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For all things candle and home fragrance making!
Pillar Candle Instruction Guide
Before beginning your candle making, please familiarise yourself with the fragrance oil chemicals & hazards, & wear the appropriate PPE (ie apron, goggles, gas mask, gloves) as stated on the Safety Data Sheet.
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Double Boiler Method
- Prepare your wick and mould
If the wick if frayed, try rolling it in molten wax & creating a point to make it ensure to pull through the hole.
Tie a knot in your wick rod to keep the wick upright & preventing slacking.
Turning your mould upside down again, you can use a screw & screwdriver (depending on which mould you have) to secure the wick & prevent it from slipping through the hole during this process If you don’t feel you can use a screw, use either mould sealer or blue tac to block the hole where the wick is & hold it in place during our candle-making
Now turn over your mould again so it’s upright. - Weighing your wax
If you know how much wax you need, please weigh this out on your scales now
If you don’t know how much wax you need, a simple & approximate way to find out is by filling your container with water, pouring the water into a measuring jug, if it reads 195ml for instance, you will round up to 200ml & then deduct 20% ( = 160 ) meaning you will need approx. 160g of wax for this container. This can be done with any container & is only an approximate guide. - Pouring your wax into your glass bowlÂ
Pour your wax into your glass bowl/pan & pop into your pre-prepared pan with boiling water inside
Wait for your wax to melt – do not leave unattended at any point If you are melting using the microwave method we recommend checking on your wax every 60 seconds until it reaches 80 degrees celsius (soy or paraffin). - Check your wax
Be sure to keep your eye on the wax, stirring the wax will it allow it to melt slightly quicker, ensure you are maintaining the low heat
- Colour your wax
Your wax should be approx. 80 degrees now, so remove it from your double boiler/microwave & allow it to cool.
When your wax reaches 75 degrees celsius (for paraffin) or 70 degrees celsius (for soy), add your chosen colour (do not add colour if you are wanting your candle white/cream) to your bowl/jug - if using a bowl, now is a good time to pour it into a pouring jug in preparation for pouring you candle.
The more colour you use, the more vibrant the colour, the less you use, the more of a pastel / pale effect you will get.
Give your wax a good stir for approx. 30 seconds – 1 minute. - Fragrance your wax
Now you add your fragrance; you can add anywhere from 6% - 10% of fragrance oil to your candle – this is calculated by the amount of wax you have used.
If you weighed out 100g of wax, it’s best to use 6g – 10g of fragrance oil.
Pour your oil into the melted wax & stir it in for approx. 1 minute, keeping an eye on the temperature - don’t let it drop to below 70 degrees celsius (for paraffin) or 60 degrees Celsius (for soy). - Pouring your candle
Before pouring your candle, ensure you have some kitchen roll or newspaper to protect your surface, this can get messy! Pop your moulds on the surface protector before you pour.
Your wax should now be either 60 or 70 degrees celsius (depending what wax you are using); it’s time to pour your candle.
Holding your jug handle firmly, gently & slowly pour the wax into your pillar mould – remember to leave a small amount of wax spare, we will need this later! - Waiting, waiting, waiting
Wait until your candle has cooled slightly & has formed a surface, we then need to use a utensil to poke some relief holes. This is very important with pillar candles.
The relief holes should be positioned around the wick (see image) & should go almost all the way to the bottom of the candle (leave approx. 1-inch un-poked at the bottom).
Although the exact number of holes is not important. Without relief holes, you may get air cavities within the candle, the wick may become pulled away from the centre, or the external walls of the candle may become deformed. You may need to poke relief holes several times during the cooling process to ensure that the vent remains open & clear. Ensuring that they are open will make it possible to fill in the voids on the next step. - Re-pour (optional)
Ideally, the candle needs to have been setting over-night / all day before completing this next step.
Occasionally small holes may appear around where the wick is centred. Don't worry this is completely normal. We need to re-heat the wax we saved from earlier to 70 degrees celsius & pour at this temperature, slowly filling each of the relief holes until they reach are just below the surface.
Pouring carelessly over the top of the candle can create a horizontal seam-line on our finished candle, which can look unsightly.
When all relief holes are filled, carefully pour wax over the surface, ensuring it doesn’t reach the mould (over-filling can cause the wax to seep between the mould & candle, which doesn’t look great). - Remove your candle from the mould
Trim the wick to 5mm, & it’s now ready to light
And there you have it, you're very own homemade pillar candles!
We’d love to see your work!
Once you’ve made your pillar candle, take a picture and share your work on Instagram or Facebook and tag us!
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