Candle making is very varied and you can make many different kinds of candles. The different candle making techniques you use will depend on the type of candle you are making. The most important part of making candle is getting the temperature of each step correctly. The temperature of the candle mold, the room temperature and the temperature of the wax are all crucial.
The pouring wax temperature is very important and this temperature will vary depending on the materials that you are using. Some popular candle making material include paraffin, gel and natural waxes. Each of the candle materials will come with a recommended pouring temperature and you should follow these directions. In general natural waxes will not need to be heated as high as paraffin and other material.
The temperature of the surrounding environment you are working in is also important when pouring candles. If you are in a very hot and humid room then you may not need to heat the wax to such a high temperature. Whereas if you are making candles in the winter and the room is cold you may need to heat the wax to a higher temperature. You may find that your candles will be different depending on which time of year you are making them.
Mold may need to be pre-heated or chilled. Most time the mold should be preheated to remove any moisture. If you are using very hot wax then you will not need to preheat the mold as much. Preheating should be done using a heat gun or heat lamp as they produce dry heat and will not add moisture.
You can chose colors to dye your candles. You will use three different colors to create many. Red, blue and yellow are the three primary colors and different combination’s of these will produce different colors. A main problem with using color is that sometimes the color is not consistent throughout the wax. The greater the amount of wax you are using the better chance for color uniformity because it is much easier to measure out the dye.
There are many different types of dyes and you can use color block, liquid dyes, pigment dyes and powdered dyes. The easiest dyes to use are liquid dyes and they also mix easily for uniform color.
Pigment dyes can be used for deep, rich colors but are only used when dipping candles and not pouring candles. If you are making large batches then powdered dyes are recommended and a little powdered dye will go a very long way.
