You have probably seen candle making kits at craft stores right? For all the supplies they can be really affordable and it’s a project your kids can enjoy as well. What usually comes with a cheap price is bound to have cheap ingredients that you may want to avoid like paraffin. Sure they are easier to make and cost less, but who wants to enjoy a candle with a nice fragrance that releases toxic chemicals that cause cancer? Not me or my family! A great alternative are Soy Candles. If you want to know how to get started, here’s how:
If you are making a 100% soy candle, first you will want to purchase a good quality natural fragrance. I don’t recommend essential oils; they smell great in the bottle but don’t release a lot of fragrance when burned. Use about 1/2 to 1 ounce of a blended oil fragrance per pound of soy wax. After melting your wax, remove it from the heat and let it cool a bit (the exact temperature will depend on the type of wax and fragrance you are using).
Stir in 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. In addition you can add a small amount of coconut oil to the melted soy wax which helps the fragrance release during burning. If you use a soy blend you won’t have to let the candle “cure” or use coconut oil, however you have to be careful what the soy is mixed with. Some of the soy “blends” contain paraffin, something you definitely want to avoid.
Candle making is a fun easy craft to do in your home, without a lot of special equipment. Much of the fun is experimenting with different blends of natural waxes and custom fragrance mixtures.