Making Candles with Essential Oils

Making candles with essential oils can be a great way to use up your leftover wax and add some smell-good to your home. The process is pretty straightforward: You’ll need to melt down a batch of wax, add in some essential oils, then let them cool and harden.*

HOWEVER, there’s one thing that you should know before you start: Not all wax is created equally! Some types will produce better-looking candles than others—and some might not give off the scent you were hoping for. So if you’re looking to make candles with essential oils, read on for tips on how best to get started with this project!

Picking Your Wax for Making Candles with Essential Oils

Beeswax — is a natural wax produced by honey bees and used as a building material in their hives. It’s a renewable resource, so you can feel good about using it as an ingredient for your candles. Beeswax has many uses in the home, including candles. The high melting point of beeswax makes it ideal for use in candles because it doesn’t burn easily and won’t produce smoke when burned—which means you’ll be able to enjoy your candle longer!*

Soy wax– is another natural wax that is made from soybean oil and has a low melting point of between 145-160 degrees Fahrenheit. Soy wax has many benefits over other candle making materials, including a long burn time, pleasant odor with no additives.*

Paraffin wax — is a very inexpensive wax— and is the most widely used across candle brands, as it can hold a high amount of fragrance and color. It also comes in various melting points, making it suitable for making many different types of candles, from containers to pillars. Paraffin wax is not considered the most eco-friendly type of candle wax, since it’s made from a byproduct of the oil industry. If not properly cared for, a paraffin wax candle will create soot.*

We encourage you to do your own research when you’re looking to buy a candle or wax melt. We like soy wax better than beeswax or paraffin due to it’s cost, aesthetics, oil retention, vegan friendly and eco-friendly properties.*

Making Candles with Essential Oils

Essential oils are distilled from plants, flowers, bark and roots. Because they’re extracted from plants, they have all kinds of uses. You can use them in cosmetics, perfumes and medicine. They can also be used for making candles!

The biggest questions most asked when starting to make candles with essential oils are: How do I know how much of each oil should I use? Which oils go together? What effect will I get when combining oils? Will they clash or complement each other?

When making candles with essential oils it is best to group them by the effect we want to create. Before going any further with making your candles with essentials oils we encourage you to read and refer to our article – Essential Oil Blending Basics. This article will help you with blending essential oils to create new and interesting scents. You can blend by notes, effect, scent and even by season.

Here at Biosource Naturals we have created some ready made blends that can also be used in making your candles. No blending required.

Breathe Clearly – contains aromatherapy essential oils that are understood to relax airways.
Bandits – is uplifting and energizing.
Citrus – is refreshing, rejuvenating.
Coffee, Cocoa, Coconut – stimulates the senses and increases energy.
Cool & Calm – reduces nervous tension, and lift mood.
Energize Me – renews a healthy sense of optimism.
FOCUS – contains grounding and calming essential oils which help to balance the mind with calm attention.

Please see our essential oil blends description page to see if any additional blends might be good for your candle making.

The most common types of essential oils are peppermint and lavender but there are many others with different properties and scents that you might want to experiment with (eucalyptus, rosemary). There are so many possibilities!

There are a few methods for making candles with essential oils. You can…*

Add the essential oils to melted wax using a dropper, funnel or spoon. Stir and pour into a candle mold.
Add your essential oils after pouring the melted wax into a candle mold. This will trap the oil in the wax and prevent it from evaporating too quickly. In addition, if you add essential oils to soy wax or beeswax candles while they are still warm (after they have been poured), this will also help preserve them.
Dip your wick into the essential oil and then hang it across the top of your candle jar (this is called ‘wick dipping’). Make sure that the wick is long enough to dip into the melted wax (approximately 1/2 inch is ideal). Use a wick that is made from cotton or hemp.

Some methods will mean that you need to slightly alter the temperature at which you melt your wax in order to make sure the fragrance is preserved and there are no changes in consistency.*

The temperature of your room, candle and jar all matter. If you are using an electric heating source, it should be kept as low as possible. You don’t want your wax getting too hot because this can lead to burning or even starting a fire!
The same goes for your essential oils—if they get too hot, they will burn off their scent quicker than usual so keep an eye on them and try not to let them boil over or bubble up unnecessarily.

Safety Tips for Using Essential Oils to Make Candles

It is known that essential oils on their own are flammable. Never add essential oils directly into an already burning candle.* When making candles blend the essential oil into your waxes this mixture will not be flammable.*

Also research your essential oils for candle making just like you would when using other products around children and pets.* See our blog on essential oils for dogs that lists essential oils safe and unsafe for mans best friend.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.