Essentially, only three things are needed to make a basic candle: a jar, a wick, and wax. If you want, you can add two other commonly used materials into the mix: fragrance oil and color wax dye.
Only needing 3-5 materials makes it seem simple, right? Well, it's really not as easy as it sounds.
In addition to the materials mentioned above, you also need some basic equipment to create your finished product: a pot, double boiler, thermometer, and ideally, something to keep the wicks centered once the melted wax has been poured into the jar.
On top of all that, you will have to test out different-sized wicks (Which size fits your jars best for optimal burning?), fragrance oil quantities (How many milliliters should be used per ounce of wax?), wax temperature (At what temperature should fragrance oil be added in? At what temperature should the wax be poured?), and proper dye amounts (How do you make certain colors to be the way you want them?).
As you can see, there are quite a few things that need to be kept in mind when making candles and perfecting them.
It all comes down to trial and error.
Once you have figured out what works best for you and your products, the process will get much easier and become second nature.
Below are links to supplies we currently use/have used in the past:
- Wick Stickers: Amazon.com: 400pcs Candle Wick Stickers, Heat Resistance Candle Making Double-Sided Stickers
- Golden Brands 444 Soy Wax: Golden Brands 444 Soy Wax, Wholesale 444 Soy Wax - CandleScience
- Various Wick Sizes (ECO Series): ECO Pretabbed Candle Wick - CandleScience