How to pour your first candle

Have you heard of the word Hygge, used in Denmark and Norway to describe cosiness, warmth, the feeling you get when you drink tea in a warm room on a rainy day and light candles on the table? And indeed candles are one of the key ingredients in creating a cosy feeling in a room, they not only make the room feel good, but they also create a pleasant light.

And perhaps even more 'hygge' are the candles you make yourself. And candle making is also a kind of cosy, homely process, sometimes even meditative. I have to say that the idea of making candles is beautiful, but where to start? Here is a detailed but easy-to-understand record of what you need and what you need to do to make your first candle.

Choosing the materials

First you need to understand what materials and tools you need.

Wax

Wax is the most important ingredient and there is a wide range of waxes available, so it is important to understand from the start what kind of candle you want to make. Candle waxes fall into two broad categories - waxes for container candles and waxes for floor candles. The names already tell you that container candles are those that are poured into jars, cups, shells and other candle-casting containers, while floor candles are those that stand freely on a tray, in a candle holder, on a table.

Once the type of candle has been decided, the candle wax can be beeswax, coconut wax, soy wax, palm wax, olive oil wax, stearin or paraffin wax.

With so many choices, you can get confused. For starters, we recommend Kerasoy Container 4130 wax for container wax and Ecosoya PillarBlend wax for a floor wax.

The wick and its holder

Wax alone will not burn, so you also need a wick. You can buy it already waxed and cut into 10cm lengths with a metal base attached, or you can buy it unwaxed by the metre and cut it yourself, but then you will also need a metal base. Container candles require glue that attaches the metal base to the bottom of the container.

Waxed wicks with a metal base are most commonly used for container candles and vegetable (soy, coconut, olive) waxes, but can also be used for floor candles and other waxes. Unwaxed wicks in rolls, on the other hand, are for all types of waxes and candles.

Each wick indicates the diameter of the wax pool that will form when the candle is burnt with that particular wick, but in reality, this diameter depends on several things together - the type of wax, the manufacturer, the fragrances and colourings added, and the making process itself. The right size of the wick can therefore only be determined by experimentation.

It is also important to remember the wick retainer, where you attach the free end of the wick so that the wick will stay in place when the wax is cast into the mould or container.

Candle container and candle molds

Container candles need a container to pour the candle into. You can buy containers specifically designed for pouring candles, but you can also use any cups, jars, bowls, etc.

For standing candles, molds are used. The choice is large and wide, both for the material of the mold and for the outer shape of the candle. For the material, a distinction is made between polycarbonate and silicone molds, for tea lights, also aluminium molds.

Polycarbonate molds are robust, easy and convenient to use, but the variety of shapes is not as great as for silicone molds. Silicone molds are distinguished by the fact that they can be used to cast candles in a wide variety of shapes with very fine detail, for example, the recently popular antique sculpture candles are cast in silicone molds.

Wax melting pot or ladle and stirring tool

Once the wax has been chosen, the shape of the candle has been decided and the mould has been chosen, the wax needs to be melted. There are various melting pots available for this process, both for home use and for professional use. You can also use your melting pot at home.

It is important to make sure that the wax is melted in a water bath at the melting temperature specified by the wax manufacturer (the wax temperature should not exceed 90 °C). Such a pot, where the water is poured into a compartment specially designed for this purpose, is very elegant at home. A spoon, a stick or anything else you feel comfortable with can be used for stirring. Once the wax has melted, it can be strained from the pot using one of the pouring pots.

Thermometer

Each wax has a melting and pouring temperature indicated by the manufacturer, so a thermometer is also needed. As with body thermometers, there are two types of thermometers to choose from: digital or analogue.

Decorations, fragrances and colourings (optional)

To make the candle more interesting, you can add aromatic oils, essential oils and various plant and flower decorations to the wax, as well as dye the candle a colour or cover it with clear or coloured varnish for shine and protection. You can also skip this stage and use classic candles without scent or colour.