Candle-Making 101: Dyes and Scents

You've learned to make a basic wax candle, how to use additives properly, which molds to use, and how to choose, prime and tab your wick. This is all necessary to make a good candle, but you're probably itching to get to the "good stuff"-that is, how to dye your wax and add fragrance. Sure, you can go out and just buy the wax pre-colored and scented, but by now you probably realize there's a certain satisfaction that comes from doing it yourself. This way you gain a greater degree of control over the outcome of your candle and can boast that it really was handmade.

I learned the hard way you should really wear gloves when working with dye, because the coloring makes no distinction between wax and your skin. It comes in three forms: liquid powder and solid. In my opinion, liquid is the easiest to work with; just place a few drops in your heated wax mixture and you're done. Solid dye is also fairly simple, as long as you stay consistent with your formula-one piece of solid dye will cover up to five pounds of wax. (This isn't a scientific formula, so feel free to adjust it to suit your taste.) Powder dye is more difficult but it also lasts longer. You may want to start with liquid or solid dye first so you can get some experience with color before turning to powder. Powder can also be more difficult to dissolve evenly, in which case you may want to premelt some wax with an additive like stearin before mixing in the dye. No matter what kind of dye you use, the procedure for adding color is roughly the same: melt you wax like you usually do. When it's hot enough (180-185 degrees or so) add the dye. Keep stirring until the wax looks uniform in appearance and there are no color stripes left. Be careful not to overdo it, or the consistency will suffer.

Remember a few things when adding dye to your wax. First, while stearin will help you melt your powdered dye better, it can adversely affect the burn rate of your candle. (On the other hand, it makes colors brighter, so it's up to you what's important.) You can also add color to your candle after you've made it; just dip the finished candle in a layer of colored wax. This method is called, appropriately enough, a layered candle. If you feel that coloring your candle by hand is too time-consuming or too much trouble, you can always buy the wax pre-colored, but as I mentioned before, if you have a specific shade in mind and want more control over how your candle turns our, coloring your candle by hand is the best option. If you're having trouble with the shade or intensity of your dye, remember that lighter colors require less dye, while darker or more intense colors may need a touch of black dye.

Fragrance is an integral part of candle-making, mainly because our sense of small is strongly connected to our emotions. A pleasant scent with an equally beautiful color will go a long way towards making the perfect candle. Scents come in two forms: synthetic fragrance and essential oils. (If you're making a gel candle, you're better off having a scent specifically formulated for gel wax.) Synthetic scent generally lasts longer than essential oils, so even if you like the "all-natural" approach you may want to make an exception for the sake of a stronger scent. With fragrance, how much you add and when you apply it makes all the difference. A little goes a long way, so you really only need about one-half teaspoon of fragrance for every pound of wax. If you add it too early to the wax mixture it will only evaporate, so try to add the scent to the wax as late as possible before pouring it into the mold. Don't do this with plastic molds or you'll infuse the porous plastic with fragrance, ruining any future candles you might make; instead, infuse your candle wick with the scent until it's thoroughly soaked before priming it. (This method also works well with essential oils.) Fragrance, like coloring, comes in liquid, solid and powder form. Also like coloring, you add them to the wax mixture in exactly the same manner: liquid is poured in, powder is stirred into a wax-and-stearin mix, and solid fragrance is melted into a mixture of already-melted wax. If your fragrance is too weak, try adding stronger scent or additives that will amplify it.

Color and fragrance help give your candles personality and allow you to express yourself more freely. Once you've gotten the hang of adding these elements, your candles should have a more professional quality to them that you can be proud of.