If you like to light candles on crisp, cool autumn evenings, making your own candles can be a fun way to spend your free time. Everyone likes to have a comforting, warm light on a chilly evening. And, it’s even more fun when they are candles you’ve made yourself. If you like to create fragrances, candle making can be a fun way to play around with different scents and expand your existing array of fragrant candles. Here are a few tips and reviews to help you find the best wax for candle making.
Best Wax for Candle Making – Comparison Table
| Image | Product | |
|---|---|---|
Best Choice | Beesworks Beeswax Pellets
| Check Price |
Also great  | The Candlemaker's Store Natural Soy Wax
| Check Price |
Best Cosmetic  | Stakich Pure White Beeswax Pellets
| Check Price |
Organic  | Sky Organics Beeswax Pellets
| Check Price |
Aromatic  | Stakich Yellow Beeswax Block - Natural
| Check Price |
1. Beesworks® Beeswax Pellets – Best All-Around Wax
Premium filtered 100% natural beeswax, the Beesworks Beeswax is yellow in color and consists of a one-pound unit of commercial-grade beeswax. Used for lotions and creams, this wax is perfect for use in body butters and balms due to its rigidity and stiffness. It is also a good wax for candles and soap because of its hardness. This natural product offers amazing healing properties thanks to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral features.
Variety and Health
Perfect for chopping or melting to create a variety of different products, the Beesworks Beeswax Pellets is rich in Vitamin A, which reduces age spots and wrinkles while increasing cell turnover. This is a great moisturizing product that won’t clog your pores. Featuring a subtle fragrance, this is a great product for crafts, soap making, envelope seals, crayons, wax thread, mustache and beard wax, cheese waxing, countertop polish, boot or furniture polish, and lubricants.
Pros
- Beeswax pellets are so much easier to use than grating chunks and bars of beeswax
- This has a decent and mild smell to it that is not overwhelming
- It melts really easily with no odd debris or residue
Cons
- The zip-lock part of the packaging did not work at all
- It has a smoky smell that doesn’t work for all projects
2. The Candlemaker’s Store Natural Soy Wax – Best Wax for Tarts
With the ability to hold fragrance up to 15%, this ten-pound bag of which natural soy wax has a very hot throw. The Candlemaker’s Store Natural Soy Wax is a good blend with a melting point between 121 and 125.
Tarts and Candles
You can blend the Candlemaker’s Store Natural Soy Wax with 416 natural soy wax to make some really beautiful tarts. Creating long-lasting candles, the Candlemaker’s Store Natural Soy Wax has a great smell that makes some very attractive candles.
Pros
- This is a good product for handling fragrance
- You can mix it with other products easily
- It offers a really hot throw
Cons
- A little on the expensive side
3. Stakich Pure White Beeswax Pellets – Best Cosmetic-Grade Wax
The all-natural, cosmetic grade Stakich Pure White Beeswax Pellets are premium grade and come in a one-pound quantity. This triple filtered beeswax is perfect for hobby or cosmetic use. This is a high-quality product with natural properties that also have a high water-holding capacity.
Aromatic Candles
Perfect for skincare products, lotions, and lip balms, the Stakich Pure White Beeswax Pellets are easy to meltdown allowing you to make aromatic candles. Protecting skin from dehydration, this beeswax allows you to create products that soothe and soften your skin at an affordable price. This is a great choice for anyone interested in making their own DIY products.
Pros
- These wax pellets melt down nicely and make really nice candles
- This wax burns nicely
- This is a great product that you can buy at an affordable price
Cons
- They have a really strong smell to them, which makes adding a scent to them hard
4. Sky Organics Beeswax Pellets – Best Organic Wax
Filtered and easy to melt, the Sky Organics Beeswax Pellets are USDA approved. These organic, white Beeswax Pellets come in a one-pound container. They contain no chemicals or pesticides and are made by healthy honeybees that live in a non-GMO and pesticide-free environment.
Natural and Sweet
Perfect for candles, lip balm, and skincare products, the Sky Organics Beeswax Pellets are easy to use and unscented. With just a sweet, natural aroma, the wax arrives as pastilles, so you won’t have large blocks of wax to cut. This is the ideal product to use when making DIY projects like furniture polish, deodorant, crayons, skincare, lip balm, lotions, cream, and candles.
Pros
- This is purely organic product that is certified by the USDA
- It melts easily and is easy to use
- It is not scented and works well for DIY projects
Cons
- It only comes with a natural scent
5. Stakich Yellow Beeswax Block – Best Wax for Aromatic Candles
Triple-filtered, this natural product comes in a one-pound block. Stakich Yellow Beeswax is a high-quality product that is great for hobbies or cosmetic use. Easy to meltdown, this is a great wax for making aromatic candles or skincare products. Since it has a high water-holding feature, the natural properties of this product are great for retaining natural moisture in your skin.
Natural Properties
This is a premium quality, natural beeswax that can be used in skincare products that help protect your skin from dehydration. It is also a good choice for making candles, lip balms, and lotions.
Pros
- This is a nice wax product
- It is perfect for making balms and lotions
- It melts perfectly and solidifies again at a nice rate
Cons
- It is so hard it is on the point of being brittle
- There is no smell to it at all
Best Wax for Candle Making Buying Guide
Depending on a few factors, your choice of wax depends a lot on the type of candles you intend to make, what type of finish you want your candles to have, and how difficult you want your project to be. It also depends on what type of wax you like to use and how much scent you want to add to your candle. When you take the time to think about all these factors, it’s easy to find the right type of wax for your particular project.
Candles Types
Pillar Candles
With the ability to stand on their own, pillar candles do not need a container to hold them. Palm wax, paraffin, and beeswax are the best types of waxes to use when making pillar candles. Keep in mind that wax blends can also be used to make pillar candles.
Container Candles
These are candles that are designed to sit inside a container, most likely a glass jar that may or may not have a lid. Other containers can include ceramic or metal tin vessels. Since these candles are not created to stand on their own, you can use several types of waxes to make them including beeswax, palm wax, paraffin, soy, and soy and paraffin blends.
Votive Candles
These small candles are only 2 ½ inches high and are created to be placed inside a little glass container. Since they are not freestanding candles, you can also use several types of waxes to make them like paraffin, wax blends, beeswax, palm, and soy wax.
Tealight Candles
Also small candles, these candles are no more than ¾ inches tall and only 1 ½ inch in diameter. Created to sit inside a round clear plastic or metal container, tealight candles can be made of soy and paraffin blends as well as paraffin, beeswax, palm, or soy wax.
Taper Candles
Long and narrow, tapered candles are designed to fit inside a candlestick. Beeswax and paraffin are the best waxes to use when creating tapered candles.
Tarts
Have you ever seen a candle without a wick? Another wax to enjoy a candle scent, a wax tart is melted into a tart burner or potpourri. Natural, soy, and paraffin waxes are all good products to use when making tarts.
Gel Candles
Soft and gelatinous, gel candles are made inside a container. Typically, they are made with a mineral-oil based gel and not wax.
Wax Types
Paraffin Wax
Typically referred to as straight wax, paraffin wax does not feature any additives. Typically, it is very affordable, and it is the most common type of wax when making candles. It is usually used to make tarts, tapers, tealights, containers, and pillars.
Soy Wax
Completely natural, soy wax is made out of hydrogenated soybean oil that you can find is a couple of different forms. Perfect for making tarts, tealights, votives, tins, and container candles, soy wax can be purchased in several forms including flakes. It is a great wax choice when making container candles, but you will notice a slight difference between candles made with soy wax and those made with paraffin wax candles in performance and appearance of the candles. Make sure to do your research so that you know what the different properties are of each type of wax, which will allow you to get the end result you want.
Palm Wax
Also completely natural, palm wax is made from hydrogenating palm oil. Allowing you to make candles that have unique textures, palm waxes often have a feathering or crystallizing pattern that develops on the surface of the candle. It is a great wax type to use when making tarts, pillars, and votives.
Beeswax
Another totally all-natural wax, beeswax is one of the best waxes you can buy to make candles. You can use it a variety of different candle types including containers, votives, tapers, and pillars. You can also buy beeswax in sheets.
Custom Blends
You can also buy wax in a custom blend that allows you to include additives and create a better candle quickly. Depending on the manufacturer, you can find blends that are good for mottling waxes as well as pillar and container candles.
Granulated Wax
Typically used for craft projects, granulated wax is super easy to use since you don’t have to melt. it is made of 140-degree melt-point paraffin formed into small beads that let you easily pour the granulated wax right into a container. And then you only need to place a wick inside the wax to create an instant candle.
Gel Candle Wax
Creating a gel-like translucent quality, gel candle wax isn’t really wax. It is actually made out of polymer resin and mineral oil. You can easily make container candles using gel candle wax. Since these candles are see-through, you can also embed decorate objects into the candle that is nonflammable.
Other Candle Making Items
Wax Additives
If you want to distinguish your candles from the many others out there, you can try using wax additives. While not required when making candles, using wax additives can help increase the candle’s hardness and make it last longer.
Stearic Acid
Typically used to make a candle harder so that it doesn’t slump, stearic acid isn’t the typical type of acid you think when you hear that word. It is created by saponifying triglycerides found in oil and fat using distillation and hot water. You can make stearic acid either from vegetable or animal fat. Usually, you use stearic acid when making pillars and votives, but you can also use it to make translucent wax more opaque, which will help them retain their fragrance and increase their burn time.
Vybar
Used instead of stearic acid when making candles, vybar is a polymerized olefin that has the capability of increasing the candle’s hardness without making it brittle. It also has the same quality as stearic acid when it comes to helping a candle retain its fragrance and increase its opacity.
UV Stabilizer
A UV Stabilizer is used to prevent a candle from losing its color when it is exposed to UV rays or certain lighting like fluorescent lights. While a UV stabilizer isn’t able to totally stop color from fading, it will help to reduce fading significantly. You will also see these additives called UV Inhibitors, UV Absorbent, and UV Protectant.
Colorants
Available in a wide range of forms, the most popular candle colorants ore found in color block, liquid candle dye, and pigment form. Always make sure that you are using a colorant that is candle-approved.
Waxes for Candle Making FAQ
There is a concern that paraffin wax is bad from you. This theory is based on the soot that is released by paraffin wax and whether it is bad for you to breathe it in. The reality is that both soy and paraffin can create soot depending on how it was made and how you burn the candle. Although soot isn’t great for your respiratory system, it isn’t dangerous.
However, paraffin wax can create specific emissions that aren’t great for your home’s air quality including toluene, alkans, and alkenes. The amount of these chemicals that are actually released in your home is pretty minimal and usually they do not affect the people that live there. Soy can also emit chemicals since soybeans are grown using pesticides. Keep in mind that neither of these waxes create toxic chemicals and should be perfectly safe for home use.
One of the main differences between soy and paraffin waxes is in their respective scent throws. Paraffin typically has a stronger scent throw than soy due to soy’s denseness. A denser candle will require more heat to burn to make it take longer for the fragrance to be released. Paraffin tends to burn easier releasing a stronger fragrance. This also means that you get a shorter burn time with paraffin in comparison to soy, so a soy candle will last you longer.
Testing your candles is important when it comes to scents. You will find that there are some fragrances that will blend better with soy wax than the other waxes. Also, keep in mind that just because you can smell the fragrance before the candle is lit isn’t a guarantee that it will smell the same way when you burn it.
If you want to allow the fragrance to spread into the wax evenly, you will need to go through a curing process to get the best scent throw possible. Typically, you should let your tarts and candles cure for approximately a week to get the best results.
Since it doesn’t accept dye as easily as paraffin wax, it can be hard to get a dark color in soy wax. No matter how much dye you use, it will still not get as dark as paraffin will.
When making lotions with soy wax, choose waxes that have been dermatologically tested, and that also have low melting points. Only use dyes and fragrances and dyes that are safe to use on your skin.
You will find that paraffin wax will last almost indefinitely if you keep it at a room temperature environment and also keep it from getting dusty or dirty. You can expect about a two-year shelf life for soy wax when you store it properly.
Which wax you use will depend entirely on the which candle type you are making. You need a softer wax for a container candle so it can stick to the container after it is poured into it. Tart, votive, and pillar candles will need a wax that will release itself from a mold, so they will tend to feel harder. If you use a softer wax in a mold, you will have a really hard time getting it out and may not be able to remove it at all.
It is usually pretty easy to cut wax for container candles. You will only need a brownie cutter or putty knife to cut the slab. With votive and pillar wax, you will have a harder time since the wax is harder. You may need a chisel and a hammer to cut off a chunk. If you score the wax first using a utility knife, you can then break the area that is scored against a hard surface. Just make sure you don’t cut yourself or damage the hard surface you are using.
Soy can often have a frosted look, which can be a result of not following heating and pouring guidelines. Keep in mind that the pouring temperature is really important and keeping it at the correct temperature will reduce the amount of frosting you get. However, even if you closely follow the temperature guidelines, you will still see frosting as time goes by.
When you pour wax at either a temperature that is too cool or too hot, you may see cracking on the top of the soy candle. And, if you can accelerate the cooling of the candle, you can also see cracking on the top. Also, do not fill candles past the widest part of the jar when you fill a container, this can cause the top to cool faster than the wax inside causing it to sink more.
Since soy wax is a lot denser than paraffin wax, it is often harder for it to release the fragrance. Always fragrance test your candles to see which waxes perform better than others. Also keep in mind that when you use different soy blends, you can get results that vary.
Typically, you won’t notice any air bubbles until you are burning the candles. As you pour wax, small amounts of air can get trapped inside the wax that won’t be released through the melted wax until you burn the candle.
Creating a nice source of added income, candle making is also a fun project to do with your friends and family. Always have a clear idea of what you expect for your final product and who your target customer is. You also want to make sure that you have done your research into additives and ingredients to make sure they are safe to use for candles. Remember that well-made candles are not only beautiful to use and look at, but they will not only keep your customers coming back.
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