5 Things to Avoid When Making Candles from Scratch
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Making candles can be a fun and relaxing craft if you know what you’re doing. If you are just starting, there are a few things you can do wrong, which will make candle making completely unsuccessful for you. Fortunately, we have some tips for avoiding these mistakes.
1. Measure
When it comes to making candles from scratch, make sure you measure. You should not just think you know how much wax you need to make your candle. Actually know how much you need and measure it accordingly. To determine how much wax you will need, take the mold you will be using and fill it with water.
After you fill the mold with water pour it into a large measuring cup. You can measure the wax by knowing you need three ounces of wax for every 3.5 ounces of water. This rule will work with any size mold.
2. Protect Your Work Area
Cleaning wax that has dried on the floor is not the easiest thing to do. You want to make sure you have covered the floor with newspaper to avoid getting wax on your floor or carpet. If you are working over a table, make sure you protect that with paper, as well.
3. Do Not Forget the Mold Release
The last thing you want to do when making candles is to scrape your candle out of the bottom of the mold. This can be avoided with a candle-mold release. If you do not have a mold release, then spray Pam or another non-stick cooking spray into the mold cup. This will ensure your candle will slide out and be the shape you want it to be.
4. Scent Selection
You must make sure the fragrance you want to use is actually going to work in a candle. You cannot use just any fragrance, because it might not be compatible with the wax. If you douse the wax with your favorite perfume, then it will not smell the way you want it to. You must get compatible fragrances. Scented oils are perfect for beginners making candles. They are easy to measure, and carry the scent well.
5. Easy on the Smell
Do not add too much scent. You may smell the candle while you are making it and think it does not smell strong enough. Your first instinct is going to be to add more of the scent. Do not do this. Your nose can play tricks on you. Once the candle is completely made, the scent will be stronger. Less is more when you are just starting in candle making.
Candle making from scratch can be rewarding and can be a great gift for someone or for yourself. Just remember to keep these "what not to do tips" in mind. Have fun making your candles.
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![Piyush Jain]()
Piyush is a contributing writer for DoItYourself.com. An experienced home improvement researcher and project creator with a wide range of interests, Piyush especially enjoys learning about pools, car repair, and paintball.![H.R. Helm]()
H.R. Helm is an accomplished DIY craftsman. He has been DIY since childhood and is now a septuagenarian. He is experienced in wood and metal construction, having designed and built several houses and metal buildings. He built every permanent building on his current homestead and did all the plumbing and electrical work. He has several years experience as a professional cabinet builder, and he is an accomplished auto repairman, having operated an auto repair business for many years. He currently has a home shop where he sharpens and rebuilds saws, repairs lawn mowers, mobility scooters, hydraulic jacks, and anything else that comes along. He also builds custom tools for metal working. Invention prototypes are another of his many accomplishments. He owned and operated a manufacturing business building Compact Utility Vehicles for homeowner use. H.R. enjoys making jams and jellies during fruit season along with cooking meals. He is committed to outdoor cooking in a Bar-B-Q pit he welded together several years ago. He maintains fruit and nut trees along with helping his wife with a vegetable garden. He farmed commercial garden produce for several years. It helps to have over 50 years of farming and ranching experience. Employment/Education Highlights ASE Certified Master Auto Technician Certified Welder Cross country truck driver -- over dimensional freight Design Engineer/Project Manager for injection molded plastic company Bus Driver/Substitute Teacher Inventor with two patents (weight training – anti-rollback for manual wheelchair) BS in Industrial Technology
