya© brand wax is 100% soy wax,
made in the USA and certi ed non-GMO, making it the best choice for an all-natural soy wax
I’ve found on the market. Purchase on Amazon or at local craft and candle-making supply
stores

Wick
In my video tutorial, I mentioned that buying wicking by the length is much cheaper. While this is
still usually the case, you can often get pre-made wicks on Amazon for a very reasonable price,
so I would recommend starting with these as it’s much easier to use the pre-made wicks when
you’re rst starting out

Essential Oil
I spent years trying out different essential oil brands until I nally fell in love with Plant Therapy
essential oils. They’re super affordable, they’re 100% pure and quality-guaranteed, and there’s

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 a huge range essential oils (including a KidSafe line) to choose from. Of course, any oils will do
as long as they’re pure

Label
I’ve included templates for printing the labels I use in the last two pages of this e-book. You can
either print them on regular printer paper and stick them on with a glue stick, or you can use
brown kraft paper sticker labels. I use Avery© brand round kraft paper labels, which t my label
templates perfectly. You can purchase these on Amazon or at your local of ce supply store. You
can nd a link to these labels (along with all of the other above-mentioned candle-making
supplies) right here.

Step-By-Step Instruction
1. Prepare your jars. If repurposing old jars, make sure they are clean and dry.

2. Measure out your wax. I recommend weighing wax with a digital kitchen scale. Tare
the pouring pot rst. This should reset the scale to 0. then ll with wax until you’ve
reached your desired weight. *Note: Two pounds of wax will ll approximately ve 8-
oz Mason jars (jam jars or half-pints) or 10 4-oz jelly jars.

3. Melt wax in pouring pot or double boiler on the stove. Never heat up a pouring pot
directly on the stove top. Always ll another pot with about an inch or two of water
and place pouring pot in the pot. Melt wax on high until wax has completely liqui ed.
Use a kitchen thermometer to check the temperature of the wax. For best results,
allow it to reach 180ºF and then take it off the heat and allow it to cool

4. While wax is cooling, prepare your wicks. Centre and glue wicks to the inside bottom
of jars using a glue gun. Place wick holders (or clothespins) on to keep wicks upright
and centred.

5. Allow wax to cool to roughly 130ºF. Once cooled, add in essential oils. You’ll want to
add about 100 drops of essential oils for every pound of wax. Mix in essential oils
using a wooden spoon or mixing tool. (If you’re using fragrance oils, I’ve found I like
2 ounces of fragrance oil for every pound of wax, and then only about 20 drops of
essential oils mixed in)

6. Pour wax slowly into prepared jars. Allow to cool completely before moving. Trim
wicks to desired length, put custom labels on your jars and voilà! Enjoy your
candles, whether you are giving or receiving them

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 Essential Oil Recipe Guide + Tip
When it comes to using essential oils in your candle-making, it might shock you to learn how
much you need to use just to get the faintest scent. I use about 100 drops of essential oils per
pound of wax, and even then, the fragrance is very mild

You could use more if you are looking for a stronger scent, but essential oils can also be quite
pricey, so you probably don't want to overdo it. I’ve included a few bonus tips below that can
help you save a little money and get your candles smelling stronger

Essential Oil Tip

1. Buy generic essential oils to save money. While I personally use and recommend Plant
Therapy essential oils (which are some of the most affordable oils on the market), I
recommend spending as little as possible on the oils you’ll be using in your candles. As long
as they’re pure essential oils, you’re safe to go a little more generic here (think oils you
might nd at your local supermarket or drugstore). But de nitely check out Plant Therapy’s
huge range of essential oils because they do actually rival generic essential oils when it
comes to price and they have a huge range of pure tested essential oils to choose from

2. Dip your wicks in essential oils. This works best if you’re using cotton lengths of unwaxed
wicking that you will be waxing yourself, but you could also do this with pre-waxed ready-
made wicks if that’s what you’re using. First, mix up some of the essential oils you are using
in a shallow dish or tray (I like using the top of a Mason jar lid (without the band)). Blend the
oils together and then drag your wicks through the oil so that the wicks absorb the oils. Lay
wicks on a paper towel or parchment paper and let dry.

3. Dip the corner of a paper towel in the oils you are using to
scent your candle and spread lightly over the top of your
candle once the wax has set and dry. This will help to
give it a stronger initial scent and be able to smell it
better before you burn it

4. Mix essential oils and fragrance oils together for

a stronger scent (see instructions on previous
page). You may choose to avoid fragrance oils
completely if you’d like a 100% natural product,
but if it’s a strong scented candle you’re after,
you may want to add some fragrance oils too

*** See next page for favourite

essential oil combinations **

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 Favourite Essential Oil Combination

The beauty of using essential oils is that you can combine whichever oils you like best to create
your own all-natural custom candle fragrances. You can use single oils or blends and combine
as many as you like. I prefer to keep it simple and I usually blend two or three of own singles to
create a custom scent. Here are a few of my favourites

1- Lemon & Lavende

This makes for a beautiful, bright and oral scent combination that is perfect for spring and
summer, to use as a relaxing candle in the bath or to give as a gift for a birthday or Mother’s
Day. To create, mix equal parts lemon and lavender or 3 parts lavender and 1 part lemon or visa
versa if you prefer one scent over another. If adding a third scent, I like to mix 2/5 lemon and 2/5
lavender and 1/5 of an additional oil
* Optional addition: Bergamot oil

2- Orange & Cinnamo

This combination is warm and spicy and especially comforting on a cold winter’s night. Perfect
for fall or winter, especially for the holiday season and makes a great Christmas gift! To create,
mix equal parts orange and cinnamon bark oil. If adding a third scent, mix 2/5 orange, 2/5
cinnamon and 1/5 of additional oil
* Optional addition: Clove oil

3- Rosemary & Black Spruc

This combination is woodsy and earthy and perfect for the outdoorsy type or the man in your
life. Great as a gift for Father’s Day or for him on any occasion. To create, mix equal parts
rosemary and black spruce (or any spruce or pine) oil. If adding a third scent, mix equal parts
rosemary, spruce and additional oil
* Optional addition: Eucalyptus oil

4- Tea Tree & Eucalyptu

This combination is cleansing and refreshing and especially nice when you’re under the weather
with a cold or u, or when relaxing in your “home spa” (a.k.a. the bath;). To create, mix equal
parts peppermint and eucalyptus oil. If adding a third scent, mix equal parts peppermint,
eucalyptus and additional oil
* Optional addition (or substitution): Peppermint, Rosemary or Lemon oil

** If using fragrance oils, start with whatever fragrance oil you’re using and add essential oils to
compliment or enhance the scent of the fragrance oil. For example, a pumpkin pie fragrance oil
pairs well with cinnamon. Lemon can be enhanced by more lemon essential oil and vanilla goes
with just about everything!

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 Troubleshooting Tips & Trick

While candle-making is pretty straight-forward if you follow the process exactly, there are some
common issues that arise. Here are a few of them with tips on how to prevent and solve them

Problem #1: Sinkholes or rough, uneven tops on your candles

Prevention: This is likely caused by the wax cooling too fast. Make sure you follow all
procedures correctly and use your kitchen thermometer to check the temperature of your wax
before you pour it. Also, make sure all doors and windows are closed and the heat is set at
19-20ºC (66-68ºF) to create a controlled environment for your candles to cool i

Solution: If this happens despite your best efforts, you can x it by allowing your candles to
cool completely and then melting a little more wax to pour over top to create a smooth, even
nish. I always do my original pour just a little bit under where I want the nal top of the candle
to be. I save a bit of wax from that batch in my pouring pot so I can reheat it and pour overtop to
ensure a smooth nish to all my candles. I have 2 pouring pots so that I have one to use if the
other still has wax from another batch waiting to be used while the candles cool

Another option is to take a hair dryer and melt the top of the candle enough to even out the
roughness and then let it cool again. This works sometimes but it can take longer and can
actually introduce more air bubbles if overdone, so it’s a last resort for me

Problem #2: Wax is pulling away from the jar, leaving unsightly, uneven
patches
Prevention: Again, this is caused by wax cooling too quickly. Some experts suggest that you
can help to avoid this by heating up your jars in the oven rst, although I have tried this and had
no better luck with it. Some pull-away is usually inevitable in candle-making in my experience

Solution: Once you have pull away, there’s not a lot you can do to x it. You could try heating
the candle in the oven and letting it cool again, but I have only had minimal success with this
and it can cause other problems such as problem #1. I live with it and accept that it is a part of
making candles in clear glass jars, but if you really can’t stand it you might consider using
containers that you can’t see through, such as tea cups, metal tins or ceramic jars. The only
reason pull away is a problem is that you can see it through clear glass and it looks a little
spotty, so if you change your jars so you can’t see through them, problem solved

Problem #3: The essential oils are “sweating” or seeping out of the top of
your candle
Prevention: If this happens, you might have used too much essential oil. While you need to use
quite a large quantity of essential oils to get your candle to throw scent, certain waxes blend

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 better with essential oils and fragrance oils than others and at a certain point you might simply
have too high of an oil to wax ratio. Ease up on the oil on your next batch

Solution: If this happens, there is not much you can do about it other than wipe off any oil that
leaches out and add less next time

Problem #4: When I re-light my candle, it emits black smoke and/or turns
the glass black around the rim
Prevention: If your candle is emitting black smoke when it burns, I have found two possible
causes.
1) When I have used candle dyes in the past these candles have burned black, so I don’t use
any dyes in my candles anymore
2) If I don’t cut the wick between burns, the stumpy wick-end tends to emit this black smoke
until it is burned off. So always cut your wicks between uses

Solution: Blow your candle out and let cool for a minute. Then cut the balled-up, stumpy end of
the wick off and re-light. Your candle should now burn nice and clean

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