Beeswax used for candle making has many natural advantages, it has wonderful honey scent and is the color of golden amber. It arrives in blocks that can be cut with a knife or in the form sheets to be rolled, it can be unbleached, bleached white or natural. If beeswax is mixed with paraffin wax it will burn slower and last longer.
Blended beeswax and paraffin wax candles can be difficult to remove from the mold when cool, if the candle is made up of more than 10% beeswax. Paraffin wax candles burn at a faster rate and not as cleanly as beeswax candles and even though beeswax candles have a beautiful natural golden colour, a lot of candle makers prefer them to be bleached white.
As beeswax is relatively expensive when compared to paraffin wax, it is not recommended that beginners create candles using melted, pure beeswax. A good idea to get around the problem of getting the candle out of the mold is to start by making can or jar candles out of beeswax, they are easy to make and make superb gifts, the cans or jars can also be reused over and over again.
Choosing the right wick is one of the secrets to making a great candle. Different waxes require different sizes of wick and the diameter of the candle is the determining factor for the thickness of the wick, wider the candle then thinker the wick. A tip to bear in mind is that candles made from beeswax require a wick twice the thickness as that of a paraffin wax candle of the same diameter.
As mentioned earlier, beeswax is ordered in either blocks or in sheets and buying the beeswax in sheets has a really great advantage. Making a taper candle of pure beeswax is actually very quick and easy, melting the wax is not required and all you have to do is carefully wrap the sheet of beeswax round a primed wick. This very simple and safe way to make a candle offers a great opportunity of getting children, especially younger ones involved in making candles, without the worry or having to contend with melted wax.
Unfortunately creating candles with beeswax has a downside, due to it having its own natural fragrance it doesn’t mix well with fragrance additives. It goes without saying then that if the candle fragrance is important or is needed for a particular reason such as to make an aroma therapy candle for example, then it may be best to consider creating your candle from another kind of wax like soy, gel or paraffin wax and not beeswax.
Dipping is another popular method of how to make candles with beeswax. After melting the wax, slowly and carefully dip the wick into it, this will coat the wick with a layer of wax. Then, before the wick solidifies, dip it again into the melted wax for the second layer to be formed, and so on. The number of times the wick needs to be dipped depends on your preferred thickness of the candle. The thicker the candle you want, then the more often you will have to dip it.
If you would like any additional general tips on wax to make candles or if you would like further tips on candle making at home then please call in at my web site www.swankeecandles.com.