This is a free printable soy candle making instructional guide presented by Cajun's Candle & Soap Making Supplies. It is intended for personal use and my not be duplicated or reproduced without the express written consent of Cajun's Candle & Soap Making Supplies.

HOW TO MAKE GREAT SOY CANDLES!
A free printable step-by-step guide to soy candle making

This is soy candle making at it's best. It took us well over a year to compile these instructions and supplies so that you can make the very best 100% pure soy candles on the market today. Following these simple step-by-step soy candle making instructions you will make soy candles that will rival and beat any on the market today. No longer do soy candles have to discolor, flake, frost, crack and split apart.

Before we start with the soy candle instructions I want to take a moment to remind you that if you haven't read "Getting Started - Our Guide To Candle Making" and our "Beginner's Guide To Candle Making" you might want to read those first. They're both packed with valuable information that will make your candle making easier and you'll get a better understanding of some of the terms used in this soy candle making guide.

To see this soy candle making guide complete with illustrated pictures please visit our web site at www.cajuncandles.com/how-to-make-soy-candles.htm

Step#1 - The first thing you will need to do is decide how many soy votive candles you want to make. Each votive will take 2 oz of soy wax. For ease of these instructions we are going to make 8 votive candles which will require exactly 1 LB of our PhytoWax™ 100% pure soy wax flakes. Measure the wax carefully using a reliable digital scale.

One thing I will warn you is to never melt wax on your stove top unless you are using the double boiler method. Never melt wax on or in anything that does not have some form of temperature control because wax does have a flash point and will burst into flames without warning once it reaches that point. Depending on the wax the flash point may be between 250 - 380 degrees.

You don't have to have an expensive wax melter to make great candles either. I recommend you purchase a Presto "Kitchen Kettle" from your local hardware or Walmart store. I've seen them in just about every Walmart I've ever been in and they're only about $20.00! Just be sure you are getting the "Kitchen Kettle" there are many variations but the Kitchen Kettle comes with a numerical temperature gauge. Never melt wax in anything that doesn't have a numerical temperature gauge. Don't ever use anything with just high, medium and low settings.

Step 3 - As your wax begins to melt this is a good time to clip your thermometer onto the side of the pot so that you can regulate your temperature accurately. Once your wax is melted and your temperature is between 170 - 180 degrees you can add your dye. Since we are using an apple strudel fragrance in these candles we want to color the wax a nice red color. This will only take 12 drops of Cajun's red candle dye. Be sure that you shake your dye bottle vigorously before adding the dye to the wax. Now you'll need to stir the wax so that the dye you just added will bind with the wax. For stirring, we recommend using a flat bottomed wire wisk, we have found this does a superior job of binding ingredients and/or additives with the wax. If your candles will be subject to UV-light, such as florescent lighting or sunlight you may want to add U-V-Inhibitor to your wax at this time.

Only use a dye formulated for the purpose of coloring candle wax. Do not use crayons, paint, etc., the pigments in those products will clog your wick and the flame will keep extinguishing itself. Do not use food coloring or soap making dye in your candles. Those dyes are water based or glycerin based and will damage your candle and wax. The candle dye from Cajun's Candle Supplies is very concentrated and only takes a few drops to get a brilliant color. Always add your dye slowly, you can always add more but you can't remove it once it's in the wax. Be sure to stir your dye in the wax for 2 full minutes so the wax and dye can bind properly together. For stirring, we recommend using a wire wisk, we have found this does a superior job of binding ingredients and/or additives with the wax. We have a color chart so you can view the color we recommend for each candle fragrance.

Step 4 - Now it's time to add your fragrance oil, you'll also want to keep an eye on your wax temperature and regulate it accordingly. You want the temperature to be around 175 degrees. Soy wax will hold fragrance oil better than paraffin wax so we can use 1.5 oz of fragrance oil per LB of wax for a stronger scented candle. Stir the fragrance oil in the wax for 2 full minutes. Use the wire wisk, it will help bind your fragrance oil evenly throughout the wax so that the fragrance is evenly distributed.Your wax temperature should be no lower than 170 degrees when you add your fragrance oil and no higher than 185 degrees. If your wax is too cool, the fragrance oil will not bind with the wax. If the wax is too hot, you will burn off most of your fragrance and your candle will not be very strong. Soy wax will scorch if the temperature gets too high. Always keep the temp under 200 degrees.

Step 5 - You're almost ready to pour your soy votive candles. This is one of the most important steps to ensure your soy candle making is a success. Reduce the temperature of the wax to between 150 -155 degrees. Use a reliable thermometer to gauge the proper temperature.

You will want to pour into a slightly higher than room temperature mold. If you pour into a cold mold you will see what is called drag lines along the sides of your votives once they are finished. The best way to warm your molds is to put them in your oven on "keep warm" at least 10-15 minutes before you need them. Leave them in the oven until right before you pour your candles. Be careful handling the molds out of the oven because they will be hot. One thing you can do to eliminate handling the hot molds is to line the molds up on an old cookie sheet before putting them in the oven and then when you're ready to pour all you have to do is use an oven mitt to remove the cookie sheet with the molds ready for the pouring process. The molds can remain on the old cookie sheet until it's time to remove your candle.

Step 6 - If your wax temperature is around 150 degrees you're now ready to pour your votive candles. Using a pour pot (a pyrex measuring cup works great also) fill each votive mold all the way to the top. note: it works best if you slightly heat the pour pot before dipping it into the melted wax, this prevents the wax from hardening on a cold pour pot. You can put it in the oven on "keep warm" with the molds. FYI: If you are melting 1 LB of wax, you will make 8 votives. 1.5 LBS of wax will produce a dozen votives and so on.

When using our PhytoWax™ V-1 100% soy wax for making your candles you will be happy to know that it is a one pour wax and does not require a second pour if used according to this guide!

Step 7 - This is another very important step and needs to be done properly. This is the time we'll put our wicks into the candle. But not just yet, the wax is too hot. Once we pour our candles, we need to let the hot wax begin it's cool down process naturally. I don't recommend a water bath or any other type of artificial cooling process when making soy candles. It could damage your candles. You can take this time to get your wicks ready. You'll want to straighten each wick the best you can and wait until the wax develops a thin skin across the diameter of your candle. Once the skin has formed on your candle it is time to insert the wick into the candle. Holding a wick at the very tip, push the wick past the soft skin developing on the candle to the bottom of the mold. Keep the wick straight and centered in the mold. This is easy to do but you'll want to work quickly so that the skin doesn't get too thick on top of the candle. If you wait too long you could develop an unwanted hole beside your wick.

Step 8 - No matter how quick you were putting the wicks into your candles you'll notice that there is a circle in the middle of each candle where you pushed the wick into it. It will harden like this unless you fix it. The best way to fix it is to wave a flame over the top of the candle very quickly. Of course, you'll need a decent size flame to melt the wax around this imperfection. You can use a mini butane torch or propane torch to quickly touch the flame to the wax and smooth it out again. This step will cover up the imperfection in the candle caused by centering the wick in it. Be sure to move your flame across the candle quickly, back and forth, so that you don't burn or scorch the wick. I am often asked if you can use a heat gun or hair dryer for this step. My answer is no, because those are operated with heat and a blower, the air blowing across the candle will blow the wax out of the mold as it melts.

Step 9 - Now the hardest part of the candle making process. Wait. Avoid all temptation to touch, move, examine, and even look at your candles for the next 4-5 hours. If you followed all of the instructions above exactly, and used the ingredients in the instructions, in about four and a half hours you're going to have a perfect soy candle. When the candle is ready you should be able to hold it by the tip of the wick and gently pull it out of the mold with no problem. Let your candles cure a day or two before burning them and always burn a votive candle in a tight fitting votive holder.

You must be thinking...wow, all this just to make a little soy votive candle? I know it sounds like a lot to do but once you get a system down it'll go really quick. I wish you the best in making your votive candles. I really want to know how your votives turn out and I'd love to hear feedback from your regarding these instructions. Should you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to email me anytime (support@cajuncandles.com). If you have any questions or if there is anything we can do to make your candle making experience easier... just ask! We hope to be able to serve you for your candle making equipment and supplies.

The photo's of the soy votives you see in figure 13 (on the web site) have not been enhanced at all. As you can see, you can make a vibrant colored votive even using soy wax, as long as you use the proper ingredients and supplies. You can click on the picture in figure 13 for a larger size picture.

Congratulations. You've now made a great candle, one you can be proud to give as gifts or sell, whichever you desire.

Now, look around you. Quite a mess you have, isn't it? The most frequently asked question I get in my email by far is how to clean up the messy wax spills and utensils after making candles. You can find all the clean-up answers by visiting the clean-up section of our website.

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