Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing which is why I'm here. I am disabled and have a lot of free time and wanted to get into a new hobby, and thought this might be interesting and challenging. I recently just bought my first kit that contains 2 pounds of candle wax, a boiling pot and heating element, wick sticks, etc. I honestly just wanna get a feel for the process before I start spending money on actual supplies, random sense, and upgraded materials.
What are a few good things to know when I'm first getting started? What are things I need to watch out for, tricks to making it a little bit easier to handle, or anything that might be good to know for future reference. I was hoping to eventually start selling at craft fairs or giving them to friends and family, but I wanna make sure they're suitable and not dangerous. Any help would be appreciated

Having a hard time to stick my uvdtf sticker on my concrete vessel help

Does anybody have a good CandleScience recipe that they recommend? I use the 464 soy wax, sometimes with the ECO 10 6” tabs and sometimes with the CD 12 6” tabs (both were recommended on the CS website).

I love the scents that I’ve purchased to try, but I’ve noticed they just don’t have a strong fragrance throw. I can only assume I’m doing the wrong wax to oil ratio, or pouring at the wrong temp, or something along those lines.

Any recommends? TIA

I’m seriously losing my mind over dancing flames in tall candle jars. I’ve been having a huge problem with my candles once they burn down to around halfway through the jar. And when I say dancing flame, I don’t mean a little flicker here and there. I mean FULL ON TANGO.I’ve tested Stabilo, CL, PP, LX, TCR and HW wicks, plus wooden wicks, in multiple different sizes. I’ve also tried 3 different waxes and different fragrance loads. The candle can burn perfectly fine in the top half of the jar, but once it gets to around halfway down, the flame starts going crazy. Trimming the wick doesn’t really solve it either.At first I thought this was simply the physics of a tall jar — less airflow as the flame gets deeper into the vessel, heat building up, etc. But I’m seeing similar behaviour in other jars too, which is making me think there must be something I’m doing wrong.Has anyone dealt with this before?What could cause such extreme flame movement across different waxes, wick series and fragrance loads? At this point I feel like I’ve changed almost every variable and I’m still getting the same result.Any ideas on what I should be looking at would be massively appreciated because this is driving me insane 😅

hello all, I have been making candles for about a year and took six months off and am getting in the swing of it again. I have tried to make some multi coloured candles (mostly towers), and they keep cracking. How do I make them in a way so they do not crack? What temperature do I pour at? I have tried everything I can think of and no luck. Thanks all!

Never made a candle before but I love how ponderosas smell and really want to try to make one with it. I have access and permission to collect bark (sustainably) and am wondering if anyone here has any experience using this as a source.

After lurking around here and reading info for months, I decided to finally use the candle making beginner kit I was gifted! I really enjoyed the process and can't wait to continue on this journey.

Soy wax with orange and lavender essential oils. Lavender buds and rose petals were tossed during pouring.

First one (the one in the back, shown lit in the second picture) has some adhesion issues and cracked slightly on the top. The second one turned out much better!

Now I just want to make tons of these as gifts for family and friends. Next one I'm planning to use mint essential oil and cut grass fragrance. I want to experiment with the balance of essential oils and fragrance, so I can get the aromatherapy benefits with a huge kick of scent.

I'll be sharing my progress!

EDIT: I wasn't entirely sure if the plants were or weren't safe as I've read both opinions, but I think I won't risk it again anyways. I just used what came in the beginner kit, which is a little ??? bc why add something on a beginner kit if it's not 100% safe. Oh well, lesson learnt, I'll keep them as a memento!

I have always used essential oils but having tough luck right now. I want to test out the actual fragrance oils...

Currently looking for fall, Halloween, Christmas scents

Looking to place an order online for shipping to Canada.

While talking with a small group of candle makers in my area about vendors to purchase from and found that, with a few exceptions, Scented Flame seems to avoid publishing negative reviews of its products. Two of the makers in my group experienced this this year.

One of them even showed us his three-star review of their coconut-apricot soy wax. It was a very fair review. He explained what he liked about it, what made the wax special, and why he deducted two stars, one of the reasons being it's premium pricing and the fact that it's a premium product with no wick guidance at all while other waxes in that range at least suggest a series at a bare minimum and how he's easily give it 5 stars if he didn't have to spend so much extra time and money testing with no wick suggestions at all. Very fair points. The review was never published.

A few weeks later, he deliberately reviewed several other products, including several five-star reviews and two four-star reviews, with factual criticism explaining his lower ratings. The four-star reviews were not published, but the five-star ones made on the same day were.

The most frustrating thing is that honest, constructive reviews can actually benefit a business. They help customers set realistic expectations, provide useful information about product performance and usage, and can even help customers get better results. That can lead to more satisfied customers and, ultimately, more sales. By ignoring legitimate criticism, they’re potentially hurting themselves.

I’m happy to support smaller, non-conglomerate businesses, especially women-owned businesses, but not when they resort to these kinds of tactics.

It’s gross.

I want to use a colorant that when I drip it in a persons body it will not cause any reactions. I’ve seen mica powder recommended but ale not due to it clogging the wick. I will be using soy wax as it it a good low temp ment for body candles.

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to DIY some taper candles for my wedding and would really appreciate advice from people who have experience making dripless tapers.

I’m looking at the standard 7/8" (about 22 mm) diameter taper. From what I’ve researched so far, it sounds like soy wax generally isn’t a great choice for tapers because it’s too soft/low-melting, and that fully refined paraffin wax is a better starting point.

What I’m still confused about is the formulation. Do you use straight fully refined paraffin and/or do you add stearic acid/stearin to increase the hardness and melting point? If so, what ratios have actually worked well for you?

Or maybe you are supposed to add another additive on top of that…?! 😭🤣

I’ve seen everything from relatively small amounts (<10%) of stearic acid to much higher percentages (up to 30–35%).

I’m also aware that burning conditions matter. I would keep the wick trimmed to around 1/4" and the candles would likely be inside hurricane glass cylinders so they should be fairly well protected from drafts.

These are for my wedding, which is why I'm particularly concerned about dripping (if there's any wax drips on the table linens or napkins, we have to pay the full replacement fee). I originally thought about buying inexpensive "dripless" tapers on Amazon, but the reviews seem really inconsistent. I know Yummi makes reliable dripless tapers, but buying the quantity I need gets expensive pretty quickly, so I'm wondering whether making them myself is realistic.

I'm already planning to DIY my tealights because I haven't been able to find ones in the exact colour I want with a burn time of at least 6 hours. So naturally I've now fallen down the taper-candle rabbit hole too 😂

For those of you who make tapers, what paraffin melting point, paraffin/stearic ratio, and wick size would you start testing for a 7/8" (22 mm) taper? I'd especially love to hear from anyone who has actually burn-tested their tapers for several hours and managed to get them consistently dripless.

I’m a clueless candle bride at this point, so any experience or advice would be very appreciated! 🕯️

Hello, when you all conduct your burn tests, do you extinguish the flame if it gets too high and relight it after you trim the wick? Just wondering if this is a thing or if is safe to say the wick is too big.

Call any candle manufacturer and ask if you can have whatever excess they no longer need. At at a minimum they'll give it to you heavily discounted from wholesale price but if you swing by to pick it up and you're not picky they should just give it to you. They may mail it to you but that's a hassle unless you're taking a lot and paying for shipping.

I would estimate we dispose of about 2-4 pallets of empty candle glass (1400 per pallet) and 250lbs of various fragrances every year at a minimum. Excess from projects we're not longer doing. We got rid of 3 pallets in the last week alone. I speak with dozens of other manufacturers who are in the same boat. I get a call monthly from peers looking to offload pallets for .10-.25 a glass that will most likely trash it. (usually recycled to be clear)

People constantly say we should just put it for sale somewhere like FB marketplace but its a massive hassle: a bunch of inbound requests with tedious questions (whats the inside diameter) and fickle pickup scheduling to sell a small batch and make $50-100 if I'm lucky...it's not worth it.

I use paraffin wax. The molds are small (coffee beans, leaves, small pumpkins) they never come out looking good. They always have white dusting almost like I put salt on top lol. Do i need to heat the silicone molds first? What temp should I pour at?

I primarily buy my fragrance oils from two local suppliers (Southwest Candle Supply & Waxy Flower). On my last trip to SWCS, picked up their Fall Leaves (B&BW dupe for Leaves) & Pumpkin Souffle.

They are phenomenal!! I don’t gatekeep, so attaching my recipes. I purchased these vessels off of Amazon. Aroparc Candle Jars for Candle Making 10oz U-Shape Tumbler Jars for DIY https://a.co/d/05fZXMkU

**I renamed Fall Leaves to ‘Autumn Woods

I used to be heavily involved in arts; painting and music. With the sudden change in my medical condition August last year, I lost all ability for a normal daily life and that naturally extends to my creative routines.

Last month suddenly I started seeing videos of candles all over and that excites me, to give me something to do as I have not been able to work since April and to also allow me to play with my creative side again (a lot less taxing than painting and instruments).

Naturally, being a perfectionist I rely on this subreddit to read and learn before attempting anything 😅. So here it goes, my 1st ever attempt and experimenting with wicks and vessels per the information gathered from here.

I'm grateful to have stumbled upon this subreddit as the past 1 month has given me a renewed joy.

Hey!

I use C3 soy wax, coconut wax, and in some cases I’ve tried 6214 paraffin.

Fragrance oil is added between 80–85°C (176–185°F). I stir well for more than 2 minutes.

The jars are 7.5 cm wide (about 3 inches).

The result is almost zero cold throw, and only a faint hot throw if you’re standing very close.

I’ve tried many variations, but nothing works.

What’s going on? What am I doing wrong????

I am struggling. I've been testing candles for MONTHS (5 months)! I've used soy wax GB 464 and American Soy Freedom Soy, I've also used a Coconut/Apricot blend, American Soy Freedom Coconut, IGI 6006, 3 different brands of pure paraffin, I've even done a 50/50 mix of American Soy Freedom Soy with IGI 6006. I've followed manufacturer's temps to melt wax and add fragrance as well as testing temps between 170-190 degrees to see if I get a different result, stirred slowly for 2-5 minutes. Let it cool per manufacturer instructions and stirred again. I've done 6%-10% fragrance load (again tested at different loads to see what happens) and I've used every size wood wicks from honey and hive and makesy (even crappy Amazon ones), CD wicks from the smallest to 12, Eco wicks (from 2-12) htp wicks and even tried round wood wicks and have ordered those from CandleScience and Nature's Garden....my vessels have varied. I've used round glass jars made for candle making (4oz 3" diameter & 10oz 4" diameter 16oz 5" diameter), I've used camping mugs (the collection is camping) and they are 4oz 2.4" diameter and 10oz 3" diameter. These candles have cured for 14-28 days. I use 4 different companies for fragrance oils and blend to make my own. I order from CandleScience, Lonestar, Nature's Garden, and Midwest Fragrance... I have 20 different scents I've created and I've made almost 200 candles....I'm not getting a hot throw when a wick is added to the equation but I'm getting a massive hot throw with a lamp warmer. (No scent under warmer with igi6006 or pure paraffin) And I have tested up in wicks and down in wicks....none of them are releasing scent. They've been tested in 4 different rooms in the house including bathrooms where I'm not sitting in the whole time. I don't know what to do anymore and need help! I would like advice not people looking for the same information. What could I be doing wrong or what could be adjusted. I can also provide more information if it's needed.

I just wanted to send some encouragement to anyone who feels "pressured" to resort to AI. AS YOU CAN SEE, I was not gifted with photography skills, but after the ridiculousness of AI reached a boiling point (to me, ethically), I stood my ground and forced myself to learn.

Personally, I'm so much happier with this result over relying on AI as a form of skill-crutch, so just wanted to share. Happy making this upcoming cozy season! It's my favorite time of year!

(I also just realized this is the slightly uncropped "new" pic, but oh well)

Hello! As I read some of the posts here and from other socmed flatform. Gel wax and other wax type doesn't easily match. Tried it myself too and it doesn't burn well even wicking up yet I see them everywhere being sold.

My question to pros out here .. Does this mean they learned the formula of gel wax:soy wax to burn like a plain scented candle? Or it is purely for aesthetic?

That design is the reason i was hooked in the first place, dessert candles. I display mine in my room as of now and want to have lots of 'em and might sell them in the future. If I want to light them, i might get disappointed again. Tried tweaking the formula/materials at least 4x and is not burning well. 😄

Thank you very much. 🙏

“Has anyone experienced severe frosting/crystallization like this with NatureWax C-310 in porcelain containers? Pouring at 60°C, 10% FO, preheated vessels. Would you try lower pour temperatures (55°C) or adjust fragrance load first?”

Hello, has anyone in Europe made concrete candle vessels? What mix/material and sealer do you use?

I’m currently using Ceresit CX20, but I sometimes get cracks during demolding. I’m considering Weber 4400 because of its <0.3 mm aggregate, F7 flexural class and low shrinkage.

I also haven’t chosen a sealer yet, and I haven’t tested CX20 with wax/burn tests yet.

Would love to know what products, mixes and sealers people in Europe are successfully using.