How to Make Beeswax Candles

Knowing how to make beeswax candles is a useful skill for many candle makers. Beeswax candles are one of the most traditional forms of candle. Throughout the centuries candle makers used this wonderful natural substance to create candles. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in natural candles. Beeswax comes from a renewable resource that makes it a good choice for people interested in sustainable and green living. Beeswax is also often available locally which means that there is little in the way of negative environmental impact involved in the delivery of the wax. Knowing how to make beeswax candles will allow candle makers to make the most of this wonderful resource.

Beeswax is available either in an unrefined or unprocessed state, direct from bee keepers or craft supply stores, or it can be purchased in a refined state. This means that it has been cleaned and also has often been bleached, making it off white in color.

Natural beeswax contains a lot of debris from the bee hive. This debris needs to be removed before the wax can be turned into candles. The wax can be chemically cleaned and prepared. Most candle makers, however, like to prepare their own beeswax. This helps to protect the rich honey fragrance that is found in natural beeswax. It also preserves the wide range of colors and shades that natural beeswax is found in.

The process of preparing natural beeswax is very easy and follows a very simple principle. The beeswax will float on water. When the wax is melted the debris sinks and the clean wax remains on the top of the water. To refine the wax further, the melted wax can be poured through filters.

The clean wax can be poured onto molds or poured onto shallow trays to create beeswax sheets.

For candle makers who prefer to buy ready prepared beeswax to create candles, then working with beeswax sheets is a great alternative. The beeswax has been cleaned and refined before being made into sheets. The wax is also sometimes colored into an attractive range of shades.

To make beeswax candles from sheets:

Materials Required

• Sheets of beeswax
• Wick suitable for beeswax candles
• Scissors
• Flat working surface

Instructions

1. Lay the sheet of beeswax out onto a flat surface. It is better to work in a warm environment as this helps to soften the sheet. A kitchen is ideal.
2. Cut the wick so it is about 2 inches longer than the wax sheet.
3. Place the wick along one edge of the wax sheet and start to tightly roll the sheet around the wick.
4. Continue rolling until the wax sheet is completely rolled into a candle shape.
5. Carefully heat the edge of the wax sheet to seal the join. This can be done by using the warmth of your hands or by using a gentle heat source such as the cool setting on a hairdryer.

There are many ways that this can be varied. Cutting a square of wax in half diagonally and rolling this starting at the widest point will give a tiered effect when the candle is finished. Using this technique with two different colored beeswax sheets will give a different effect.

Whether a candle maker is using ready prepared beeswax or refining their own, the end result will be very special. Beeswax is a lovely natural wax and here are a few tips to help candle makers produce great beeswax candles:

• Make the most of the natural aspect! Be careful not to add too much or inappropriate fragrances or that will mask the natural honey fragrance of a beeswax candle. The smell of honey is most apparent when the candle is burning.
• Use natural colors. Browns and creams are lovely colors to use with beeswax candles. Very harsh colors can look wrong and spoil the finished effect.
• Websites on candle making, such as LoveToKnow Candles may have more useful information and ideas.

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