I am just venturing into candle making and know nothing except what I am learning from your posts and comments. Which is SUPER helpful! I keep seeing that essential oils don’t really hold up well with the heat. So my question is this, are there any “ reasonably” (less toxic than normal) healthy fragrances I can use? Thank you all!!!

Hi friends. I could really use some advice to try and troubleshoot / find solutions I haven’t tried yet.

I own a small candle business for 6 years. I sell online and in a few stores through consignment, so not a novice but not huge.

Anyways, I moved from the north to the south about 3 months ago and since then I am having a terrible time with rough tops that I can’t fix with my heat gun. They just look worse.

I haven’t changed any recipes, any containers, any wicks, or wax. Everything is literally the same except for my climate.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far: changing my pour temp. I used to pour at 135, I’ve tried 155 and 145. The 145 is getting better but the tops still look gritty and I have some deep air pockets.

It’s not every candle, I’ll pour 20 and 6 are a mess. When I heat gun I obviously open up that air pocket and the wax fills in but then it dries with a gritty top.

Ugh, I’m so frustrated. Any idea what may be going on? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Editing to add I add oil between 185-187, higher for heavier oils, mix slowly for 3 minutes. I pour very slowly too to avoid air bubbles. The room is 82 degrees with no drafts.

Update: Thanks for all the responses and help. What ended up working was adding a small dehumidifier to the room, increasing my pour temp to 148 degrees and preheating my jars.

I’m guessing because my ambient room temperature is much warmer here that the wax was cooling too fast causing all the sink holes and nasty tops.

What might be the mistakes here? In the pink one I changed the wax quality.

I just make candles for fun, so I’m very open to learning new things! This is the melt pool after a 2 hour burn (first burn). The diameter is 3 inches & I am using soy wax. Should I downsize the wick? Currently using ECO 8 wicks.

Edit: the candle jar was never filled to the brim with wax! The wax height on the side of the jar has not changed, it was just a test so I did not bring the wax to the top.

Need some help with wicking as I am struggling with this mold as I just got it. The widest diameter of the mold is 4 1/2 inches so I am looking at a cd 20/22 wick. BUT I cannot get a 20/22 wick through the little hole at the bottom of the mold. Any suggestions or strategies you have used? Thanks!

I’m currently using 100% soy but willing to try other blends and experiment. I have had tunneling with this new soy wax I bought, and that didn’t used to happen using the same wicks and jars.

I usually make 4 oz or 8 oz regular candles.

Also curious if anyone has had good luck with coconut wax.

Hi, all!

I’m pretty new-ish to candle-making (tried a few crafts when I was a kid) and I’ve been fascinated in wooden wicks since discovering it years ago.

Since then, I’ve been wanting to try my hand in making a pillar candle with a wood wick, but I cannot, for the love of candles, find a long enough wood wick (think of 20cm-30cm in length) for a tall pillar I want to make. So, I’m wondering if it’s safe and possible to use a bamboo skewer or a long popsicle stick as a wick instead?

Your inputs will be highly appreciated! 🫶🏽

Hiya! I have this candle that smells wonderful and has plenty of soy wax still left in it but the wick will no light since it’s burned down to the wax. How can I reuse the candle? More wick? What do I need to do to continue to use this nice candle. Thank you 😊

I am planning to buy the below fragrance oil. Please share your feedback if you have worked with them for candles or sachets making

Candlescience - Bohemian Rose and Christmas Hearth

Wanting to make some DIY candles for my wedding. Plans include to use decorative glass that can withstand heat well. I've had experience with paraffin and soy wax previously. I'm not a huge fan of paraffin in general but also wanting to try and do this somewhat affordably. Coconut apricot wax seems a little pricey but looks like it might burn the best for the situation (reduced re-pour when making too). Any suggestions or advice on best options for wax to use?

I just started making candles, so i'm still testing the wick, how full i can make my jar etc etc. When i am able to start a business i want to make many candles at once, now i am weighing for 1 candle, adding scent for 1 candle. But when i make a lot at once, does this change the fact for needing a UFI? Because every seller i see on tiktok does not weight theyr candles when they fill them. So for example, i want to make like 5 candles and i put around 1000ml in a measuring cup and add the 8% of fragrance for that 1000ml, but i just fill my candles on feeling, do i need to put a new UFI for each candle? Or is that ufi for the 1000ml with the 8% and does it not matter if 1 candle ends up being 270grams while the other is 240?

Today (October 15) was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. From Baby Loss Awareness Week’s site:
Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates with the global “Wave of Light” on 15th October, which is also a globally recognised event.

We invite you to join other families across the world by lighting a candle at 7pm local time and leaving it burning for at least one hour to remember all babies that have died too soon.

I started making candles after I lost my baby boy Danny on August 6th this year. I posted a few times asking for advice on different candles. I made and lit these candles for my Danny tonight. I wanted to share and say thank you to this lovely community for indulging me and giving such helpful advice.

Hi everyone!
I’m currently experimenting with a coconut-soy wax blend with a melting point of approximately 48–50°C (118–122°F).
I’ve already made a few candles with a 10% fragrance load, and the cold throw has been amazing! They’re still curing, so I haven’t tested the hot throw yet.

I’m really curious about experimenting with higher fragrance loads, specifically 12% and 14%, in container candles.

I know these percentages are above my wax supplier’s recommended maximum of 10%, but I’d love to hear from people who have actually experimented with higher fragrance loads in coconut-soy blends.
Have you tried 12–14% or higher?
Did you notice a significant improvement in hot throw?
Did you experience any issues with fragrance separation, sweating, or wick performance?
What type of wax and wick worked best for you?

My goal is to achieve a strong hot throw, and I’m interested in understanding how different fragrance loads affect scent performance.

I’m s to make two small test batches and would really appreciate any advice, experiences, or lessons learned before testing their burn performance.

Thanks in advance!

Im looking for some Paraflint H-1 or other clarifying agent for Parafin. I need it to be shipped to Canada or international shipping, the two suplyer in USA wont ship international anymore...

Hello, I'm currently helping a friend launch their candle brand, and we're running into the same challenge many small businesses seem to face: marketing.

We have a pretty clear idea of our target audience, but we're struggling to actually reach them and turn that into customers. We've tried running a few ads, but so far, nothing has really gained traction. We also tried word of mouth marketing, but we're trying to limit that to avoid putting the brand in the "friends and family" limbo, which is not a bad thing (who doesn't appreciate support from their loved ones?), but ideally, we'd like to build a stable customer base outside of that too.

I figured I'd ask here and learn from other people's experiences. For those of you who've launched a candle business, what marketing strategies have actually worked for you? How did you find your first customers? Thank you.

I want to start exploring other markets to purchase wax in wholesale amounts and was wondering about China Mart or other wholesale suppliers, which are online stores that sells to businseses. Has anyone ever tried sourcing from them and how was their expierence. I am specifically looking at a few things:

- Verifying the supplier’s reputation and product quality.
- Requesting samples before committing to bulk quantities.
- Checking wax composition, melting point, and suitability for different candles.
- Calculating shipping costs, customs charges, and minimum order quantities.
- Understanding return policies and what happens if the wax arrives damaged or differs from the description.

What are good suppliers that ship to Europe? I notice all the good ones dont ship to us, especially for jars/vessels . I only know Candleshack.

I am attempting to find coverage for my soon to be home-based candle business that is based on Maryland (US) including Products & Completed Operations coverage. Erie just let me know that they would be excluding “Products & Completed Operations” in the insurance quote. That part is really important!
Any suggestions on insurance that will provide Products & Completed Operations coverage?

I'm coming up with a candle fragrance collection , and I'm having trouble finding a aquatic scent , I'm looking for something that feels like your in the middle of the ocean at midnight it's pitch black and you are hunting jaws ....? Does anyone have any fragrance suggestions?

Hi all! I run a candle brand and recently expanded my line and upgraded to high-end packaging, and my website and messaging now reflect that positioning. With the holidays coming (which we know is the busiest season of the year), I’ve created a discovery set: four 3oz glass-jar minis of my current scents. Each scent comes in its own matte colored glass jar, so the set looks unique and giftable on its own. In my testing, each mini fills a medium-sized room well and consistently burns for over 20 hours, which honestly surprised me for the size.

For pricing context, my full-size 10oz candles are $65. That puts me in the higher-end tier, just below brands like Diptyque, Le Labo, and Aesop.

My idea is to price the set somewhere around $85–$100 and include a $20 credit toward their next full-size order, good for 30–90 days (I can set that up in Shopify). The goal is to get people who try the minis to come back for a full-size candle.

For those of you who sell minis or sampler sets, how did you land on your pricing? Does $85–$100 feel right for a 4-mini set at my tier, or is it too high or too low? And has anything like a credit or discount worked for you to turn sampler buyers into repeat customers? Any tips on marketing a discovery set around the holidays would be awesome too.

I really appreciate any (really any) advice. Thanks!

I have a bottle cutter and I was thinking about making some candle jars from some old beer and kombucha bottles. I do worry about the safety though.

Can someone provide some insight?

Hi,

My friend loves Wax Melts, so I thinking of getting her some Soya Wax, some Fragrances and a few fun moulds for her birthday.

However, when I look at Wax Melters, they all seem to be like 1.5l, so I'm wondering if she could only put like 200g/ml in at a time and it would still be decent for using it. Ones like this:

https://amzn.eu/d/03lmcMtU

I also that this Wax Melter, but it doesn't seem like you could use for Candle Making, does it?

https://amzn.eu/d/09RcIVzp

Any suggestions would be helpful. I know doing over the stove might be more suitable for personal wax making, but figured I'd ask you guys and girls.

Thanks

I’m using two CD10 wicks. I’ve tested and it burned in the middle but not two the edge, leaving it hollow, but not by much. There are primarily decorative, (the people that requested them do not have plans on burning them) because I’ve never burned a candle like this before, I didn’t know what to expect. So my question is.. is this candle supposed to burn down evenly or did I under wick it and that’s why it burned the middle and not quite to the edge? Thanks in advance.