How to Make Soy Candles

Learning how to make soy candles requires a little more work than other wax candles, but it's worth it because you can make these candles into any shape, add detail and they are completely hand-decorated. The benefits of soy wax candles are that they burn twice as long as paraffin wax candles. This is because natural soy wax candles burn at lower temperatures and they are non-toxic, producing virtually no soot or residue. Following a few basic instructions will guide you through making eight votive soy wax candles.

Supplies Needed For Scented Soy Wax Candles:
1 lb. soy wax, flakes
Double boiler
Thermometer
Candle dye, various colors
Fragrance oil
Soy votive molds
Candle wicks
Votive holders
Wire whisk
Cookie sheet
Large glass measuring cup

Making Soy Wax Candles
Clip the thermometer to the side of the double boiler. Melt the wax in the double boiler until it reaches a temperature of 175 degrees. You do not want the wax to get any hotter than this, as wax has a flash point and could burst into flames, especially at temperatures above 230 degrees.

When the wax has melted completely, add color to the wax. Be sure to add your dye slowly and to check the color as you go. You can always add more color, but you can't take color out of the wax. For a pound of wax, you will need approximately 12 drops of dye. Stir the dye so it blends in completely with the wax. Stir your wax with a wire whisk for best results. Do not use food coloring, crayons or paints for dying candles. These pigments can clog your wick, and you may experience the candle burning out frequently.

You may want to add a UV-inhibitor to the wax to protect your candles from florescent light or sunlight, depending on where you will place your candles.

Now is the time to add fragrance oil to your candles. Soy wax gives off fragrances better than paraffin candles. It is recommended that you use 1 ½ oz. of fragrance oil for the pound of wax that you have melted. Stir the fragrance oil into the wax, making sure you blend it completely. You want to be sure that the fragrance is distributed evenly.

Reduce the temperature of the soy wax to 150 degrees, using your thermometer to gauge this appropriately. The votive molds should be at least room temperature, if not a bit warmer. Pouring soy wax into cold votive molds will cause drag lines that will appear along the sides of your votive molds when the wax has cooled. To warm your votive molds, try placing them on a cookie sheet and placing the sheet in your oven for about ten minutes on low heat. Leave the votive molds in the oven until you are ready to pour the wax.

Use a large glass measuring cup to pour the wax into the votive molds. You want to fill each mold to the top.

While the wax is cooling off in the molds, you can begin to prepare your wicks to be placed in the candles. Wait for the wax in the votive molds to develop a skin layer on top. Insert the wick by holding it at its tip and gently pushing the wick through the skin that has formed on the bottom of the wax. Do your best to keep the wick straight during this process. Repeat this step until you have a wick in each of your eight candles.

You will notice a hole in the center of your candles where you pushed the wick. This is natural. To remedy this problem before the hole hardens, wave a hot flame over the top of your candles quickly and melt the wax around the hole to fill it in. You can use a mini butane torch for this purpose as well.

Let the wax completely cool for at least four hours. Avoid any temptation to move the candles to a new location. Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool. Once they have cooled completely, you should be able to pull the candles out of the votive molds by grabbing the tip of the wick and gently pulling upwards.

You will now have eight beautifully scented candles. Wait at least two days before burning your candles and make sure that they are fitted in a votive holder tightly.