Wholesale Candle Supplies

A Survey of Candle Waxes

The most basic thing you need when making candles is the wax itself, but there are candle waxes made from a variety of different materials. When you’re looking at what type of wax you might want to use, there are two temperatures you’ll need to know. The first is the melting point, which is the temperature at which the wax melts. The second is the flash point, and that is the temperature at which the wax catches on fire and you have a terrible mess on your hands. It’s important to always read the labels of what you’re melting so that you know where these points are. Also, adding color or fragrance oils can change the composition of the wax, and you should beware because this can change the flash point and the melting point. Here we’ve broken up several types of candle wax into three categories based on how difficult they are to use.

Child-Friendly Candle Waxes

There are wax crystals made from various types of wax that you can make candles from without any kind of heating. These are great for children who would like to make candles because there is no chance of getting burned from melted candle wax. These wax crystals come in plastic bags and are already colored so there’s nothing you have to do besides make the physical candle. As an added bonus, many crystal waxes come in kits with the wicks you need to make the candles. This is a good all-in-one solution for people who are making candles for the first time.

Another child-friendly wax that’s also good for beginners is jelly candle wax. This type of wax actually comes in tubes that you can squeeze the wax out of. Jelly candle waxes come with the color and scent already mixed into the product, so they’re very easy to make and are an excellent crafts project for children to do under the supervision of an adult. While jelly candle wax tends to cost more than wax crystals, they are much easier to use and a bit less messy.

Adult Beginner Candle Waxes

Wax from bee hives can be used to make candles that have some very special characteristics. Beeswax has a very pleasant natural aroma, so no fragrances are needed with this type of candle wax. What you will need with beeswax to make good candles is some type of hardener because wax from bees is extremely soft and has a very low melting point. It’s also worth noting that beeswax shrinks quite a bit when it cools down, so you will probably have to let your candles finish cooling after your first pour and then top them off with a second pour. With candle wax from bees, there can be some pretty big variations in color and melting point because the waxes come from different types of bees in different environments. One downside to this type of wax is that it can be more expensive than other types of comparable waxes.

Paraffin is one of the least expensive and most popular types of wax used in candle making. It is made from petroleum, and you can get it in either a powder form or a more traditional block form. Paraffin candle wax is extremely popular because it’s very flexible in terms of what you can do with it. Most people buy paraffin wax in a plain color and then add their own dyes for color and fragrances for scent. Paraffin has a melting point low enough to make it easy for beginners to work with and a flash point high enough that it’s also very safe.

A third type of wax that is good for adult beginners is known as bayberry wax. This kind of candle wax is made from bayberries, and the wax has a very nice natural aroma and olive green color. While bayberry wax doesn’t need dyes for coloring or added oils for scent, it is somewhat expensive because it takes several pounds of bayberries to yield just one pound of bayberry wax.

Another popular type of wax is made from soy. Soy candle wax is biodegradable and friendly to the environment. Candle wax made from soy is extremely soft and usually requires some type of added hardener because of the softness. Because of how soft soy candle wax is, it’s best that you use it in some kind of static glass mold that will also be used to burn the candle. Soy candles that stand on their own do not perform very well. Like other soft candle waxes, candles made from soy shrink a considerable amount when they cool, so you’ll have to top off the mold if you want to make a full-sized candle.

Advanced and Difficult Candle Waxes

There are two specific types of candle waxes that are very well-known for producing results that are aesthetically pleasing while being very difficult to work with. The first of these candle waxes is known as gel wax. The identifying characteristic of gel wax is that lots of small bubbles form in candles made out of it. The wax is made from a type of gel combined with mineral oil, and it’s difficult to use because of its high melting point. Since gel wax has to get extremely hot before you can pour it, it’s easy to accidentally hit the flash point without realizing it.

Another type of candle wax that’s difficult to work with is starburst wax. Unlike all of the other candle waxes that we have discussed so far, starburst wax is only used for adding decoration to existing candles. The general process for this involves dipping a previously-made candle into the starburst wax to cause snowflake-shaped designs to appear on the side of it. This process has to be done very quickly, and it takes a lot of testing and practice to be able to get it right since the best procedure varies depending on the wax used to create the candle you’re decorating. Because it’s easy to mess up, starburst wax is best for advanced candle makers who have some experience.