What Not to Do When Making Soy Candles at Home!!

When I was brainstorming ideas for fall decor , I got excited and I wanted to try my hands on candle making.After seeing some videos and going through articles ,I came to know that paraffin wax is not good for health so I had 2 other options to buy (One is beeswax and the other is soy).Finally I decided to buy soy wax. To the surprise , wax was out of stock at Michael's(uff!!) and I got mine in A.C.Moore after two to three shop visits to other stores.All these happened in the days before the vacation week.I wanted to finish this project before vacation and so I was pretty much working on multiple projects at same time.Now to the Don'ts which I learned from my trial on candle making.

I am sure that my experience will be helpful to someone who wants to try soy candle making for first time and they will be pretty much educated about everything of what not to do.

Step 1: Don't Pour Your Wax Into the Candle Container While It Is Hot.

Soy wax is capable of shrinking while cooling down which results in forming holes and dunks in the candle container.The right time to pour is when the wax cool down and comes to smoothie like consistency. You can handle this scenario well if you have a candle thermometer.I personally felt that investing in a thermometer just for one day of candle making doesn't makes sense to me.But if you are making candles as gifts or planning to start a small business I would strongly recommended you to buy a candle thermometer.

Step 2: Don't Use Food Coloring or Crayons for Dyeing Your Wax.

If you are making candles for aesthetic purpose like layers candle and if it is for just one or two candles for personal use then it is okay.(Keep in mind that crayons are mostly made up of paraffin wax.If mixing is not an issue you can then proceed with crayons).When I made a second trial on making a candle from leftover wax , I thought I could try some natural substance like turmeric to dye the wax. The result was success and it worked well but the color was dull.For the next layer , I tried with food coloring which was 100% fail. It did not mix well with the contents of the wax and also while burning the candle ,it started making a crackling noise. So, If you want to dye your wax it is better to get the dye block which is particularly meant for making the soy wax candles.

Step 3: Don't Try Making a Big Candle When You First Trying Your Hands on Candle Making

I am saying this because I made this mistake by making a big candle and ended up with the failure.I don't want to waste it and so I tried melting it and pouring the wax into few small container to re use them.Believe me , it took a long long time to melt the whole candle compared to melting the wax flakes itself.I would say double the time.So, its better to try in smaller one first. Once you had success with the smaller one try making a bigger one.

Step 4: Don't Try to Freeze the Candle to Speed Up the Curing Process

Doing this results in cracks.As I said earlier I was in a hurry to complete the projects before my vacation.My first trial was layered candle ,as I couldn't wait between each layer and reheat the stove again and again to melt the wax ,I followed the freezing method which was my biggest mistake.It ended up in many cracks and so I advise you let the candle cure by itself.

Step 5: Make Sure the Candle Wick You Are Using Is the Right Size for the Container

If it is not use two or three candle wick instead of one. I never thought about this when I was making the candle, I just used only one wick and the candle was creating a hole only around the wick and was burning straight down that particular area.So, think twice about the wick you are selecting before pouring the wax.

Step 6: Don't Move the Container or Wick After Pouring the Wax.

This also results in cracks.

Step 7: ​Don't Rush and Be Patient.

Start your first trial when you have plenty of time in hand and so you can end up with a beautiful candle instead of a cracky hole-y candle like mine.That is it about the Don'ts. These points may seem to be intimidating to you but believe me if any of the How to tutorials has mentioned the above I would have not taken these many risks. All the tutorials which I referred had only the Do's and they did not mention the results may also be a failure :(.(But I will take it in the positive sense ,that it has created this opportunity to share the don'ts with you).When I was trying to understand the cause for the mistakes, I came through a article which clearly explains the "How to and also explains the various factors you need to know about the candle making", click here. to learn the complete process of How to.Hope this post was helpful for you to understand the don'ts of soy candle making.Do you have any such experience? Have you ever tried to make your own candle ?Share your views in the comments below.As always I will be happy to hear from you.Thank you for taking time to read my instructable. I am sure you gained something out of it.

Note : This post is purely for soy wax.However it may be different for other kind of wax like paraffin, beeswax,gel wax, etc.

If these points were helpful to you,Please do vote for in "Wax Challenge" .Thank you :)

Comments

[AshleyK107]

I made 1 batch of candles before I realized that the wick is too small. Its creating tunneling. I poured pillar candles in glass containers for my wedding. How do I remelt the wax to replace the week with a larger one?

[KraftyLittleWitch82]

Microwave it (10-50 seconds depending on the size) REMEMBER adding heat to wax is just the same as adding seasoning when cooking: you can always add more, but you can’t take it away!! So don’t overdo it start at 10-15 seconds (unless it’s in a glass jar already in which case start at 30 sec’s) and work your way up 10 seconds at a time from there until it’s lump free (if it’s bubbling you’ve killed it and there’s no way back So bin it and move on with your life💁🏽‍♀️😂) if it’s soy wax it can be poured into a glass jar/votive at a slushy/smoothie consistency (soy wax is actually best poured like this as it is a bugger for shrinkage as it sets so by pouring it as it begins to look cloudy and is thickening up but still runny enough to pour is perfect) - save any left overs Incase you get cracks or sinkage (soy wax is renowned for shrinking as it cools) when the offending candle is completely set & solid just melt a few flakes/beads and pour over the top to fill any cracks (normally round the wick) or any dips/sink holes.... also don’t leave them to cool in a cool area or near any drafts etc as this will cause little pockets of air between the glass & the set wax ...also if you have left over wicks albeit small ones, you don’t need to buy new bigger ones - if your using glass jar/containers you can just put 2-3 wicks in there instead of just 1 (ya’no, like 3 in a triangle or 2 few cm apart) xx

[KraftyLittleWitch82]

I must just say how much I applaud you for creating this entire post!!🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌟🌟💖💖 I cannot even count the amount of times Iv trawled the internet for answers when I’ve encountered problems (candle making is not for the faint hearted!) and your 100000% right when you said that “how to’s” are abundant (and annoyingly, most of them have conflicting information🤨)..but as for “how dont’s” there are ZERO!!! Thank goodness for you!! Pioneering the “what not to do” step by step instruction manual for candle making! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your painstakingly (& at times I’m sure, soul destroying’ly ) hard earned but invaluable information xx

[cossie2k]

I have dabbled with candles multiple times. There are some really nice effects you can achieve to personalise your candles. My personal favourite wax is palm wax which looks like crystals when solidified.

There are also numerous effects that can be achieved. One which I do is to fill your container with ice. Pour hot wax over the ice. The wax solidifies much faster than the ice will melt and it creates a Swiss cheese effect which looks really cool as the candle burns down and lights up each chamber.

[craftypatfan]

Hi cossie2k!
Does that "swiss cheese" effect happen when you use waxes other than palm wax?? I'd love to try it with soy wax!

[cossie2k]

Hi!
Yes, I dont see why not. The reason I use palm wax for it is it gives quite a coarse grain when the wax solidifies which I like the look of.

One recommendation though would be to ensure that the core of candle still has plenty of wax and is not obstructed by the ice.

This is one of a few links on youtube to give you an idea of how they look. https://youtu.be/vSNqd-5t4lc

Good luck!
Alex

[aniceprsn54]

To combat your shrinkage problem, do not fill the candle mold completely with the melted wax. Leave room at the top to add more. As you are pouring the wax in for the first time, leave some of it to the side. Fill the mold at least 3/4s full and allow it to begin to set. Once it begins the setting process, reheat the wax you put aside and then pour it on top. it should now self level on top, plus you won't have any breaks where it comes in contact with the already setting wax because the wax you're pouring on top is hot, so it will seal with the wax that you've already poured. Voila, you will have a beautiful, level-topped candle, all ready to be lit and enjoyed. :)

Hope this helps some.

[lynmiller]

Most of this stuff is also true for paraffin, except you can pour that as hot as you like--only, don't break a glass container!

[Vsassi]

Thank you so much for this. Often times we don't get the "don'ts" of process, and as a result a lot of people will just quit out of frustration. I have myself in my youth. Now, I have more patience and realize I have to research more before taking on a new challenge or project . Again, I thank you and might even try this myself one of these days. ?