Clean Smelling Beeswax Candles

Now that winter is fully upon us and we are shut in from the cold, I thought I would share a terrific recipe for clean smelling beeswax candles that brighten your home in those gloomy days of winter.  You can make them clean and fresh using only the beeswax or add a little essential oil in the scent of your choice. For this winter project the clean honey scent of natural beeswax is perfect.

What you will Need:

• 1 Pound Beeswax
• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil(Optional)
• Essential Oils (Optional)
• Medium Cotton Wicks,
• Glue Gun and glue or Wick Stickers (Optional)
• 6 4 oz jam jars or 3 8 oz mason jars

Step 1: Clean Smelling Beeswax Candles

Prepare your jars by wiping them clean and attaching your wicks to the bottom center.  You can use wick stickers, a glue gun and glue or just dip the bottom of your wick into melted wax and place it at the bottom of your jar, holding it until the wax has hardened ( few seconds).  I used votive wicks for my small candles so they were the perfect size but for the taller candle, I used a heavier weight wick and chose the dip method to hold the wicks in place.  To keep the wick straight, I used the clothes pin method but you could wrap the wick around a pencil and rest the pencil on the jar.

Step 2: Clean Smelling Beeswax Candles

For natural smelling beeswax candles melt the beeswax in a double boiler or just a bowl over a pot of boiling water.  You do not need to add anything more.  However if you want to add essential oils to your candles you should add an additional 1/2 cup of coconut oil which retains the scent better than the beeswax along with 15 drops or so of the essential oil of your choice. Because my jars were small, I also used a warm gravy boat to pour my candles. The boat must be warm or the wax will set.  You can warm it in the oven at a low 170 degrees.

Step 3: Clean Smelling Beeswax Candles

Once the wax has melted carefully pour it into the jars taking care not to jog the wick. Clean the container you used to melt the wax right away by wiping out the wax remnants and washing with soap and water or you will have to remelt the remnants of wax later either in the double boiler or in the 170 degree oven in order to clean it. Fortunately, I have a hot water dispenser and that melts the wax instantly and makes it easy to clean.

Step 4: Clean Smelling Beeswax Candles

Allow the jars to cure completely.  This could take a few days depending on the size of the candle you decide to pour. For the 4 oz candles that I am pouring for this project, a few hours should be enough.  Once the candles have completely cured trim the wicks so that they extend about 1/4″ – 1/2″ above the wax.  At this point your candles are complete but you can take some time to embellish the jars for a nice decorative look.