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Want to learn how to make homemade soy candles? Making your own soy candles at home is really easy and fun. Here’s a full DIY soy candle tutorial that will teach you how.
Make Homemade Soy Candles
What You’ll Need
Here are the basic supplies you’ll need:
- Half-Pint 8 oz jelly jars
- Melting Pot/pitcher or an old saucepan to melt the wax in (link goes to melting pot I have)
- Larger pot to use as a double boiler
- Soy Wax (the link goes to the exact wax I used)
- Wicks
- Scale (any digital scale should work)
- Thermometer
- Glue gun, superglue, or wick stickers
- Mixing spoon (I use an old wooden spoon I found at a flea market)
- Clothespins or something to hold the wicks straight (try these wick bars)
- Fragrance oil For each pound of wax I used about 1-2 oz. fragrance oil.
- Newspapers to protect counters
- Paper towels
- Candle warning labels (optional)
How to Make Soy Candles
First, lay out some newspapers to protect your table/counter.
Then stick the wicks on the bottom of the clean jars using a glue gun or superglue. This just keeps the wicks in one place so they’ll be straighter and not slide all over the place.
Put clothespins over the jars. I’ve decided that sticking the wick through the metal coil part of the spring holds the wicks better than actually clipping it.
Add a few inches of water to the larger pot and set it on the stove. Let the water heat while you weigh the wax.
Weigh the Ingredients
Using your scale, weigh the wax into your melting pot.
The first time I made candles, I only made three. 1 lb. of wax filled three 8 oz. jars.
The second time I made candles, I made six, and I used about 2.03 lbs of wax, and that filled the six (8 oz.) jars perfectly.
Remember to use the tare function on the scale, so you aren’t including the weight of your melting pot in the wax weight.
I also weigh out my fragrance oil (in a different container) at this time, if necessary.
Melt the Wax
Add the melting pot filled with wax to your pot of simmering water. The wax will slowly begin to melt. Make sure you watch it carefully (don’t walk off and leave it), as wax can catch fire (burst into flames) if it gets too hot.
Continue heating, stirring with your spoon, until the wax is completely melted.
Use the thermometer to measure the temperature of the wax (I keep it in there the whole time it’s melting–just attach it to the side of your pot if you can–with less wax this may not be possible). There are different opinions on what temperature you should heat the wax to (and it also depends on the type of wax you’re using), but I let mine get to about 170-180 degrees.
Once you have the wax at the right temperature (170-180 degrees), remove it from the heat.
Add Fragrance Oil
After removing wax from the heat, add your fragrance oil Stir to completely blend in the scent with the wax. (I used 2 oz. of fragrance oil to 1 lb. wax).
Pour Wax Into Jars
You can pour the wax into the jars at any time after adding the fragrance oil (or, if you’ve decided to omit the fragrance, you can pour when the wax is the temperature you’d like). Around 135 degrees is recommended. There are a lot of things to consider when pouring your wax, and one of them is that if you pour at too high of a temperature you might get “sinkholes,” which are little holes that form in the top of your candle as it cools.
The first time I made soy candles, I poured at 140 degrees, and the tops of my candles were smooth and perfect. The second time, I decided to go with the instructions for my particular wax and container, and I poured at 155 degrees–and got sinkholes. So, the next time I will be pouring at a lower temperature.
The trick is that you don’t want the wax to cool either too quickly or too slowly. A friend recommends pouring at around 100 degrees. I will definitely be using a lower temperature next time. At least 130 to 140 degrees, and definitely not at 155 like I did last time!
So, after you’ve added the fragrance oil, pour the wax slowly and carefully into the jars. You don’t want any splashing to occur, as this can make air pockets in your candle. So just pour as slowly and evenly as you can.
Let the Candles Cool
Readjust your wicks to make sure they are centered and straight. Then let the candles cool, undisturbed.
As they cool, you will notice that they will start to have a cloudy sort of appearance.
Clean Your Supplies
Right after pouring candles, I clean my supplies by simply wiping them with a dry paper towel. Wipe the thermometer, the stirring spoon, and the melting pot thoroughly. This prevents the wax from drying and hardening on these items, and they’re very easy to clean if you do it right away.
Allow to Cool for 24 Hours
Eventually, the candles will be completely cooled and solid. You can then remove the clothespins from the wicks.
Enjoy the delicious fragrance permeating your kitchen (if you made scented candles)! When my husband and children came into the kitchen, they all wanted to know what the delicious smell was!
Let your candles cool completely at room temperature for at least 24 hours before burning. I’ve read that it’s best to wait a couple of days before burning them, but if you just can’t wait, at least wait 24 hours.
Trim the Wicks
After the candles have completely cooled, you can trim the wicks. You’ll want to have them at about 1/4″ before burning them (and I don’t have them trimmed that short in these photos).
Decorate Jars for Gift-Giving or Leave Plain
You can use the lids that came with your Mason jars (which looks simple and lovely):
Or, you can embellish them a little bit with decorative lids and maybe a bit of fabric or jute:
