Pillar Candle Making Step by Step Tutorial

Candle making has been one of the most sought D.I.Y. in the internet. Candles are a great way to fragrance our house, lights our home, sets a mood on dinner tables and a great eye catching décor. There's just unlimited ways for candles and with our crafty hands we can create our own hand made 100% natural candles that are not harmful to the environment by using soy & palm waxes instead of paraffin wax. How to Make a‘PILLAR CANDLE’ using a crystallizing pillar palm wax?

'See above for the materials needed'

1.                         Candle Melter or Double Boiler
2.                         Candy Thermometer (optional, as I don’t use mine)
3.                         Candle Moulds
4.                         Wicks (prewaxed is preferred, not tabbed)
5.                         Crystallizing/Feather or Smooth Palm Pillar Wax
6.                         Candle colorant

Because I live here in Australia I buy my ingredients from different suppliers like: Aussie Candle Supplies, am not in anyway promoting them, I just like their candle making stuff.

 

Step 1              Prepare your improvised mould. I used a Cadbury chocolate milk drink canister. Drill or punch a very small HOLE in the middle of the bottom of the can.

Step 2              Insert your WICK to the hole, holding one end and then fold the other end of the wick and cover the hole using a BLUE TACK or clay or anything that will prevent the candle wax to spill.

 

Step 3              Melt crystallizing palm wax on a double boiler or a candle melter. On my candle melter, I set the control to ‘5’ and just let it melt.

There is a method on how to compute for how much weight of the wax you may need depending on your container or mold. Reseach more to find out, or just eye ball for a while until you master the techniques.

Step 4              This is optional. Add in 0.5% of Universal additive for more fragrance adhesion and longer lasting scent.

 

What is a 'Universal Additive'?

From Aussie Candle Supplies: Universal Additive (UA) is a versatile additive that is primarily used in candle making to help fragrance oil bind better to the wax. It also aids in the long-term retention of the scent, helps reduce mottling, and helps to reduce bubbles in the candle as it cools. As a bonus, it also adds a nice glossiness to candles. Usage 0.5 - 1%

 

 I use a candle melter which I purchased from eBay. You can always use an improvised double boiler.

 

Step 5              Once the wax has completely melted, add in and mix the fragrance for at least 2 minutes. If you are going to make only 1 (one)colour, 1 (one) fragrance batch, then you may at this point, add in the colorant. But, if making several types of candles with different colours, you can scoop some melted wax and add your colorant to that container before pouring.

 

Step 6              Unmold after a few hours, the candle will shrink and that means it’s ready to be unmolded.

Step 7              Enjoy your scented Pillar Candle!