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| - | # Candlemaking | + | This topic is part of [[gt: |
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| - | ## What is candlemaking? | + | ===== What is candlemaking? |
| Candlemaking is making a light source from a flammable wick surrounded by a combustible material (usually wax, usually solid). Candles have been used to light people’s homes and journeys since long before the advent of electricity. The symbolic properties of light also mean that candles have traditionally played an important part in ceremonies and festivals around the world. | Candlemaking is making a light source from a flammable wick surrounded by a combustible material (usually wax, usually solid). Candles have been used to light people’s homes and journeys since long before the advent of electricity. The symbolic properties of light also mean that candles have traditionally played an important part in ceremonies and festivals around the world. | ||
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| - | Beeswax | + | _Beeswax |
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| - | How to make a basic container candle in a jar. | + | _How to make a basic container candle in a jar._ |
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| - | And a slightly more complicated (and hypnotic) technique. | + | _And a slightly more complicated (and hypnotic) technique._ |
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| - | ### History | + | ==== History |
| Early candles were made from rush lights or papyrus soaked in animal fat, though these lacked the wick of true candles. Over the centuries, different cultures experimented with adding a wick to a variety of combustible materials and by the Middle Ages tallow (from rendered animal fat) was the most common material for household candles across Europe. The introduction of cleaner-burning beeswax - obtained from bee-keeping monasteries - was a major improvement over the smelly, sooty tallow, but the high cost meant they were only affordable by the church or the wealthy. The development of stearin wax (from animal fat), paraffin wax (from petroleum) and braided wicks in the 19th century marked the high point of industrial production, but candle making declined shortly afterwards with the advent of electric lighting. | Early candles were made from rush lights or papyrus soaked in animal fat, though these lacked the wick of true candles. Over the centuries, different cultures experimented with adding a wick to a variety of combustible materials and by the Middle Ages tallow (from rendered animal fat) was the most common material for household candles across Europe. The introduction of cleaner-burning beeswax - obtained from bee-keeping monasteries - was a major improvement over the smelly, sooty tallow, but the high cost meant they were only affordable by the church or the wealthy. The development of stearin wax (from animal fat), paraffin wax (from petroleum) and braided wicks in the 19th century marked the high point of industrial production, but candle making declined shortly afterwards with the advent of electric lighting. | ||
| - | Today, apart from the odd retro power cut, candles are almost exclusively used for decorative or therapeutic purposes and ‘natural’ waxes such as beeswax, soy and palm are now preferred over paraffin wax by hobbyists and small producers. [Essential oils](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/ | + | Today, apart from the odd retro power cut, candles are almost exclusively used for decorative or therapeutic purposes and ‘natural’ waxes such as beeswax, soy and palm are now preferred over paraffin wax by hobbyists and small producers. [Essential oils](/eoil/essential_oils) can be added for fragrance. |
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| - | Melting | + | _Melting |
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| - | ## What are the benefits of candlemaking? | + | ===== What are the benefits of candlemaking? |
| Candles are a way of providing light without using electricity - beneficial from an environmental perspective, | Candles are a way of providing light without using electricity - beneficial from an environmental perspective, | ||
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| - | Six container candles and three pillar candles. | + | _Six container candles and three pillar candles._ |
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| - | ### Materials | + | ==== Materials |
| While the amount of raw materials used doesn’t differ that much from mass production, natural waxes are preferred by some craftspeople as being more environmentally-friendly than paraffin. They certainly give off a gentler, subtler fragrance and have the obvious advantage of not being a petroleum derivative in terms of production. | While the amount of raw materials used doesn’t differ that much from mass production, natural waxes are preferred by some craftspeople as being more environmentally-friendly than paraffin. They certainly give off a gentler, subtler fragrance and have the obvious advantage of not being a petroleum derivative in terms of production. | ||
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| - | Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle, part 1 of 6 (find the other vids in the right column); won't help you make candles, but fascinating. | + | _Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle, part 1 of 6 (find the other vids in the right column); won't help you make candles, but fascinating._ |
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| - | ## What can I do? | + | ===== What can I do? ===== |
| Candlemaking is suitable for all ages and great fun for kids (properly supervised). It’s pretty safe as melt temperatures are fairly low: if you’re doing it right the wax should never get hot enough to burn the skin. Cover surfaces or use an old table to work on; any unwanted wax spills can normally be cleaned up with a hairdryer and soft cloth. Obviously you need to be careful around hot hobs and pans of water, and oven or safety gloves should be worn when handling neat fragrance or essential oils. Special care needs to be taken with fragrance or essential oils around children or pregnant women and you should only ever use materials - including waxes, fragrances and oils - that have been approved for use in candlemaking and are safe for burning. | Candlemaking is suitable for all ages and great fun for kids (properly supervised). It’s pretty safe as melt temperatures are fairly low: if you’re doing it right the wax should never get hot enough to burn the skin. Cover surfaces or use an old table to work on; any unwanted wax spills can normally be cleaned up with a hairdryer and soft cloth. Obviously you need to be careful around hot hobs and pans of water, and oven or safety gloves should be worn when handling neat fragrance or essential oils. Special care needs to be taken with fragrance or essential oils around children or pregnant women and you should only ever use materials - including waxes, fragrances and oils - that have been approved for use in candlemaking and are safe for burning. | ||
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| - | Pillar | + | _Pillar |
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| - Coloured wax if using (tends to be paraffin-wax based). | - Coloured wax if using (tends to be paraffin-wax based). | ||
| - | - [Essential or fragrance oils](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/ | + | - [Essential or fragrance oils](/eoil/essential_oils) if using. |
| - Oven or safety gloves and an apron. | - Oven or safety gloves and an apron. | ||
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| - | Dipping | + | _Dipping |
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| - | + | ==== Container candles | |
| - | ### Container candles | + | |
| Container candles are by far the most popular type sold or made on candlemaking crafts courses. You can use any suitable heat-proof receptacle, from tumblers to teacups to jam jars, all of which can be scrounged from around the home or rooted out in charity shops and jumble sales if you don’t want to buy them new. Here’s how to make them: | Container candles are by far the most popular type sold or made on candlemaking crafts courses. You can use any suitable heat-proof receptacle, from tumblers to teacups to jam jars, all of which can be scrounged from around the home or rooted out in charity shops and jumble sales if you don’t want to buy them new. Here’s how to make them: | ||
| - Calculate the volume of container by weighing it empty and filling it with water, then weighing it again to find the weight of water it contains. | - Calculate the volume of container by weighing it empty and filling it with water, then weighing it again to find the weight of water it contains. | ||
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| - Weigh out the same amount of wax (wax will weigh more-or-less the same as water), but leave enough room for fragrance oils / colour if using them, and melt in the pan or bain-marie at 60°C maximum. | - Weigh out the same amount of wax (wax will weigh more-or-less the same as water), but leave enough room for fragrance oils / colour if using them, and melt in the pan or bain-marie at 60°C maximum. | ||
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| - Add essential or fragrance oils and colour if using. Oils can be added up to 10% of candle volume. Any more will affect the solidity. Natural waxes don’t take as much colour as paraffin so you tend to end up with gentle hues rather than strong colours. Take care not to add too much colour as this can affect the burning properties of the candle. | - Add essential or fragrance oils and colour if using. Oils can be added up to 10% of candle volume. Any more will affect the solidity. Natural waxes don’t take as much colour as paraffin so you tend to end up with gentle hues rather than strong colours. Take care not to add too much colour as this can affect the burning properties of the candle. | ||
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| - Wicks usually come with a little metal disc on the bottom which you glue into the bottom of the container with the glue gun. Trim the wick to the desired size, i.e. not so long that it flops over into the wax. | - Wicks usually come with a little metal disc on the bottom which you glue into the bottom of the container with the glue gun. Trim the wick to the desired size, i.e. not so long that it flops over into the wax. | ||
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| - Pour in the melted wax at around 55°C for metal containers; 40-44°C for glass or ceramic containers (which should be at room temperature). | - Pour in the melted wax at around 55°C for metal containers; 40-44°C for glass or ceramic containers (which should be at room temperature). | ||
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| - Leave to cool in a draught-free area. You can buy special wick holders - or make them yourself out of chopsticks or barbecue skewers – to keep the wick upright during cooling (although if you pour at the correct temperature this shouldn’t be an issue anyway). | - Leave to cool in a draught-free area. You can buy special wick holders - or make them yourself out of chopsticks or barbecue skewers – to keep the wick upright during cooling (although if you pour at the correct temperature this shouldn’t be an issue anyway). | ||
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| - | A great method of producing very basic beeswax tapers quickly. | + | _A great method of producing very basic beeswax tapers quickly._ |
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| - | And a more leisurely way of producing higher-quality beeswax candles. | + | _And a more leisurely way of producing higher-quality beeswax candles._ |
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| - | ### Pillar candles | + | ==== Pillar candles |
| Pillar candle wax is harder as it needs to support itself unaided and can only take about 2-3% essential oils. Here you do need to spend some money on special moulds, which come in everything from cheap, straight-sided aluminium to more expensive and elaborate shapes in plastic and latex (the term ‘pillar’ is a bit of a misnomer as these days they come in a wide variety of shapes and forms). | Pillar candle wax is harder as it needs to support itself unaided and can only take about 2-3% essential oils. Here you do need to spend some money on special moulds, which come in everything from cheap, straight-sided aluminium to more expensive and elaborate shapes in plastic and latex (the term ‘pillar’ is a bit of a misnomer as these days they come in a wide variety of shapes and forms). | ||
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| - | Candles | + | _Candles |
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| - | ### Tapers | + | ==== Tapers |
| While a little more time-consuming than other candlemaking methods, beeswax tapers look and smell nice and are clean-burning. | While a little more time-consuming than other candlemaking methods, beeswax tapers look and smell nice and are clean-burning. | ||
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| - | ## Further resources | + | ===== Forum ===== |
| + | This topic belongs to the section [[gt: | ||
| - | ## Specialist(s) | + | ===== Further resources ===== |
| - | **Thanks to Sarah Harper of [Rowan Tree Studio](http://www.rowantreestudiodevon.co.uk/) for information.** | + | - [Live Simply](https://livesimply.me/ |
| + | - [Let's Make Candles](https:// | ||
| + | - [National Candle Association](https:// | ||
| + | - [British Candlemakers Federation](https:// | ||
| + | - [Candle Science](https:// | ||
| + | - [WikiHow](https:// | ||
| - | ![](https:// | ||
| - | Sarah Harper is the owner of the [Clovelly Soap Company](http:// | + | ===== Related topics ===== |
| + | - [Beekeeping](bees: | ||
| + | - [Craft production](craf: | ||
| + | - [Essential oils](eoil: | ||
| + | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== | ||
| - | _Date on Lowimpact: | ||