Candle Making Supplies Archives - Homemade Candle Creations

Fragrance Oils for Candles

What would a candle be without fragrance? Well, it could just be for romantic lighting, or emergency lighting, but fragrance is what most people are looking for in a candle. We want our candles to smell lovely when we take off the lid, and we want it to fill our room/home with it’s wonderful aroma when we burn it. When making candles, it is important to use good quality fragrance oils for candles. There are different types of fragrances out there. Some are used for oil warmers, some for room sprays, some for perfumes, and essential oils. You cannot use just any fragrance in your candles, however.

Perfumes, for example, have alcohol in them. Room and body sprays are mixed with water, and we all know, water and wax do not mix. Oil for lamps and oil warmers are not tested for use in candles. They are specifically made to for use in oil warmers and lamps.

Fragrance oils for candles are specifically made for candle making. They are tested for cold and hot throw (cold throw is the strength of fragrance in an unlit candle. Hot throw is the strength of the fragrance while the candle is burning) to be sure they will work well in candles. There are some fragrance oils that work better in certain types of waxes as well. For example, soy wax can have a harder time with giving a good hot throw with some fragrance oils, but those same fragrance oils used in paraffin or coconut wax can fill a room while it’s burning.

You may also be tempted to buy your fragrance oils from your local craft store when you first start out. That may be fine if you just want to try making a few candles for the very first time, but keep in mind, the fragrance oils for candles that you’ll find in the craft store are generally lower quality, and/or very expensive compared to what you can buy from a candle making supplier.

I always recommend buying your candle supplies from a reputable supplier, usually online, unless you happen to have a supplier close to you. Generally they will have tested each of their oils, and many suppliers even have customer reviews for each fragrance oil as well. Another plus is that you can buy in bulk and save even more money. This is great if you decide to really get into candle making and start a business, or even if you are just wanting to stock up for Christmas presents.

Suppliers that carry fragrance oils for candles:

Brambleberry Candle and Soap Making Supplies

Candlescience

CandleSoylutions Soy Candle Supplies

Candle Cocoon

Natures Garden Wholesale Candle and Soap Supplies

If you’d like a complete list of candle fragrance oil suppliers by US State, sign up to our newsletter below!

Wax For Candle Making-What Types of Waxes Are There?

Knowing the different types of wax for candle making may seem like a no brainer to those that have been making candles for awhile, but we all had to start at the beginning! There was a time when I thought those gel candles I saw in the store were soy wax 😉 I knew about beeswax, but I never knew there were palm wax candles, coconut wax, etc…. so don’t feel bad if you don’t know a thing about any of these waxes!

Can candles be made out of any kind of wax?

The short answer is no. There are waxes that are made for coating packaging. There are waxes made for waxing cars. There are food grade waxes that coat some fruits such as apples, and some cheeses are wrapped in wax. There are all kinds of waxes out there!

Which brings us to….

Waxes made from petroleum

Many waxes that are in use today are made from petroleum. Paraffin wax is a candle wax made from petroleum. The difference in paraffin wax from other types of waxes is that paraffin wax is made of smaller molecules and has a lower melting point.

Paraffin waxes are used to make candles, wax paper, cosmetics, medical ointments, lubricants, electrical insulators, matches and many other products. Regular waxes are used to make adhesives, printing ink, laminated paper, coatings and many other products as well.

Is paraffin wax toxic?

Some may disagree, but according to some sources paraffin wax as well as other candle waxes are non toxic. Paraffin wax is even approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in cosmetics, medical applications and food.

I would like to add that there are apparently lower grade paraffin waxes that may contain more toxins, so if you are concerned about this when purchasing your wax, you may want to find out if your candle wax is food grade.

There are also other opinions that any paraffin wax, even food grade, is toxic. It’s something I am not going to debate here, but I just advise that you do your research and do what you feel comfortable with.

Here is a list of other resources for your investigation on the toxicity of candles:

Candles.org FAQ

CNN Study: Some Types of Candles May Polute the Air “Thurston urges people to be prudent about lighting any kind of candle — whether it’s paraffin, beeswax, or soybean — in an enclosed space. “Just lighting a match to start a candle creates sulfur pollution in the air,” he adds. “It’s one of the big sources of sulfur in the indoor environment, so using a lighter would probably be cleaner.”

Are Your Candles Toxic? A Closer Look at Paraffin Wax

The Problem with Scented Candles and Non-Toxic Alternatives

BBC News Health “Candle use linked to cancer risk”

Frequent use of certain candles produces unwanted chemicals

US Scented Candles Study

What kind of candles can I make with paraffin wax?

Pretty much any kind! You can make container candles, pillar candles, taper candles, birthday candles, votives, tealights, wax melts, carved candles and so on. You can also mix paraffin with other natural waxes like soy or beeswax.

Natural Candle Waxes

Onward to natural candle wax! If you are interested in going the more natural route without the fear of toxic chemicals in your wax, there are several natural waxes out there. These, however, are going to be more expensive than paraffin wax.

Beeswax

Beeswax is, of course, made by bees. This natural wax is the least processed wax. When beekeepers extract the honey, they cut off the wax caps from each honeycomb cell. There is very little that has to be done to the wax to make it ready for candle making. Once it is gathered, there may be a purification process, but it does not involve chemicals.

For candle making, you will find yellow beeswax and white beeswax.

In short, beeswax is a fine natural wax to work with. It can be used without fragrance and gives off a naturally light sweet scent when burning. It can be used in containers, as votives, tapers, molded pillars and rolled candles.

Click Here to read more about Beeswax candles and candle making

Coconut Wax

Coconut wax is made from coconut oil. It is a very soft wax that cools to a nice consistency and, from my experience, has a better hot throw than soy wax. Coconut wax is suitable for container candles only. Since it is so soft, it will not work for making free standing or molded candles such as pillars, votives or tarts. The main concern with coconut wax is that it has such a low melt point that it is not ideal for warmer climates. Coconut wax can be mixed with soy waxes that have a higher melt point. Mixing with soy wax can also help control frosting that is common with soy, and improve the hot throw in soy.

Soy Wax

Soy wax is derived from soy beans. Soy wax is the least expensive of the natural waxes which is why soy candles are so prevalent now.

Soy candles burn up to twice as long as paraffin candles (Yes, I have tested this myself!), and generally burn cleaner as long as they are made properly. Soy beans have been used for thousands of years, so it is not a new crop, though making candles with it is more recent.

Soy wax is a very soft wax that is best for container candles. Because of how soft it is and the low melting point, soy wax does not hold up well in very warm climates, but may be mixed with harder waxes to raise the melting point. There are pillar/votive/tart blends of soy wax that are blended with other vegetable oils to make it harder and help with release from molds

Click here to read more about soy wax and candle making.

We also have a website completely dedicated to soy candle making at www.soycandlemakingtime.com

Palm Wax

Palm wax is a very hard wax that is wonderful for pillar candles as well as containers. Palm wax has a higher melting point, 140 degrees F. which allows the candles to burn more slowly, and palm candles can withstand summer heat well. Palm wax is very unique in that it has a crystalized/feathered texture when poured at lower temperatures. Palm wax candles are very beautiful and you can make some very interesting color combinations with them!

Click Here to read more about palm wax candles

Candle Making Supplies-Where Can I Find Wholesale Suppliers?

You’re thinking you’d love to make your own candles. You can possibly save a little money, make your own scents, have a relaxing hobby, give them as gifts, and maybe even start a candle making business. Sounds pretty cool, so you run down to your local craft store (Michaels, Joannes, Hobby Lobby….) and buy some candle making supplies….wax, fragrance, wicks and containers. Sounds simple, right?

That may be a good start, and I’m not saying you can’t go do that if you want to give candle making a try and you just can’t wait to get going. I will tell you though, if you are going to continue in your candle making venture, and you want a larger variety of fragrances (and more cost effective), less expensive wax (craft store candle wax is EXPENSIVE, especially their soy wax), and a variety of wicks to test (so you can make sure you are getting the best burn from your candles), you will want to get your supplies from an actual candle making supply store, which you will need to find online, unless you are one of the rare ones that has a supplier near you.

I have listed just a few of the more well known suppliers below, and ones that I have personally used. If you would like a complete list of suppliers in the United States, be sure to sign up to the email list below. You’ll get a free supplier list by state, as well as suppliers in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Wholesale Candle Making Supplies

Brambleberry Candle and Soap Making Supplies

Brambleberry’s focus is more on soap making, but they carry quality candle making supplies. They do not carry paraffin wax, but they do carry beeswax and soy wax. I love their fragrance oils and essential oils. I have also bought some soap to try out soap making, but never got around to it….lol But they have excellent customer service and are located in Washington.

Candlescience

Candle Science is a very popular candle making supplier and one of the largest. I have ordered from them and can highly recommend them. They have quality fragrance oils and a wide variety of waxes, wicks, dye, containers and more!

CandleSoylutions Soy Candle Supplies

Excellent wholesale soy candle wax supplier in Eugene, Oregon, and they have great prices on their soy wax, as well as lots of quality fragrance oils, jars, wicks and other supplies. Pretty much everything you need to start making soy candles. They are also very friendly and always try to accommodate their customers as much as possible. I will continue to buy from them for making my personal soy candles.

Candle Cocoon

Oh, their fragrance oils cost a bit more, but they…..are….Awesome! Their fragrance oils are more concentrated so you don’t use as much and they have lots of unique fragrances, plenty of other supplies, and excellent customer service.

Natures Garden Wholesale Candle and Soap Supplies

Natures Garden is another very popular supplier and they are very active and engaged with their customers on their Facebook page and Blog. They carry gel wax, soy wax, palm wax and para-soy wax, with different variations of each of those. I have bought several fragrance oils from them which I have been very happy with. Two of the oils are ones I had a hard time finding elsewhere, New Leather and Fresh Cut Grass. I love them both!