I love candles. There is something very therapeutic about burning them. Of course candlelight is THE most flattering lighting a girl can possibly find! I literally can spend a fortune on candles-lol! Today, I’m sharing how to make soy candles to refresh your home, naturally!
So, you probably see this coming…. most candles are toxic. Like some are as toxic as 2nd hand cigarette smoke. UGH. There’s lots of info. about how toxic candles can be, mainly paraffin candles. I really don’t feel like regurgitating that info. cause it’s a snore and it’s no fun! If you’d like to read about it go HERE. This is a great blog post from Keeper of the Home that will give you loads of info and most likely convince you to ditch the paraffin.
Don’t freak out yet-Soy candles and beeswax candles are a great alternative and even places like Target have amazing smelling soy candles!
I can spend a fortune on candles so it’s really time to learn how to make our own soy candles, right?!
Turns out, soy candles are super easy to make. Find the right fragrance and you’ve got amazing candles for less money and less toxins! Let’s get started!
What you’ll need to make soy candles:
- Soy (find it HERE)
- Wicks (find them HERE)
- Fragrance Oils (find them HERE, HERE and HERE)
- Containers
- Thermometer (find it HERE)
- Double boiler (see pictures)
- Clothespins
Hot glue the wicks to the base of the candle holder. Use clothespins to secure the wicks.
Make a double boiler by filling a medium sized pot 1/2 way full with water. Place the soy in a glass pyrex bowl or measuring cup and place in the pot.
Heat the soy until it gets to 170F degrees.
Remove the glass bowl from the heat and allow it to cool to around 130F degrees and add the fragrance.
Pour the soy into your prepared containers and allow to cure for 48 hours before lighting.
How to Make Soy Candles:
- Fill a medium sized pot half way full with water
- Place a glass pyrex bowl in the water
- Place 1 lb. of wax in pyrex bowl.
- Heat to around 180 degrees.
- While your soy heats up, hot glue the bottom of the wick to the middle of the container.
- Use clothes pins to secure the wicks exactly in the middle of the candle holder. (see pictures)
- Once temp. is reached, remove from heat and allow wax to reach a temp of about 130 degrees.
- Add 2-3 tbsp. of fragrance/essential oils per 1 lb. of wax.
- Transfer wax to containers.
- Allow your candles to cure for 48 hours before lighting.
- When lighting for the first time, point the lighter at the base of the wick so that wax can be pulled into the wick for better burning.
- Let your candle burn long enough so that the melted wax will reach to the edges of the container.
- If you are experiencing “tunneling” you can wrap your candle in tin foil leaving a small opening. This will help the candle to burn hotter and therefore melt evenly.
Just a Few Tips…
- Soy candles tend to tunnel. Meaning they burn in a small circle down the middle. When you light your candle for the first time, be sure to let it burn for at least 2 hours. This will “train” the wax to burn in a wider circle so more wax is burned over time. For more on tunneling and how to prevent it go HERE.
- If you choose to use a larger container, be sure to use 2 wicks. The cute bowls I used should have 2 wicks rather than 1. The last pic shows smaller glass containers that I used when wax was wasted in my wider bowls.
- Do not add fragrance when the wax is at a higher temp then 130-the smell will burn off.
- Don’t be afraid to add too much fragrance. I’ve NEVER had this issue. Never have I had a candle smell too strong!
This was such a fun DIY. SO easy too! Now I have all these lovely candles that smell amazing without all the harmful chemicals!!! You might also want to check out my tutorial on how to make beeswax candles! And, if you’d like a super easy way to make your house smell great, check out my article on diffusing essential oils as well as my recipe for DIY room spray!
Have fun!! xx, Jenni
