Making your own Soy Candles: A general guide to crafting perfect soy candles each time

Candle-making has always been a dance between tradition and innovation. And in recent times, one particular star has been lighting up the candle stage: soy wax. Its rise isn’t just because of a passing trend—it’s anchored in genuine, tangible benefits that both candle-makers and their customers adore.

What is Soy Wax?
Soy wax is a natural, renewable wax made from soybean oil. It’s often chosen for candle making due to its eco-friendliness and clean burn, making it a popular alternative to paraffin wax.

**Pros:**
– Eco-Friendly: Soy wax is biodegradable and derived from a renewable source, making it more sustainable than paraffin wax.
– Clean Burn: It produces less soot, making it healthier for indoor air quality.
– Longer Burn Time: Soy candles typically burn longer than paraffin candles because soy wax burns slower.

**Cons:**
– Lower Scent Throw: Compared to paraffin, soy wax may have a less intense scent throw, meaning the fragrance may not be as strong.
– More Sensitive to Temperature: Soy wax is sensitive to temperature fluctuations, which may cause imperfections in the candle’s surface or cracking.

Choosing the best types of Soy Wax for your Candle Making

There are various types of soy waxes suited for different types of candles:

1. Container Waxes (low melting point): These are soft and are typically used in glass jars or tins. The typical melting point of such wax is between 46°C to 54°C. Golden Wax 464 is one of the popular container waxes that we supply, known for its excellent scent throw and smooth finish but generally considered too soft for use for melts or pillar candles. CLICK HERE to get your container wax.

2. Melt Waxes (medium melting point): These waxes are harder and can hold their shape outside of containers (i.e using a mold). With a melting range of 54°C to 65°C, this variant is versatile and can be used for both container candles and molds. It boasts a slightly firmer texture making it a good all-rounder wax, however, bear in mind that it is still too soft for use in pillar candles. CLICK HERE to get your Melt Wax

3. Pillar Waxes (high melting point): Melting at temperatures above 65°C, this type best suits molded candles, like pillars. They provide a hard finish, ensuring the candle retains its shape. Generally, these waxes are considered too hard for container candles, as the wax pulls away from the vessel during setting resulting in wet spots. CLICK HERE to get your Pillar Wax

Melting and Pouring Temperatures

– Melting Temperature: Generally, soy wax melts between 49°C and 82°C (120°F – 180°F) depending on the specific type of wax.
– Pouring Temperature: For the best results, soy wax should be poured when it cools to around 60°C to 70°C (140°F – 160°F) to avoid imperfections like frosting

Fragrance Ratios

– Fragrance Load for Candles and Melts: The typical fragrance load for soy wax candles and wax melts is 4-10%.

For precision, if you’re working with 100g of soy wax, you’d typically want to add between 4g to 10g of fragrance oil, ensuring a potent scent throw while maintaining the integrity of the wax.

This ratio ensures a balanced scent throw without compromising the wax’s structure. CLICK HERE to get your Fragrance Oils

Wick Selection for Vegetable Waxes

Choosing the right wick is essential to ensure your candle burns evenly and safely:

– Container Candles: For soy wax container candles, a wick with a larger diameter, such as cotton wicks or wood wicks, can help compensate for the cooler burn of soy wax, ensuring a strong flame and even melt pool.
– Pillar Candles: Use braided or square wicks that offer better rigidity and burn efficiency for the denser structure of pillar candles.
– Wax Melts: Wick choice doesn’t apply here, but the fragrance and wax type still play crucial roles in creating optimal scent release during melting.

Candlewick sizes typically refer to the diameter of the burn pool they create, not their physical length. This means that when selecting a wick, you’re choosing it based on how wide of a melt pool it can support, ensuring the candle burns evenly across its surface. The wick’s length can be trimmed to fit the candle’s height, but the diameter is key for optimal performance in your specific candle size. We have listed the diameter of the burn pool on our website listing so you can easily purchase the wicks that you need for your project. Click Here for Cotton Wicks or Click Here for Wood Wicks

Coloring your Wax creations

Using color in wax creations allows you to customize the appearance of your candles and melts to match themes, moods, or personal preferences. Candle wax dyes typically come in solid or liquid form and are added during the melting process. A little dye goes a long way—small amounts can create pastel shades while adding more results in deeper, more vibrant colors. To achieve a consistent hue, thoroughly mix the dye into the melted wax. Always ensure that the dye you use is specifically formulated for candles to avoid affecting the burn quality. CLICK HERE to get your Candle Dyes.

Conclusion.

These considerations should help you craft high-quality soy wax candles and melts with optimal scent, burn time, and appearance. We also supply other candle-making materials including holders, kits and tools. CLICK HERE to find all Candle Making Supplies.

At Soap Cafe’ we have created one-to-one candle-making course that will deepen your knowledge of candle-making ensuring that you can produce high-quality candles every time. CLICK HERE for more information about our Candle-Making Workshops.