What happens when we light a candle? All candle waxes are essentially hydrocarbons, that means they are mostly composed of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) atoms. When we light a candle, the heat of the flame melts the wax near the candle wick. This liquid wax is then drawn up the wick by capillary action. The temperature of the flame vaporises the melted wax (turns it into a h...

Students ask me, "how can I get a solid [often black or gold] coloured candle", and my answer is that you need to over dip. Overdipping is a candle technique that involves the use of adding pigment dyes to high quality high melt-point waxes [usually paraffin wax]. By dipping a candle into a pigment dye mix, you can quickly transform the candle. The most common reasons...

Candle Fragrance is not an afterthought  it's the driving force amongst consumers in deciding which candle to buy! Scientists have proven that pleasing aromas alleviate stress, heighten mood, enhance sex drive, and even affect alertness in the office, just by stimulating the olfactory pathways to the brain.  When consumers buy a scented candle, they often base th...

An  Intention Candle  is a scented candle containing a rough or tumbled crystal or crystal fragments. Intention Candles are often presented to individual people at important moments in their life by loved ones. It's essential the gift is unique, and when you see crystals in a candle, there is often more in the gift than meets the eye. Crystals are sacred tools fr...

Pillar Candles are designed to tunnel leaving a rigid outer wall - and if you hug your candle, you'll extend its life. Here's why? Often the feature of a pillar candle is the design of its rigid outer wall. Most often the flames dance through the outer wall, throwing beautiful shadows around the room. BUT if the candle burns for too long, the rigid outer wall sof...

Sweating is the candle making term that refers to the beading or puddles of oil sitting on the surface of the candle. There are many reasons why "sweating" occurs in candles, but often it’s a combination of several factors. If you have candles, you can avoid sweating by keeping your candles away from drafts, direct sunlight, and rooms with temperature variations. The candl...

We all want our candles to look stunning, perform well, and burn safely - I have heard many stories of grief in my years as a professional candle maker and trainer, and I cannot overestimate how important it is to conduct test burning on your candles before selling them.  When things go wrong, its a fact they can go VERY wrong! I used to share this story with my candl...

The key to a well-scented candle is to use the correct ratio of fragrance oil to wax. Most waxes will hold no more than an 8% fragrance load (unless stipulated by the manufacturer) before the stability of the candle starts to become affected. Measuring in millilitres can create problems as fragrances often have varying viscosities (the thickness of the oil). If you measure...

I am often asked if its OK to add fresh blooms (or greenery) to candles – and the answer is, sadly, NO! Nothing looks more attractive than a newly made candle with fresh colourful blooms on the outside or surface of a candle, but within a few days your blooms will die, turning black or brown and the sap from the blooms will ooze into the candle, making it moldy. That doesn...