How to Add Color and Scents When Making Candles

Perhaps the best part about making your own candles is personalizing them with your own colors and scents. Color is added once the wax has melted completely. Dye should be added just before pouring. Here is how it's done.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Stearine
• Crayola Crayons 16-packs
• Candle Dyes
• Candle Molds
• Candle Scents
• Candle Wax
• Candle Wicks
• Aprons
• Candy Thermometer
• Double Boilers
• Kitchen Utility Knives
• Pot Holders
• Scissors
• Wooden Spoons
• Fire Extinguishers

1. Melt the candle wax completely. (See Related eHows.)
2. Stir in about 4 tbs. of stearine (also called stearic acid) per pound of paraffin. Stearine helps make the wax harder and the candle easier to remove from the mold.
3. Add coloring. Candle dyes come in liquid, block or flake forms. Use a potato peeler or kitchen knife to cut pieces from dye blocks.
4. Stir the coloring into the melted wax.
5. Test the color by dripping a few drops of wax onto a white plate and sticking it in the freezer. After a couple of minutes the drops will be cool and you can see the true color your candle will be.
6. Prepare the mold and wick (see Related eHows).
7. Add scent by shaving off a few pieces from a scent block or adding 1/8 oz. of undiluted candle scent for every pound of wax.
8. Stir the wax to distribute the fragrance evenly.
9. You're now ready to pour the wax into the mold!

Tips & Warnings

• Adding color and scent is a personal preference. Experiment with different combinations.
• Crayons will add interesting colors to a candle, but don't use them as the primary colorant. They tend to glob up around the wick, and the candle won't burn well.
• It's best to use dyes made for coloring candles.
• Avoid essential oils, which are generally not designed for the intense heating of candle wax. Scented lamp ring oils are an inexpensive way to go.
• Be sure that small children and pets are kept out of the candlemaking area.
• Don't pour wax down your sink - it will cool there and plug up the pipes.
• Wax is flammable at high temperatures and should never be left unattended.
• Use a fire extinguisher or baking soda rather than water if you have a wax fire.
• Be careful using fragrances with acrylic molds. The chemicals frequently ruin the molds.