What a Candle Recipe Card Should Include

A good recipe card lets you, or a helper, pour the same candle a year from now. That means more than "soy, 8 percent". Craftybase says that consistent record-keeping separates a repeatable recipe from a lucky first batch, and a Cursa course page on process control lists the fields to log for each batch. I have merged the two lists below and added the notes I would want.

What goes on the card?

The candle:

• Name, date and a version number (v1, v2).
• Jar or vessel type and size.

The materials:

• Wax: type and lot, and the ratio if you blend waxes (Cursa), plus the brand.
• Wick: type and size.
• Fragrance oil: name and supplier. Load as a percent and in grams (Cursa), plus what the percent is of. Write "of the wax" or "of the total" on the card so nobody redoes it the other way. Our guide on that split explains why.
• Dye: type and amount.
• Weight of wax per candle and per batch.

The process (all from Cursa's list):

• Maximum melt temperature and about how long the wax was held hot.
• Dye addition temperature.
• Fragrance addition temperature.
• Mix time and method.
• Pour temperature, plus any second pour.
• Room temperature, and notes on drafts or air vents.

The result:

• Cooling: sinkholes, wet spots, frosting, top finish (Cursa).
• Cure length before the first burn.
• Burn-test results. Craftybase's list is flame height, melt pool diameter and depth, wick condition, jar surface temperature, soot, and a rating of hot throw, plus the date and room temperature. Our guide on the burn-test log covers those.

Worked example: one filled-in card

The name, numbers and prices below are made up. Say v2 of a candle called "Example Pine", in an 8 oz tin, with 7.5 oz (213 g) of wax per candle and a 7 percent load of the wax. You pour 4.

• Wax for 4: 7.5 x 4 = 30 oz (850 g)
• Oil per candle: 7.5 x 0.07 = 0.525 oz (15 g)
• Oil for 4: 30 x 0.07 = 2.10 oz (60 g). Check: 0.525 x 4 = 2.10 oz
• Total in the pitcher: 30 + 2.10 = 32.10 oz
• Materials, with example prices: wax 30 oz = 1.875 lb x $2.00 = $3.75, oil 2.10 x $1.50 = $3.15, 4 wicks x $0.50 = $2.00, 4 tins x $1.75 = $7.00. Total $15.90, and 15.90 / 4 = $3.975, which rounds to $3.98 per candle

The card also says "v2: only change from v1 is wick, up one size. Everything else the same." That one line is the most useful thing on it. It is Cursa's advice to treat each batch as a small experiment where you change one variable at a time.

When do I make a new version?

Craftybase says to retest whenever the recipe changes, such as a new wax supplier, a new fragrance oil, a different vessel shape or a different load. I add a new version number every time one of those changes, and I keep the old card.

Common mistakes

• Writing a percent with no note on what it is a percent of.
• Leaving off the wax lot and the oil supplier, then switching suppliers and wondering why the candle changed.
• Changing the wick, the load and the pour temperature in the same version.
• Recording the recipe but not the burn-test result.
• Keeping notes on loose paper that never meets the batch it belongs to.

Questions

Paper card or app?

Either works. What matters is that the card is filled in at the bench, while you pour, not remembered at the end of the day.

How many fields is too many?

Cursa's list is long, and not every field earns its place for every maker. I would keep wax, wick, oil, load, the three temperatures, cure time and results as the minimum, and add the rest when a candle gives you trouble.

Should the card include cost?

It helps. A card with weights is one step from a cost per candle. See our cost guide for what else to add.