Choosing the Right Candle Wax For Making Candles
So, you want to make candles! There are some decisions you’ll need to make to get started, but one of the first involves the type of wax you want to use.
How do you know which type of candle wax to choose?
Things You’ll Need to Consider
Your choice will depend on several factors, including the form of candles you would like to make, the kind of wax you would prefer to use (for example, is using an all-natural wax important to you?), the amount of scent throw you’d like the candle to have, the level of difficulty that you want the project to offer, and even the type of finish you would like to see on your candles. Taking the time to consider all of these factors will help you decide which wax is right for your specific application.
Types of Candles
What form do you want your candles to take? Candlewic can help you make:
Pillar Candles
Pillars are candles that stand on their own, without any type of container. The best waxes to create pillar candles are paraffin, beeswax and palm wax. However, you can also use wax blends to make pillar candles.
Container Candles
Container candles are candles that you create to sit inside of a glass jar (with or without a lid), metal tin or other type of container. Because these candles do not have to stand on their own, you can use a variety of waxes to make container candles, including soy wax, soy/paraffin blends, paraffin, palm wax, and beeswax.
Votive Candles
Votive candles are small candles about 2 ½” high that are designed to sit in small, glass containers. Because they are not freestanding, you can use a variety of waxes to make votives, including soft, natural waxes like soy and palm as well as beeswax, wax blends, and paraffin.
Tealight Candles
Tealights are small candles, about 1 ½” in diameter and about ¾” high, that are designed to sit inside a small, cylindrical metal or clear plastic container. You can make tealights using most waxes, including soy, palm, and beeswax, paraffin, and soy/paraffin blends
Taper Candles
Tapered candles are long, narrow candles that sit in candlesticks. The best waxes for making tapered candles are paraffin and beeswax.
Tarts
Did you know that you can make candles without a wick? When melted in a potpourri or tart burner, wax tarts, also known as wax melts, offer another way to enjoy the aroma of candles. You can use both paraffin and natural waxes such as soy wax to make tarts.
Gel Candles
Gel candles are soft, gelatin-like candles that you create inside a container. They’re made from a mineral-oil based gel instead of wax.
Types of Wax
Candlewic offers high-quality candle waxes in a number of forms, including:
Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax, also known as straight wax, is wax that doesn’t have any additives in it. The most commonly used and least-expensive candle wax, paraffin can be used to make many types of candles, including pillars, containers, votives, tealights, tapers and tarts.
Soy Wax and Soy Wax Flakes
Soy wax is a 100% all-natural wax made from hydrogenated soybean oil that is available in several forms, including soy wax flakes. It is ideal for use in making container candles, including jarred candles, tins, votives, tealights, and tarts. Because there’s a difference between paraffin wax candles and soy wax candles in terms of their appearance and performance, you’ll want to learn the properties of each to help you decide which type of wax you want to use. Learn More.
Palm Wax
Another type of 100% all-natural wax, palm wax is produced by hydrogenating palm oils. Palm waxes allow you to create candles with unique textures, since, in most cases, there is a crystallizing pattern (on pillars or containers) or feathering pattern (available on pillars) that forms on the candle’s surface. Palm wax is excellent for use with pillars, votives and tarts.
Beeswax and Beeswax Sheets
Beeswax is another 100% all-natural wax. One of the best candle waxes on the market, beeswax can be used to make all types of candles, including pillars, tapers, votives and containers. It is also available in beeswax sheets.
Candlewic Custom Blends
Using Candlewic’s Custom Blend Waxes eliminates the need to test blends and additives on your own and allows you to create better candles faster. All are Candlewic proprietary blends that are fully formulated to require no additional additives except for UV light stabilizers, which prevent fading. Various blends for container, pillar and mottling waxes are available on our website.
Granulated Wax
Granulated wax is often used for crafting, because of its ease of use. There’s no need to melt the wax! It’s made from 140⁰ melt-point paraffin that has been formed into little beads, so you can just pour granulated wax into a container and insert a wick!
Gel Candle Wax
Offering the translucent quality of gelatin, gel candle wax isn’t actually wax at all. Instead, it’s made from mineral oil and a polymer resin. With gel candle wax and a clear glass container, you can make container candles you can see through and into! For added interest, you can make embedded-object gel candles, where you insert decorative, nonflammable items into the gel.
Each type of wax offers specific benefits, and not all waxes can be used to make all types of candles. Need more help deciding? You can always Ask Chandler! He’s just a click away!
I’m making fire starters for my 82 year old mother. I’m using sawdust mixed with wax and poured into empty Copenhagen cans. just remove the metal lids, Take the entire can which is made from cardboard and lined with wax, put your small pieces of wood on top of your can ,either criss crossed or tee-pee style, light the Copenhagen can on fire with a match nd they flame right up. I’m wondering if a low melting point , or low flash point wax might be better for what I’m doing?
You actually should use a large cotton wick to get them to burn. The “kindling” is not enough to keep the wax lit.
What kind of wax do you use for molds?
The best wax to use when making molded candles and adding fragrance is the CBL-141.
https://candlewic.com/p/candle-making/wax/candlewic-custom-blends/votive-pillar-blend-wax-cbl-141/
Hi Chandler, Quick question for you- Can I use inverwax for candle making of any kind of candles ? Thank you, Peggy Sanker
Unfortunately I am not familiar with inverwax.
What’s the best combination of bees wax and soy wax for taper candles
Hi! I’m wanting to start making candles and selling them as my own company and was wondering if beeswax would be okay to use? I like the all naturel approach but I want to make sure it would work with all types of molds and dyes that I’ll be using 🙂
Beeswax is a great product and yes is very versatile. The one drawback is the pricing which does keep many from using it on a regular basis.
I use beeswax. It burns brighter, longer and can be used for any candles. I also use 3/4 paraffin wax and 1/4 beeswax if I don’t want them to be so costly.
What is the best wax to make wine glass candles?
We would recommend using the CBL-130 for that application. This wax is a soy/paraffin blend.
I have GB 464 soy wax and Coconut Sox wax blend. I want to use tumbler 9oz and 12 oz glasses because I like the look of thick look of glass at the bottom of each. Anyway, Can you make some wick suggestions for both sizes? I want a good wax pooling and good scent throw. Thank you.
The 9 ounce would recommend ECO-6 or ECO-8 for the 12 oz either ECO-8 or ECO-10.
I am new to candlemaking (and love your site!). Can you tell me the pouring temperature for the Soy 125 wax with use in the Libbey glass tumblers?
For best results we recommend preheating container and pouring wax at around 115-120F
A while back I bought the 50lb box of paraffin from Candlewic – Thanks!! I want to use it to make tea light candles. When using the straight wax (with a variety of wicks), the flame is very small. What other wax and ratio added to the paraffin would yield a larger flame and shorter burning time? Is there a wick you would recommend as well?
P.S. The link for “ask Chandler” on the page goes to “403 Forbidden”
Have you tried the CD-5? Sorry for the trouble with Ask Chandler. We can always be contact at [email protected]
Hello which wax is best for making different kinds of figures (curvy women figure, David head figure, Medusa head figure) out of silicone molds. I am using soy wax right now and idk if I’m pouring when it’s to hot (130•) but they keep breaking apart when I unmold them.
Soy wax will not work in that application. For best results you should use beeswax or paraffin wax.
Hello,
I am planning to start my own candles business but I don’t want to use paraffin because of the petroleum thing… Do you think is possible to use silicon figure molds with soy wax? if not, do you have any advise on what type of wax I can use for this?
Amazing website, thank you!!
Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately soy will not work with silicon figure molds. The best wax to use with that type of mold would be Beeswax.
What if we used a beeswax/coconut wax blend? Would that work in the silicone molds?
If the majority of the blend was beeswax it might. Coconut tends to be extremely brittle and very low melt point.
I have been making molded candles using pure soy wax blends the last few months and they have been working pretty well. They are not perfect (as they are handmade and I am still learning), but I’ve had some success using pure soy wax. The only issue I’ve had is trying to find fragrances that will not change the texture of the wax itself because some will make it softer, I’ve noticed.
Unfortunately when adding fragrance there is not much you can do about the texture. In most instances the 7-8% fragrance you are adding is changing the properties of the wax.
whats the best candle wax for making scented candles.?
Will depend on jars or pillars. If jars would recommend the CBL-125 and if pillars the CBL-141.
Thank you for your article. It was very helpful.
I’m using soy wax in small glass jars. The wick keeps sputtering out after a couple hours of burn. At first I thought it was the mica powder I was using for color but then I had the same trouble using crayons for color. What do you recommend in terms of wicks and coloring agents?
You should only use color blocks or liquid dyes for coloring candles. Color blocks are easier to work with. Crayons have pigments which will clog the wick and same holds true for mica.
Great site….I’m a new to this, but I’ve got a concept and needing advice.
I’ve a several empty 22 oz Yankee Candle Jars, sheets of bees wax and a ton cool small pine cones. Thinking about placing a roll of fitted bees wax in the jar, with the pine cones placed between the jar wall and the bee wax sheets. Wondering if you might recommend specific wicks and waxs for the fill?
Rather nervous this might all make for a huge mess, So thinking a lower temp fill wax would be ideal as I don’t wish to melt or deform the bees wax sheets too much (so below 144 °F)? And ideally, the fill wax would be fairly transparent, so are to permit seeing the cones and wax sheet? Kind of thinking it might be best to build the inner candle, wrap with a beeswax sheet, place in jar with cones and then backfill the outer section? Don’t know…. help!
Does CBL-141 work well with unique candle molds? I am going to attempt candle molds next, but so far I’ve only worked with jar candles. Any tips or tricks will help immensely.
Yes it works well especially if adding fragrances.
Hi, very new at this. Looking at making tarts for the first time. Want to use soy. What kind is best? And which one holds fragrance best? Thanks.
Alisa
Any of the soy waxes could function to make tarts. However, soy can be a bit brittle and to low of a melt point for the application.
I want to start mAking candles. I’m thinking molds and cubed wax burners and add scent. Any suggestions on what wax and wick to use.
For the Molds we would recommend using the CBL-141 and for the cubed wax burners we would recommend the CBL-129. In terms of wicks for the molds it will really depend on the diameter. If you email us at [email protected] and let us know the diameter we can provide you with some recommendations on which wicks to test.
Hi, thank you for information.
I’m starting doing my own pillar candles female and male torso 10 cm and I’m using kerasoy wax pillar blend. The thing is the body of candle burns in 10 mins and after burns about 30 mins on the base. Don’t you know the reason? Why it burns so fast?
To big of a wick and probably to low of a melt point wax. A soy wax is not effective at all with free standing candles.
Hi,
I bought a silicone mold to make those body shaped candles. What wax would you recommend. I was told to get a harder soy wax in order to peel the mold off and have the candle still in one piece. What wax would you recommend?
Soy will not work at all to be honest. You will need to use a paraffin wax and ideally the 4144 is going to be the best.
What kind of wax should you use for making candlesticks that will drip? Seems like most modern wax is for “dripless”.
The dripping is caused more by the size of the wick. For any taper you will want to use a melt point wax of at least 140F.
How many wicks should I use in a glass jar with a diameter of 5″?
We would recommend trying to smaller wicks first. The fewer wicks you can use the better it will be. The more wicks used the more issues with placement, oxygen and performance.
I recently purchased 200 tealight candles and they won’t burn. The top wick burns and when it is gone, end of story. I have some paraffin and wanted to remake them so as not to be a total waste. What size wick would you recommend. Is the wick size the problem or could it be the wax?
Unfortunately it is hard to recommend a wick without knowing more about the wax. The reason these didn’t burn was they didn’t use the right wick with the wax they used. If you go to big on the wick then it might burn to fast and hot. We generally recommend the S-330 cotton when making paraffin wax candles but if they used a different wax, to high of melt point then this wick will not be sufficient. Wick sizing is always the biggest challenge in candle making.
It’s good to know that paraffin is the least expensive wax to get! My sister’s birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I want to look into making her a candle since she loves them, and I wanted to make sure that I get the right supplies. I’ll make sure to keep these tips in mind as I search for candle wax to use for her gift!
Hi I want to make candles molds instead of candles in jars. I wanted to use a coconut/apricot blend for my candles because its clean. Please let me know if this is a good idea. I do not see any suggestions for candle molds.
Unfortunately the Coconut/Apricot is only suitable for use in jars and cannot be used to make pillars. The best natural waxes to use for Pillars would be Beeswax, Palm-2 or Palm-3 and the Elite-300
I’ve only made one candle by melting 6 tarts in a double boiler and pouring the wax over jute string. It worked better than I expected.
I’m wanting to make long tapered candles for the most light and longest burning. I’d like to use bees wax and wondering what type of wick I would need. Thank you
The square braided are the best and start by testing the 6/0.
What wick do you guys recommend for CBL 129 in a 3″ tumbler jar? What is the best wick for this wax? Thanks so much!
Will depend on the color/fragrance load but would recommend testing RRD-40 or RRD-47.
I’m using bottom of champagne bottles for candles. 464 soy was. Any ideas which wicks to test? Diameter 3-3 1/2 “
Thanks.
Would recommend testing the ECO-10 or the ECO-12.
I’m starting to make candles again and I would like to use paraffin wax, however I see that there are many different types of paraffin wax. I was wondering which type Is best? I plan on making pillar candles and container candles to start.
Would recommend the CBL-141 for the pillars and the CBL-125 for containers.
I want to make pillar candle with palm and paraffin wax blend, do you know best ratio for it?
Will depend on the reason adding Palm. Both are very good waxes onto themselves. The Palm will loose the patterns when any percentage of paraffin is added.
In the 70’s when I started making candles I had a book that had ideas such as artificial flowers & sand candles. I lost that book. What is the best way to add artificial flowers?
Unfortunately we do not recommend adding dried flowers to any candle intended to be burned.
I’m starting up a new candle business and I use a candle maker and was wondering what is the best wax to use?
Will depend on the type of desired marking. Performance wise the CBL-125 is going to be the best for containers/jars.
I bought some beeswax candles that were poured into a screw top can. 1.5 inch diameter, .75 inch height, so pretty much tea light size. I set one on the counter, lit it and it tunneled to the bottom in about 90 minutes with over half the wax unused. Tried another one, same results. My first guess is they were made with “standard” (or cheapest) tea light wicks which were not up to the task. I would like to redo these and make them work. I am assuming I will need to buy larger, longer wicks and cut to length after the wax cools. Can you suggest a wick type and size to start with?
Thanks for your time!
Will depend on how filtered the beeswax is but would recommend testing the 1/0 or the #1.
Hi there, I am so fed up with spending a fortune on candles that when lit have no smell at all. I would like to make my own in jars but as I have no experience but lots of enthusiasm would like some info on getting started, what do I use for a great aroma etc. Love your site and thanks in advance.
Thanks for the information, it’s really useful.
I just want to know about the differences between granule wax and crystalline wax. Are they same or there is a huge difference?
I want to know which of them is better for carving candle?
Thanks in advance for your replying…
Yes they are different products. Granulate wax is a paraffin which is not a micro crystalline wax. For carving we would recommend using the 4045EP.
I am new to candle making. I am interested in making homemade candles; vitiove and Pillar candles but they will be graphic; 3d and 2d designed shapes, figures, objects etc. I will use jars maybe a tray for use as candle holder/base some most of pillar candles base will be sturdy enough to stand-alone without a jar.
I am interested in stronger fragrances because the design of the candles will wow the audience as a interior decorative item.
Would definitely recommend using the CBL-141 for that application.
It generally would be a paraffin wax just may not have used the proper one.
Hi, wanting to start making pillar silicone mould candles, can you mix soy wax and beeswax for pillars or best to use only the beeswax? If you can mix what ratio would work? Thanks
It is possible but will need a heavy percentage of beeswax would have to say starting at around 70-80%
Hi! I am looking to make candles from molds I bought online. I have heard that soy wax is too soft to use in these, but I see online that people are selling molded candles saying they are made from soy wax. Does this mean I could use soy wax? Or are they using some sort of blend? Or are they blending two types of waxes together? Please let me know!
More than likely some type of blend. Soy in itself has a very low melt point and pretty brittle.
Okay, thank you! If I use a blend of soy and something else, could I still promote it to be eco friendly? A lot of places say to use paraffin with soy, but then that makes it no longer eco friendly.
There is not a definitive answer to that. There is no guidelines as to what is ECO friendly so it is very subjective. Most people seem to be comfortable calling a candle that has 50% soy in it natural.
Okay thank you! My wonder is that if I use a paraffin blend with soy, can I still market myself as eco friendly?
Can’t call it all natural. But something like Soy blend or natural blend are normally ok to use.
I use molds to make hurricane candles with fresh flowers in them. I have been using paraffin wax but I wanted to know if there was a way to make it more clear? I have special ordered some wax and have also used gulf wax, is there something better that would stay more clear?
The wax which would have the most clarity is the 5055 but to be honest it is better but to many eyes may not be a remarkable improvement
Which type of wick and wax should I use to generate the most drip in a taper candle?
Depends on the wax you are using. For mid melt point paraffins would recommend testing the 12 Ply and for beeswax testing the 5/0
Hi what wax is great for scented molded and jar candles? I am new into making candles and would want to know which wax is great to use.
For containers we would recommend the CBL-125 and for Pillars we would recommend CBL-141. Unfortunately to make the best candles you should always have 1 wax for the jars and 1 for pillars
hi!! i am making pillar candles with silicone molds and i use naturewax C3 soy wax and i always have sink holes and air bubbles 🙁 then i bought paraffin wax and i have the same problem and i dont know what to do 🙁
Unfortunately Soy wax is not suitable with silicone mold. Paraffin is best but you will need to pour much hotter something in the 200F range.
Hi! Which wax is safer to use in a normal jam jar….ie: it won’t cause the glass to crack. Have some beautiful glass jars which I want to upcycle as gifts
Would recommend either the CBL-125 or the CBL-130 both are pretty easy waxes to work with.
I’m curious as to what radio of of paraffin to soy I can use in a blend. Any help please?
It can be any percentage you like. Most like to be in the 50/50 range. The more paraffin the better the candle will deliver on fragrance throw.
Hi, im making some tall cylinder gkass candles for a driends wedding. The tallest would be approx 70cm tall and 20cm wide. I was thinking a pure sot wax would be best or would you reccoment a blend? Also hiw many wicks would i need, I was considering wodden wicks also, im just concerned on the oxygen and if the candle would burn down without suffocating. Do you have any suggestions or reccomendations?
Thanks
That diameter is very difficult not to have smoking. Definitely would not recommend using wood wicks.
Hi, I’m looking at starting candle making. I am looking at starting with container candles – glass jars. Which wax would you recommend to start with?
Thank you.
Would highly recommend using the CBL-130.
https://candlewic.com/p/candle-making/wax/candlewic-custom-blends/cbl-130/
I am looking to start a candle making business. I purchased the country lane wax melt kit from hobby lobby and it worked wonderful. I would like to make candles in jars as well as wax melts. What wax is in the country lane kit? Is there a wax that can be used for jars as well as wax melts?
The Soy wax in this kit is the 494. Ideally you should use specific wax for the application. However you could use the 464 in Tarts and jars.
Hello!
We are wanting to make candles in antique, or vintage teacups. What type of wax would you recommend using for this? We also plan to add our own essential oils.
Would definitely recommend the CBL-130.
https://candlewic.com/p/candle-making/wax/candlewic-custom-blends/cbl-130/
I am new to making candles. I want to make unscented chime candles, 4-10oz tin candles, tea light candles with natural scent, can you recommend wax with clean burn and good scent throw?
We would recommend the CBL-125 for best performance.