DIY Natural Beeswax Candles: A Step-by-Step Guide
DIY Natural Beeswax Candles: A Step-by-Step Guide
Creating your own sweet-smelling, natural beeswax candles is a rewarding and fun DIY project. Follow this guide to craft beautiful, eco-friendly candles right at home.
What You’ll Need
- Beeswax sheets
- Candle wick
- Scissors
- Hairdryer
- Lighter
- Heat-safe candleholders
- Sharp knife
- Hessian ribbon, dried flowers, and twine for gift decorating (must be removed before lighting)
Method
Step 1: Prepare the Beeswax Sheet
Lay a beeswax sheet on a clean, non-stick surface. Place the candle wick at one end, leaving a 1cm overhang. Use sharp scissors to trim off the excess wax, ensuring you cut the sheet straight.
Note: It’s crucial to work with wax at room temperature or higher. If the wax is too cold, it will crack when rolling. You can use a hairdryer to gently warm the wax, making it soft and pliable. Be careful not to overheat it, or it will melt.
Step 2: Crimp the Wax
Carefully crimp the wax over the wick with your fingers. Ensure the wick and wax sheet are completely molded together to form a tight seal.
Step 3: Roll the Candle
Applying even, firm pressure with both hands, begin to roll the candle using your fingers and palms. Keep checking that you have a nice straight line while rolling so that the base of the candle is even.
Step 4: Seal the Edge
When you reach the end, press the seam edge down. If your hands are not warm enough, use the hairdryer to warm the wax edge to complete the seal and prevent the candle from coming apart.
Step 5: Add Layers for Thickness
For a thicker candle, repeat the process with another sheet. It’s important that the next layer is stuck firmly to the first candle. If there are gaps between layers, the candle will burn too fast, so ensure each layer is firm and tightly rolled.
Step 6: Stabilize the Base
If placing your candle in a shallow holder, use a lighter to slightly melt the base so it’s more stable.
Step 7: Create Tea Light Candles
Use wax offcuts to make smaller tea light candles, following the same process. Smaller candles are a bit trickier, so if the base is uneven when finished, use a warm sharp knife to trim, rolling the candle as you cut.
Tips for Perfect Beeswax Candles
- We used New Zealand beeswax sheets made from 100% pure beeswax, filtered to remove impurities, ensuring the finished candles burn very cleanly.
- Our single-roll candles had a burn time of about three to four hours.
- Buy wicks that are longer than required. If the wick has a metal stabilizer at the base, simply cut it off before rolling.
- Never leave a flame unattended and always ensure you place your candle on a safe surface or in a candleholder when you light it.
Beeswax sheets are available from candle-making and bee-product suppliers. For more information, you can visit Candle Creations.
