Candle Making Supplies for Beginners

To make a first container candle you need wax made for candles, a wick sized for your jar, a jar made for candles, fragrance oil made for candles, a scale, a pouring pitcher, a thermometer and a water bath to melt in. CandleScience and Candlewic both point beginners to a kit, since it bundles most of this. Start with one candle, make it well, then change one thing at a time, as Lone Star puts it.

What goes in the cupboard?

The materials, per CandleScience and Lone Star:

• Wax made for candles and matched to what you are making. For containers, that means a container wax. CandleScience's beginner page lists Golden Wax 464 flakes, SimplySoy Artisan and Coconut Apricot as examples.
• Wicks. Pretabbed wicks (wax-primed, with a metal tab) are the usual choice for jars. Size them to the wax and the jar width. Our wick guide shows how.
• Jars or tins rated for hot wax. CandleScience says cylindrical containers are the easiest to wick, and suggests single-wick candles before a 3-wick jar. Lone Star warns that reused jars can crack.
• Fragrance oil made for candles. Lone Star says "never perfume", because perfumes are alcohol-based. Product pages list the usage limit and the flash point.
• Dye is optional, per CandleScience.

The tools:

• A digital scale. CandleScience calls weighing its top tip (see our guide on weighing).
• A pouring pitcher. CandleScience lists a metal one in 2 lb or 4 lb sizes. Lone Star says to use one you can hold safely when it is full of hot wax.
• A thermometer to watch every stage.
• A double boiler, on the stove or a hot plate, for melting. Our melting guide covers the safety.
• A stirring spoon or spatula, and a cup for the oil (weigh it, do not trust the markings).
• Wick stickers to hold the wick tab to the jar, and a wick bar to hold it upright while the wax cools. CandleScience says crafting sticks, pencils or skewers work in place of a bar.
• Scissors or wick trimmers, paper towels and isopropyl alcohol for wiping jars.
• Warning labels. CandleScience puts one on the bottom of each candle it makes.
• A fire extinguisher within reach. CandleScience says to keep one close and know how to use it.

A heat gun is optional and, per CandleScience, a later purchase.

Worked example: a first batch of 12

Every price here is made up for the math. Say you want 12 candles from 7 oz (198 g) of wax each, at an 8 percent load of the wax. All numbers are examples.

• Wax: 12 x 7 = 84 oz, so 6 lb (96 oz) covers it with 12 oz to spare.
• Oil: 84 x 0.08 = 6.72 oz.

Tools plus materials: 45.00 + 50.08 = $95.08. The materials for each candle: 50.08 / 12 = $4.17. You pay for the tools once, so the next batch costs only the materials. Notice that the 6 lb of wax is bought but only 84 oz is poured. The leftover wax stays on your shelf for test candles.

What can wait?

Dye, a heat gun and a wick bar (a pencil works) are not needed on day one. Do not skimp on the scale. And do not buy a big bag of wax before you have poured one test candle in your jar.

Common mistakes

• Buying a pretty jar that was never made for candles.
• Skipping the thermometer and guessing the temperature.
• Using perfume or craft-store scents.
• Buying wax by price per pound and ignoring what each candle costs.
• Not buying warning labels until you start selling.

Questions

Do I need a kit?

No, but both CandleScience and Candlewic suggest one for a first try, because it comes with matched wax, wicks, jars and oil. Check what is in it before you buy.

How many test candles should I make first?

Lone Star recommends one test candle, burned about an hour per inch of its diameter, and a new test when you change the wax, wick, vessel, fragrance or dye.

Can I use kitchen pots?

CandleScience says a pan used for candle wax should not be used for food again, since none of its fragrances, waxes or dyes are food-safe. Use a pot you will not cook in.