So you want to make your own candles.
People often think candle making is easy because it looks straightforward—just melting wax, adding fragrance or essential oil, and pouring it into a mold. However, experienced candle makers know that there are many variables that can affect the final product, like wick size, fragrance load or essential oil chemistry, temperature control, and curing time, type of wax also plays a part.
Why People Think It's Easy
- DIY Culture – Social media and craft blogs often simplify the process, making it seem effortless.
- Few Ingredients – Since it requires wax, a wick, fragrance, and a container, people assume it’s foolproof.
- Mass Production Assumption – Seeing candles in stores makes people believe they’re easily replicated at home.
- Misconception About Science – People underestimate the chemistry involved in achieving proper burn quality, scent throw, and safety.
Tips for Beginners
- Choose the Right Wax – Different waxes (soy, paraffin, beeswax, coconut, etc.) have different melting points and performance.
- Wick Sizing is Crucial – The wrong wick size can cause tunneling, excess soot, or uneven burning or become a fire hazard.
- Control Your Temperatures – Pouring wax too hot or too cold can cause frosting, sinkholes, or poor adhesion.
- Test Everything – Test different wax, fragrance, and wick combinations to see what works best which has to be done for every new candle.
- Use Proper Fragrance or Essential Oil Ratios – Too much fragrance can lead to sweating or poor burn performance.(Instinks has a range of candle safe blended pure essential oils available to you,
- Cure Your Candles – Let candles cure for at least 24-48 hours (soy candles need up to two weeks) for the best scent throw, check your waxes curing time needed.
- Avoid Cheap Ingredients – Low-quality fragrance oils, essential oils wicks or waxes will affect burn performance and longevity.
- Measure, Don't Guess – Weighing wax and fragrance or essential oils ensures consistency and prevents overloading.
- Be Patient – Rushing the process leads to poor-quality candles.
- Safety First – Never leave melting wax unattended, and always test burn candles before selling or gifting.
Check out our E books on wicks, waxes and essential oil usage rates in our e learning center along with many other training E books coming out. .
At what stage can you start selling your candles safely?
To safely start selling your candles, you need to ensure they meet quality, safety, and consistency standards. Here’s a step-by-step guide to determine when you're truly ready:
1. Master the Basics First
Before selling, you should have:
- A deep understanding of different waxes, wicks, fragrance loads or essential oil usage rates, and safe containers.
- A solid, tested recipe that produces a clean, even burn with good scent throw.
- Confidence in your ability to troubleshoot common issues like tunneling, frosting, or wick drowning and more.
2. Conduct Extensive Testing
You must test every candle type before selling. This includes:
✅ Wick testing – Ensure proper size for a consistent melt pool without excessive soot or tunneling.
✅ Burn testing – Each candle should burn evenly from start to finish without overheating the container.
✅ Scent throw testing – Cold and hot throw should be strong enough but not overwhelming.
✅ Safety testing – No excessive soot, wick mushrooming, or container overheating/cracking.
Tip: Test multiple batches and let others burn-test your candles in different environments.
Make 100 candles safely before you sell 1 candle.
3. Follow Legal & Safety Requirements
Before selling, check local and national safety regulations for candle sales. Generally, you need to:
- Use heat-resistant containers and appropriate wicks.
- Include warning labels with burn instructions (required by law in many countires).
- Comply with ASTM standards for candle safety (e.g., ASTM F2058, F2417). and any other regulatory bodies in your own country
- Get liability insurance even before selling 1 candle
4. Perfect Your Curing & Storage Process
- Allow candles to cure at least 48 hours for paraffin, 1-2 weeks for soy, and even longer for some wax blends.
- Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight to prevent scent loss or frosting.
5. Set Up Proper Packaging & Branding
- Use professional, durable packaging to prevent breakage during shipping.
- Label candles with burn time, ingredients, and warnings according to your local countries labeling laws.
- Develop a unique branding style to differentiate yourself.
6. Sell in Small Bacthes First
Start with small-scale selling before committing to bulk production. This allows you to:
- Gather real customer feedback.
- Monitor any unexpected burn issues.
- Adjust pricing and branding if needed.
Final Tip: If you rush into selling without proper testing, you risk dangerous burns, fire hazards, and product recalls along with liability issues due to fires or injury or death. If you’ve thoroughly tested and followed safety guidelines, you can confidently sell your candles knowing they are safe, high-quality, and reliable.
Lorene Roseberry
❤️❤️❤️ well said and put together 💯