How To Make Paraffin Wax Candles!

Benefits of using Refined Paraffin Wax to make candles!

• Excellent Hot Throw: When burning paraffin wax candles, the fragrance in the air is amazing and quickly fills a room.
• High Fragrance Load Allowance: Paraffin wax will give you a much better bang for your buck with fragrance, as it requires less fragrance than other waxes, but it's much stronger while burning. A paraffin wax candle with a fragrance load of 4 - 6% usually covers a room within 15-20 minutes of burning.
• High Color Range: Paraffin wax is completely colourless, so it is an incredibly versatile candle wax. This is where it gets super exciting as it means you can make candles of any colour using candle dyes.
• Great Adhesion: Paraffin wax is perfect for making clear or coloured candles in clear glass as the adhesion can’t be matched with any other candle wax.
• Blends Well: It is common in large scale manufacturing to blend soy wax and or coconut wax with paraffin wax as the benefits of increased fragrance throw, superior adhesion and increased burn times due to the hardness of paraffin wax can be obtained with blending waxes.
• Fully Customizable: Paraffin wax is versatile, and can be used for making all candles, decorative candles like pillar candles, tealight candles, jar candles, etc.

Remember when testing paraffin wax to keep detailed records to ensure you get the perfect candle every time.

How to Make Paraffin Wax Candles Like a Pro!

Step 1: The Preparation for making Paraffin Wax Container Candles:

Due to the hardness of this wax, it can’t be melted in the microwave.

Gather your supplies. Just like baking your favourite recipe there’s some prep work before you begin.  

Use the double boiler method. The pot or jug holding the paraffin wax needs to be inside a pot of water, just like melting chocolate.

Check the temperature with a thermometer when fully melted. 

You can also pour from the pot into a plastic jug to make filling jars easier.

You will need:

• A Clean Pot
• Fragrance oils
• Paraffin Wax
• Candle wicks & wick stickums and wick holders
• Clean candle jars (suitable heat proof jars)
• A butter knife or screwdriver to stick the wick to the bottom of the jar with the stickum
• Sharp scissors to trim the wick
• Long spout pouring jug
• Thermometer
• Isopropyl alcohol for the clean up

Centre the wick when you stick the wick to the bottom of the jar, Make sure the wick is firmly stuck to the wick stickum then use the butter knife to ensure good adhesive with the stickum to the bottom of the jar. 

Step 2: The making of the Paraffin Wax Candle.

Melt the wax slowly at a low heat, stir to help it melt. Heat up to 90° degrees Celsius.

Set up your making area.

When the wax has melted, you can add in coloured dye (at 0.5%, half a percent of the weight of the paraffin wax) then test with a thermometer to make sure wax is 85° degrees Celsius before adding your fragrance or essential oils. Add your fragrance oils at 4-6% of the total weight or add pure essential oils at 4-5% of total weight of the wax. Be warned If the wax is too hot it will burn off the fragrance and oils, leaving you with a barely there, subtle scent, rather than a candle with an amazing scent throw. 

Mix well for up to 2 minutes to ensure all dye fragrances and or essential oils disperse through the wax evenly. 

Test temperature to ensure its still at 85 degrees.

This is the most exciting part, you can now add colour to your wax. Add your candle dye at 0.5% of the total weight of the wax. So, if you’re making a 1kg batch of wax you would add 5gms of candle dye.

Remember to test, test, test, to get the perfect candle and keep accurate records.

At this stage mix everything well for a full minute. If your pot does not have a pouring spout carefully pour into a plastic candle making jug to pour your candles. Be careful as the wax is very hot.

Wick: You’ll need to UPSIZE your wick. Go up one to two sizes more when selecting your wick than you usually would when making a soy or coconut wax candles to achieve the correct melt pool.

Step 3: The creation of your Paraffin Wax Candle

When pouring paraffin wax candles it's recommended that you prepare the candle jars by pre-heating them in the oven for 5 minutes to take the chill off the jar, this increases the adhesion and reduces frosting air bubbles and sinkholes.

Alternatively, use a heat gun or blow dryer to warm individually before pouring. You just don’t want the wax to cool too quickly when poured into the jar.

It’s also important to use certified candle jars as paraffin is a very hot wax and may cause thinner glass to crack or shatter.

When pouring the paraffin wax into your containers or jars it is important to pour at around 80° degrees Celsius. 

Step 4: Waiting is the hardest part.

Remember to test right to the bottom of the candle, then when your happy commit to scaling up your production. 

The paraffin wax will begin hardening right away, so do not move or adjust your candle until it has set solid.

Trim the wick, using sharp scissors. Generally, you should trim the wick 1-1.5cm above the level of your paraffin wax.

Let the candle cool for 24 hours before moving or trimming the wick. To minimise tunneling, burn you candle for the very first time for a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes.

Enjoy :)