How to Make Earth Friendly Soy Candles

Almost everyone loves candles. They give a warm, inviting feeling to almost any area, and are offered in a variety of scents. But, strong smelling, decorative candles can be expensive. Also, ordinary paraffin candles release carcinogenic, toxic smoke into our homes. Paraffin wax, used in the majority of the candles made today, is actually a by-product of raw oil refinement and is hazardous to your health. To give the wax a pure white shade before any dye may be added, it is mixed with industrial strength bleach. Then other chemicals are mixed into the wax making it even more hazardous to our health.

But, there are natural alternatives to paraffin wax that are earth and human friendly. Soy wax is one of them. Natural soy candles burn longer than paraffin and are non-carcinogenic. Soy candles normally have a greater sent throw and can be made right in your own home. Here is an example of how to make your own earth friendly, soy candles right in your own kitchen.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Natural soy wax
• A wooden stirrer
• A melting pot and wax container
• Candle or candy thermometer
• Candle dye
• Essential oil or fragrance oil
• Soy wicks
• Wick holder or Popsicle stick with a hole in the middle
• Containers

1. Find your ingredients. Many candle suppliers now carry all natural soy wax and other supplies to make soy candles. Most of these items are sold in bulk, but many sell the items in kits beginning with enough supplies to make about 10 candles. If you are a candle connoisseur or would like to make candles for your friends and family as gifts, purchasing in larger quantities may be the way to go.

2. Prepare the wax. When melting your soy wax, you do not want the container that the wax is in to actually be on the burner. Instead, you will want to use a pot made for wax melting that is similar to a double boiler. The bottom pot sits on the burner and is filled with water. The second pot contains the wax itself and sits in the water. The water itself is what will be heating on the burner and then the wax is melted by the heated water. Place your thermometer in the water itself and not the soy wax. Your soy wax will most likely have a melting point between 150 and 175 degrees. While melting points can vary with different types of soy wax, for this example we will use the melting point of 150 degrees. (But please check the melting point of the type of soy wax you choose before making your candles.)

3. Color your candle. Whether you are using dye that is in block form, dye chips, powder or liquid dye, it may be added while the wax is melting and then stirred to make the uniform color of the candle. Liquid dyes are sometimes known to cause frosting on the sides of the container, but if the candles are for your own use, this may not be a concern. The liquid dyes do not need to melt, therefore the color of the wax will change immediately. Dyes that come in block form resemble blocks of crayons and will need to melt in the wax. To test the color of your candle, take a small amount of melted wax mixture and drop it in a clear container. This will tell you if you are going to achieve the desired color. Because dye blocks differ, it is hard to tell you exactly how much you will need for a specific color. If you want to achieve the same exact color over and over, try measuring the amount of color you add to your wax and keep note of it for later batches. Both liquid dyes and block dyes are concentrated, so you will not need to use a large amount.

4. Add fragrance. Fragrance oils are concentrated and you will want to be sure not to add too much essential oil or fragrance oil to the wax. For one pound soy wax you will typically use 1 ounce of essential oil or fragrance oil. Some oils carry a much stronger scent than others. Before you add your fragrance oil you will want the wax to cool to around 120 degrees. Once the temperature lowers to 120 degrees, pour in your fragrance. Again, stir the wax mixture and then allow it to cool to around 100 degrees before pouring.

5. Choose the container. Candle containers can vary depending on your taste. You may choose extravagantly made containers or a simple jelly jar. Whatever container you choose, it should be clean and dry before pouring your candle.

6. Attach wick to the container. Wicks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You will decide which wick to use based on the diameter and the height of the container. You want your candle to burn evenly and not experience tunneling. Tunneling means that the only part of the candle melting is the center. Having a wick that is made for the specific diameter of your container is important to avoid tunneling.
   
   There are different ways to adhere your wick to the container. If you are making large quantities of candles you may want to invest in wick stickers. These stickers are normally small and round like the bottom of the wick and have sticky tape on each side. You simply peel the protective backing and apply one side to the wick and then remove the other side of the backing and attach your wick to the container. While useful, they are not necessary. You can simply dip the wick tab into your heated wax, then carefully attach it to the container. If you are using only one wick, be careful to put it in the exact center. The wax will adhere the wick to the container. Be sure to hold the wick firmly for about 1 minute. This will give the small amount of wax on the bottom of the wick tab time to adhere to the container. Once the wick is held securely to the container, place a wick holder across the top and insert the wick to keep it straight. It is not necessary to have specially made wick holders. A Popsicle stick with a small wick sized hole will do just fine.

7. Pour your candle. Once the candle wax reaches 100 degrees, it will start to become creamy looking. Be sure that you stir the wax thoroughly before you pour; this will prevent lumping. Slowly pour the wax into the clean, wicked container. Depending on the container, leave about a quarter of an inch space in the top of the container.

8. Let your candle sit untouched until it becomes firm. This will depend on the size of the candle. Once your candle has time to "set up" then you can trim your wick. Keep your wicks trimmed to about 1/4 inch.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are not satisfied with how the top layer of wax on your candle looks, simply take a hair dryer (on a low setting) and heat the candle just a bit. This can take out any bubbles or imperfections that might exist on top of the candle.
• Most soy wax spills can be cleaned up with soap and water, even from carpet!