At MakingYourOwnCandles.co.uk, we’re often asked about the equipment you need to make candles. Of course, it depends on what sort of candles you want to make but the ingredients of all candles are pretty much the same:
- Wax
- Wick
…that’s it! Most candles also have:
- Dye/Colour
- Scent
The simplest candles to make are rolled Beeswax candles. With these, all you do is roll beeswax sheets around a wick and you’re done.
Container candles are also easy to make as the wax is simply melted and poured into a container which has a wick in it and a metal tab at the bottom to fix it in place.
Votive and Pillar candles require a mould. With Votives, the procedure is much the same as with a container except that you pop the finished candle out at the end. With pillar and dinner candles, the bottom of the mould has a hold through which you pass the wick – so the candle is poured upside down.
One thing to bear in mind is that the wax for moulded candles is completely different to that used in container candles. Moulded candle wax shrinks after cooling so that the edges of the candle shrink away from the candle mould, allowing it to be released easily. The downside of this is that you will usually need to pour twice into your mould since the first pouring will shrink away from the wick. For container candles, use (surprise) candle making container wax which doesn’t shrink and requires only one pouring.
The candle making equipment you’ll need for making candles (container or moulded) is:
- A double boiler (or one smaller saucepan sitting within a bigger saucepan 1/3rd filled with water)
- A source of heat
- A mould (for moulded candles)
The simplest candle making equipment can be found in the kitchen – just make sure that if you’re using a pair of saucepans you never use them for food afterwards.
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