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Make Soy Candles In 7 Easy Steps Here's the best way to make soy candles in just a few easy steps. We're going to make a jar candle Here's some supplies you will need to make your candles.
Ok, now you're all set to make a soy jar candle! Step 1 The first step of the candle making process is to decide how many candles you want to make. A pound of wax melted will give you approximately sixteen ounces. That will help you consider the type of jars you want to use. Don't choose glass containers that are too thin, as they may crack hot candle wax may crack them. Pick out your favorite jars and fill them with water first, noting how many ounces it takes to fill each jar. Now you've got a very good rough estimate of how many jars you can fill using a pound of wax. My favorite is to use a 16oz Mason jar. You may want to use one too for your first project. Make sure your jar is clean and completely dry. Step 2 Next step is to melt the wax. Measure the wax flakes into the glass Pyrex measuring cup. Usually 30oz will make 15-16 oz of melted wax. (We actually want to use 15oz of wax because we'll be adding 1½ ounces of fragrance in just a little bit.) Now put your Pyrex cup in the microwave and heat for 5 minutes. If your soy wax is not completely melted, stick it back in the microwave. Use pot holders to take your melted wax out of the microwave - the Pyrex glass will be very hot! Stir the wax then stick the thermometer into the wax to check the temperature. Make sure it has reached at least 140 degrees F. The melting point for most soy wax is 125 degrees F. Step 3 You can now add the dye. Always shake the dye well before adding to the wax. Add about 6-8 drops for 16oz of wax. Now stir the dye into the wax, using a wire wisk. Stir the dye for at least two minutes to properly blend and bind the dye and wax. (please don't use food coloring - you'll damage your wax). One tip: only add a few drops of dye at a time to regulate the color. You can keep adding more dye if the color is weak, but if
you've added too much, you can't dilute the color! You can accurately check the wax color by dripping a tiny bit of soy wax onto a piece of wax
paper. After the wax dries you'll be able to see what the wax color looks like. If you need it darker, just add more dye. Step 4 Now is the time to add your fragrance. First though, let the wax cool down to about 135 degrees, stirring occasionally. If you don't cool the wax down, some of the fragrance will burn off if it is exposed to higher heat for too long. Pour 1½ ounces of fragrance oil into your soy wax. You want to stir the fragrance continuously with the wire wisk until the temperaturse falls to 125 degrees. Step 5 You're going to insert the wick now. Put a drop or so of Super Glue or use glue from a glue gun, onto the bottom of the metal wick tab. (You can also use wick stickers that can purchased along with your candle making supplies.) Now attach the wick tab into the bottom of the jar, centering it. The Super Glue will begin to set really fast, so just hold the wick in place for about a minute. Make sure your wick can appropriatlely be used with soy wax. To learn more about choosing wicks click here Step 6 It's time to pour the wax. Warm your mason jar in the microwave for just a bit before pouring. Now carefully pour your wax slowly into the jar, using oven mitts. As soon as the jar is filled you'll need to center the wick. Here's how I like to do it: I place a pencil across the top of the jar centered, and tie the wick to the pencil with a piece of string. Step 7 Now the last step is to just let your candles cure for the next 24 hours. After the candle cools, trim your wick to ½ inch. Because soy wax burns cooler, the longer wick is needed to create the melt pool. Congratulations, you've now made your first soy candle! I know this process seems like a lot of work, but trust me the more you do it, the simpler it will seem and the more enjoyable it will become. (You'll see, it'll soon become addicting!) A side note: Soy wax can have a tendency to mottle or "frost" at the top of containers, don't worry, your candle will still burn normally. You can just use a candle torch to melt the very top of the container. When the top layer of your soy wax cools it will smooth out.
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