How to Make a Candle

You may be wondering how to use our fragrance oils to make a candle. Great question!

Some background on our favorites (you can skip this if you already have wax and wicks you like):

  • Most of our testing is done with container candles made using soy wax and cotton or cotton/paper wicks. Our favorite wax is Millennium Soy Wax by American Soy Organics
  • We like Premier 700-series or ECO wicks, though several others should also work.
  • We test in a variety of jars but normally start with 9-oz. medium straight sided jars (which actually hold about 6.5 oz. of wax). You may already have a favorite container (or prefer pillars or melts), and that works, too!

Making the Candle

Now, for the process:

  1. In a double boiler or using hot plate (we do not recommend direct heat from a stove), melt the wax according to the manufacturer's directions. We typically melt to 185 °F.
  2. While wax is melting, prepare your jars: stick wick to bottom using hot glue, wick dot or wick sticker, etc.
  3. If using dye, you can also add this to your melting wax now.
  4. When wax is fully melted and reaches 185 °F, you are ready to add fragrance! (We suggest 185 °F for all of our fragrance oils to ensure good mixing. Some wax manufacturers recommend heating to less, including or favorite Millennium wax, but we still suggest going to 185 °F unless you are using gel wax, which we do not test with, or your trusted wax manufacturer suggests something else and you want to experiment.)
  5. After adding fragrance oil, stir gently for about 2 minutes.
  6. Wait for wax to cool to desired pouring temperature, stirring occasionally. Pour slowly into prepared container. (For Millennium wax, we normally wait until around 115-120 °F, though many other waxes may work better hotter.)
  7. Use wick centering bar or similar tool to hold wick in place until wax is completely cool and solidifies, possibly 12+ hours.
  8. We suggest waiting at least two weeks (for "cure time") before burning to ensure best scent. However, as little as three days may still give good results if you can't wait. Trim the wick to 1/4" in before each lighting, and follow all candle safety recommendations.

How Much Wax and Fragrance Oil?

The above is the general process, but you may be wondering how much wax and fragrance oil to use. This mostly depends on the volume of your container (or mold, etc.). Some vendors may advertise this, but keep in mind that manufacturer-specified fill weights are often calibrated for water and the full capacity of the jar (to the brim). Typically, you will pour candles some distance below this, depending on the jar design and your preference. For example, our favorite 9-oz. straight-sided jars with a twist or threaded top really hold about 6.5 oz. of wax.

Let's say we know our container (like above) holds 6.5 oz. of wax. The next thing you need to do is figure out your desired fragrance load. Generally, around 3-10% works well for candles, with most candlemakers using the middle to high end of this range. Do not exceed the maximum fragrance load for your wax, s the vendor might specify. We suggest starting around 6% fragrance load if you are not sure, meaning about 1 oz of fragrance oil per pound of wax. However, we also offer suggestions for most of our oils. These are based on our preferences and our testing, but you will have your own preferences, and we suggest experimenting to find what works best for you.

Once you have your desired fragrance load figured out, multiply your wax weight by this percentage to get the amount of fragrance oil to add. For example, with 6.5 oz. of wax and a 6% fragrance load, we would do:

6.5 oz. * 0.06 = 0.39 oz.

...meaning we'd add 0.39 oz. of fragrance oil.

You may notice we are using ounces. Pounds, grams, or other units of weight will also work. We do not recommend using teaspoons, cups, milliliters (mL), or other units of volume. Always measure by weight when measuring candle wax and fragrance. Different waxes and especially different fragrance oils have different densities, and using weight ensures consistent results.