If you love making homemade candles, you will love beeswax candles!
This traditional way to make candles not only makes a natural and elegant looking candle, but the beeswax also brings its own benefits.
Keep reading for a container candle recipe and a beeswax wax melt recipe…
Contents
- Why Make Beeswax Candles?
- Beeswax Container Candle Recipe
- Beeswax Wax Melt Recipe
- Why Add Coconut Oil to Beeswax Candles?
Why Make Beeswax Candles?
Homemade beeswax candles are natural, long lasting, purifying and sustainable!
Our beeswax is 100% natural and sourced ethically and sustainably. You can also use certified organic beeswax to make your candle.
Beeswax candles have a much longer burning time than most paraffin candles and soy candles as the wax is naturally harder.
These natural candles emit little to no smoke and produce less soot when burning. It is also said the beeswax candles help purify the air around it.
Not only is beeswax a great candle wax, but it also makes a beautiful golden yellow coloured candle! If you want to change the colour of the beeswax candles, you can use white refined beeswax instead.
Have a go at making your own beeswax candles with our recipes…
Beeswax Container Candle Recipe
This container candle uses coconut oil with the beeswax to help the candle burn evenly. We are using strong essential oils like black pepper, tea tree and cinnamon to make a woodsy scented candle.
Equipment:
- Digital scales
- Digital thermometer
- Silicone spatula/ spoon
- Heatproof bowl
- Plastic measuring jugs
- Glass candle container/ mason jar
- Pre waxed candle wicks
- Wick stickers
- Wick holder
Ingredients:
- Beeswax 225g
- Coconut oil 68g
- Black pepper essential oil 4g
- Tea tree essential oil 7g
- Cinnamon essential oil 2g
Method:
1. Prepare the container
- Before making the candle, make sure your container and wick are ready
- Place a wick sticker on the bottom of your wick tab and place it to the bottom of the container
- Lay the wick holder on the top of your container, with the wick in the centre hole
2. Weigh out the fragrance
- In a small bowl or jug, weigh out the black pepper, tea tree and cinnamon oil.
- Mix the essential oils together
3. Melt the wax and coconut oil
- Weigh the beeswax pellets and coconut oil into a bowl
- Heat the ingredients in a double boiler or place your bowl of soy wax over a saucepan with boiling water
- Continuously stir the wax until it has completely melted (be patient, beeswax melts very slowly)
- Once fully melted, remove from the heat
4. Test the temperature and add the essential oils
- Before adding the essential oils, test the temperature of the melted wax
- If it has cooled to around 71°C, add the essential oils
- Make sure the mix them in quickly
5. Pour the wax into a container
- Once the wax has cooled to around 68°C, pour it into your container
- Make sure to hold the wick holder as you pour the mixture to keep the wick centered
- Leave the candle to set for 2 weeks and trim the wick to about ½ an inch
- Then your beeswax candle is ready to use!
TIP: Make sure everything is ready before you start! Beeswax starts solidifying very quickly so you will need to work fast.
Beeswax Wax Melt Recipe
We are using eucalyptus essential oil as our fragrance in our wax melt as it has a strong refreshing aroma. The coconut oil in this recipe helps the wax to melt faster and it improves the scent throw of the wax melt.
Equipment:
- Digital scales
- Digital thermometer
- Silicone spatula/ spoon
- Heatproof bowl
- Plastic measuring jugs
- Wax melt moulds
- Bubble wrap (optional)
Ingredients:
- Beeswax 100g
- Coconut oil 50g
- Eucalyptus essential oil 6g
Method:
1. Weigh the beeswax and coconut oil
- Weigh out the beeswax and coconut oil into a bowl.
- Heat the ingredients in a double boiler or place your bowl of soy wax over a saucepan with boiling water
- Continuously stir the wax until it has completely melted (be patient, beeswax melts very slowly)
- Once fully melted, remove from the heat
2. Test the temperature and add the essential oils
- Measure out the ginger essential oil in a small bowl
- Before adding the essential oils, test the temperature of the melted beeswax
- If it has cooled to around 71°C, add the essential oils
- Make sure the mix them in quickly
3. DIY honeycomb effect (optional)
- If you don’t have a honeycomb shaped mould, you can create a honeycomb effect on the top of the wax melt by cutting some bubble wrap to the shape of your mould.
- Place the bubble wrap at the bottom of the mould and pour the mixture over the top of it.
- Once your wax melt has set, remove it from the mould and peel off the bubble wrap!
4. Pour the wax into your mould
- Test the temperature of your mixture again
- Once it reaches around 68°C, pour the liquid mixture into your wax melt mould
- Leave the wax melt to set for 48 hours and it’s ready to use!
TIP: Beeswax solidifies very quickly so make sure your wax melt mould is ready! The bubble wrap makes a lovely honeycomb effect, but be careful when peeling it off as it may be a bit tricky as the wax is very hard.
Why Add Coconut Oil to Beeswax Candles?
Technically, you can make pure beeswax candles with just beeswax and no coconut oil. But the candle simply won’t burn well or give a good scent throw.
Coconut oil is used in beeswax candles as it helps hold the fragrance and improves scent throw.
Beeswax is a very hard wax with a high melting point. Adding coconut oil softens the wax and reduces the wax's melting point which helps the beeswax burn slower.
It can also reduce the risk of candle tunnelling. However, if you do not have enough wicks or the wrong wick size for the size of the container, then the beeswax candle may still tunnel.
Are there any alternatives?
The most common substitute for coconut oil in beeswax candles is palm oil. Adding palm oil to beeswax also helps reduce the melting point of the wax, making the candle burn more evenly. It is recommended to use a 50/50 ratio of beeswax to palm oil.
Continue Reading
Now you know how to make your own beeswax candles, why not continue reading?
- Want to try making soy candles? Try our soy candle recipe!
- Ready to venture into skincare with natural cocoa butter? Take a look at our simple soap recipe!
- Learn how to make your own room spray with our simple recipe!
Did you try our homemade beeswax candle recipe? Let us know how you got on in the comments below.
