You’ve probably seen candle making kits in craft stores, right? For all the supplies, they can be really affordable and it’s a project your kids can enjoy too. What usually comes with a cheap price will likely have cheap ingredients that you might want to avoid, like paraffin. Sure, they’re easier to make and cost less, but who wants to enjoy a pleasantly fragrant candle that releases toxic, cancer-causing chemicals? Neither me nor my family! A great alternative is Soy Candles. If you want to know how to get started, here’s how:
If you are making a 100% soy candle, you will want to purchase a good quality natural fragrance first. I do not recommend essential oils; they smell great in the bottle but don’t release much fragrance when burned. Use about 1/2 to 1 ounce of a blended oil fragrance per pound of soy wax. After melting the wax, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly (the exact temperature will depend on the type of wax and fragrance you’re using).
Add the wax and pour into your container. Now the trick with 100% soy wax is to let it “cure” for at least a week before burning. Also, you can add a small amount of coconut oil to the melted soy wax which helps release the fragrance during burning. If you use a soy blend, you won’t have to let the candle “cure” or use coconut oil, however you do need to be careful with the soy blend. Some of the soy “blends” contain paraffin, something you should definitely avoid.
Candle making is a fun and easy craft to do at home, without a lot of special equipment. Much of the fun is experimenting with different blends of natural waxes and custom fragrance blends.