How To Make Beeswax Candles

Learn how to make beeswax candles at home with natural ingredients like pure beeswax, coconut oil, and essential oils! You will have a flickering candle that offers an amazing aroma to fill your home. You will find that homemade beeswax candles are a safer and natural way to take part in candle making.

Grab you a glass jar and supplies and work on making some homemade candles for your home, or even to gift to loved ones. These make great birthday or holiday gifts. Also learn how to make easy lip balm, or this whipped body butter.

Why Make Your Own Beeswax Candles?

Beeswax is a natural and sustainable wax that’s been used in candle making for thousands of years. Beeswax burns wonderfully and gives off a beautiful glow with a natural honey scent. It’s a great natural option to paraffin wax and can be scented naturally with essential oils for those who are looking for all-natural candles. 

What Do You Need For This Beeswax Candle Recipe

• Beeswax – You can find beeswax online that you ship to your home, craft stores, or reach out to a local beekeeper and tell them you are looking to buy wax for diy beeswax candles and you might be able to get a good price.
• Coconut Oil – I find that coconut oil is a great oil to use when you are working with hot wax and making candles. It mixes great with the wax without taking on excess odor.
• Mason Jars – I used mason jars but you can use any other style of candle jars or candle tins you would like.
• Candle Wicks –  I used cotton candle wicks that come with wick stickers (which make it easy for keeping the wick in place). You can also use a wood wick if you prefer. Make sure to use the right wick size for your size of candle you are making. When you order your candle making supplies, check the manufacturer for guidelines for correct wick size for the jars you order. 
• Bamboo Skewer or Sticks – You are going to use the skewer to help hold the wick in place. Now if you don’t have a skewer a pencil or stick works great as well.
• Essential Oils – You will use 1 1/2-2 ounces of essential oils to one pound of beeswax. You are welcome to pick and choose whatever oils you prefer. (Here are some of my favorites.) Lavender, peppermint, lemon, orange, are all very popular fragrances. Or if you like, mix some different oils together to create a blended fragrance.

How to Make A Beeswax Candle

For this DIY you will need beeswax (I use beeswax pestles), coconut oil, candle container or jar, wicks, and essential or fragrance oils. I use essential oils, but if you are looking for a strong scents, you may want to consider using fragrance oils instead. 

The first step is melting down your wax. I melt the beeswax over medium heat using a double boiler.

Once all your wax is melted remove from the heat and stir in the coconut oil. Let the beeswax cool to 155-160 °F before you add the essential oils.

Next add in the essential oils or fragrance oils. You will need 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of essential oils per pound of beeswax. You will use more essential oils than you would fragrance oils. Essential oils offer a mild soft scent compared to some fragrance oils that tend to have more of an artificial scent.

Place the wick in the bottom of the jar, and secure with glue or wick stickers. Then pour your wax into the jar, and leave an inch of room at the top of the jar. Always pour the candle waxes at one time, if you stop and pour you will see a line in your candle.

Use the bamboo skewer or pencil to hold the wick in the center of the candle. You can also use clothes pins to hold the wicks in place. If you don’t do this, the wick will fall into the candle.

Once the candle is fully set up, you can remove the wick holder and trim the candles. Cover the top of the jars with the candle lids and allow the candles to cure for 3-5 days. Store candles at room temperature for best results.

​When you first light your beeswax candle, let your candle burn for at least one hour. This will help the wax to melt evenly and will prevent sink holes. 

Safety Precautions:

• Never leave a candle left unattended.
• ​Burn your candle on a heat proof surface away from debris. 
• Keep your wick trimmed at 1/4” and keep loose debris away from the flam.
• Never touch or move a candle when its burning.

DIY Beeswax Candles FAQ

Why do you add coconut oil to the melted beeswax?

Adding coconut oil to your beeswax candle helps with many issues like tunneling, even burn, and scent throw. The candles tend to perform and smell their best with the addition of coconut oil to the beeswax.

What type of beeswax do you use?

Depending on where you shop you will find you can buy beeswax pellets, beeswax sheets, or even a block. You will find yellow and white beeswax when shopping online. Use whichever you prefer. If you get a block, you can dice it up into pieces or even use a cheese grater to grate the wax. This will help the wax melt quicker as you are preparing to make the candle. Any kind of beeswax works.

What ratio of essential oils do I add to beeswax?

I generally use 1-2 ounces of essential oils per pound of beeswax. 

Related:

• How To Make Beeswax Melts
• DIY Coffee Candles
• Lavender Lotion Bars

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