*Flicker flicker flicker*
When I’m sitting by the blazing wood stove on a cold winter’s night, I gotta have a candle. No ifs, ands, or buts, the moment is simply not complete without the dancing light of a burning wick.
Even though I’m dumped most of my candles in favor of my essential diffusers (because not only do my essential oils make my house smell good naturally, but they also can provide health benefits), I still crave the cozy ambiance of a good old-fashioned candle.
Sadly, even though most candles no longer contain toxic lead wicks, many you might purchase at the store still contain lots of junk, such as artificial scents and paraffin. In short– stuff you don’t want floating around the air of your home.
No worries though– we’re homesteaders–we’ve got this whole homemade candle thing covered.
I’ve already shown you how to make tallow candles, but just in case you happen to be short on tallow, you can follow the same method to learn how to make beeswax candles too. Beeswax burns beautifully and is a wonderful option for natural, non-toxic, homemade candles.
I’ve also got a great tutorial on how to make homemade soy candles, which is a wonderful budget-friendly alternative if you cannot get good-quality beeswax at a reasonable price.
A note about beeswax: If you have bees, lucky you! 😉 Homegrown, filtered beeswax is a beautiful choice for homemade candles. However, if you don’t have bees yet (like me), you can always check with local beekeepers to see if someone has beeswax for sale. If you strike out there, Amazon is always an option too. (That’s where I got mine this time around).
(this post contains affiliate links)
How to Make Beeswax Candles
- Beeswax (this is what I used)
- Wicks (these are the ones I used)
- Glass jars (canning jars work great!)
- Dedicated container, such as a #10 can, for melting the wax (because it’s impossible to clean out afterwards!)
(A Note About Amounts: One pound of beeswax equals approximately 20 ounces in volume. For this tutorial, I used one pound of beeswas pastilles. It filled the four small canning jars shown in the above photo. Thankfully, the recipe is very flexible, so if you have more or less beeswax, simply fill more or less containers!)
Place the beeswax into your dedicated container/can. Place the can inside a stock pot filled half-full with water. Simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally as it melts.
In the meantime, prepare your jars and wicks.
The goal is to get the wick to stay in the middle of the jar as we pour in the beeswax and it sets. You can accomplish this a variety of ways. For example:
- Use a glue gun to stick the wick to the bottom of the jar
- Attach the wick to the jar with super glue
- Hold the wick in place with strips of masking tap
- Use pencils or dowels to prop/stabilize the wick.
- Or use a combination of these methods.
It doesn’t matter the method, as long as the wick stays in the center of the jar. In the above photos, I placed a dab of glue on the bottom of the wick to secure it to the bottom of the jar. I then curled the wick around a small dowel to keep it from tipping over.
Pour the melted beeswax into the jar, leaving one inch of room at the top. Set the jars aside and allow them to cool and set completely.
Trim the wick, light, and enjoy your homemade beeswax candles!
FAQ:
- Will my beeswax candles go rancid? No. One of the benefits of beeswax is that it will not go rancid like soy wax or palm wax.
- Can I scent my homemade beeswax candles? Sure! Many people use essentials to create natural aromatherapy candles. However, keep in mind that essential oils don’t love high temps, so often the scent will not be as strong as if you were using artificial fragrances. I usually just leave my homemade candles unscented, and then make my house smell pretty with my essential oil diffuser instead.
- After you learn how to make beeswax candles in this post, click here to learn how to make tallow candles too.
- How do I filter beeswax for my candles? Here’s a video that’ll show you how!
Excellent. I love learning new things.
Some day I hope to have my own bee hives but until then I think I’ll buy some beeswax and get making candles.
Is it a slow burn or does the candle get used up pretty quickly?
I felt as though it was fairly slow!
Can beeswax and soy be blended to melt to pour into jars for candles?
Beeswax is a very hard wax and can actually burn up to twice as long as other waxes do!
Oh this looks like so much fun! I will have to try it. Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait!
Thank you for this lovely tutorial. We’ve put bees high on our to do list. I was thinking about how to stick the wick to the bottom. As an alternative, could you also just dip the wick holder into the beeswax?
Besides being clean burning, is there a benefit to burning beeswax candles ?I heard that the ionic energy or the ionic particles, it puts into the air is akin to sitting beside running water like a stream or river, let’s say, and that it has a therapeutic effect, but I can’t find info about this being true.
Bees are high on the list of things we want to add to the farm. I will definitely be filing this post away for future use! Thank you!
This is something I’d love to try making. You make it look super easy! 🙂
Go order off of bulkapothecary.com they sell in bigger bulk amounts 🙂
not affiliated or getting anything for recommending them – just figured I’d mention them because their stuff is awesome 🙂
YES! I love Bulk Apothecary products and prices. Worth looking into for any DIY organic projects. They have the wicks and jars too!
I want to try this! Thanks for the instructions. 🙂
The cutest part is the mason jars.
Charming!
I agree 100%!
Love the cute little jars too! Where did you find the small mason jars? Are they a 2 oz. size?
I got these at yard sales, but you should be able to find them anywhere. They are the 2 oz ones. 🙂
What do you think about adding Sustainable Palm Oil to it? I heard that using just straight beeswax will result in the candle cracking? Just curious if you have any insight! Thanks! 🙂
I haven’t had problems with cracking, but yes, you could add palm oil if you wanted!
As long as our homes are free of toxins by our use of beeswax candles this sounds wonderful. However, by adding PALM OIL we are destroying the habitat of the orangutan. We must really think about the consequences of our actions on this earth. Try to avoid palm oil at all costs please wonderful fellow humans.
Sorry Stephanie, never read the ‘sustainable !’ It’s jus that many of us, myself probably more guilty than most, don’t research much into the destruction we are causing. Must take more care when reading others comments! I saw the ‘palm oil’ and it was like a red rag to a bull.
Sustainable doesn’t necessarily matter, Philomena. I did a lot of research into the RSPO and it’s not the perfect solution that so many people believe it is. It’s best to simply avoid palm oil completely 🙂
People referring to RSPO as the “not the perfect solution” could do a lot more research as to responsible production of palm before giving advice. I don’t think anyone ever thinks of the RSPO as a perfect solution. Regardless other organizations with much higher standards beyond RSPO do document deforestation free palm oil. POIG.ORG
Best if people just google “should I boycott palm oil?” and see what science based researchers have to say.
The beekeeper I spoke with about making beeswax candles just uses pure beeswax. Nothing else needed.
I’ve heard that coconut oil works as well. the only problem I’ve heard of with pure beeswax is uneven burning
You can also make your own wicks by soaking braided cotton in the melted beeswax and using an old nail or coin as a weight. If you don’t have a dedicated can you can always melt the wax in the candle-holding mason jar setting atop it’s own jar ring in a pot of simmering water.
I’ve definitely found that the least expensive way to get beeswax is from your local beekeeper. Just ask the person selling honey at your local farmer’s market, chances are they have it but just don’t display it as it’s not in demand at the market. In my experience the cost is at least half as much as ordering it online.
Great tips Jennifer! Thanks for sharing!
Thats an awesome idea for melting the wax **IN** the jar! Less waste!
Love this idea for melting the wax right in the jar with the wick already placed…
It depends on whether the beekeeper is using frames that promote the production of wax. Our first two hives have frames that have the comb created for us so the only wax we get is from the capping. Our newest hive will be making it’s own comb. Of course we don’t produce enough yet to sell, so that makes a difference in whether your honey producer has wax to sell. Just FYI.
What do you mean by jar ring? Is that the metal top of the mason jar?
Hey Jill,
If you are interested in starting your own hive an amazing invention was just released yesterday on a crowd funding site and support went off the chart. The website is http://www.honeyflow.com and it is awesome (although it really wouldn’t help with the bees wax…check it out to see what I mean). And for the record I am in no way associated with the company, I just think it is an amazing idea and thought you might be interested in checking it out.
I love your site and have learned a ton.
Nate
Would you be able to add essential oils to these? I love lavender candles!
Yes you can– I usually don’t, though, b/c the oils just burn out and you can’t really smell them all that much.
We have a hive and made some candles form our beeswax this fall using the little mason jars – super cute little candles! When we burn them though, the wax seems to melt in a hole down the wick maybe 1 cm diameter instead of melting the wax all across the candle. Not sure why.
Sounds like you might need a larger wick. 🙂
I just read that about using larger wick as well as using 1/2 coconut oil for the best burning candle with no tunneling.
I know this is a really old comment, but for others reading these: For beeswax candles, you really should us a cotton core, square braid wick. beeswax required larger wicks than soy or paraffin, too. The size of the wick also depends on your container diameter. One more thing, adding coconut oil can make the candle burn better. I have seen people add it in all sorts of amounts, but most commonly 1/2 cup per pound of beeswax.
I made these candles today but I’m finding the candle to tunnel burn. Does adding oil help with that ? If so what is the ratio of maybe adding vegitable oil?
Just ordered this stuff from your links!!! Me and my little girls will be making candles next week!!! Thank you
Have fun Angie!
What would be the largest mason jar that I could use for this project? I have a jar that would probably be a quart size…would it be ok? And when you say candle cracking..is that the glass? Or the actual candle? I used to make over 3,000 of beeswax candles for my college vespers and we used tin molds that were the shape of small tapers…just not sure how to go about making a big candle for my kitchen! Thanks for your reply in advance!
Quart size will be OK– you’ll just need more wax and a longer/larger wick.
Thanks!
Larger candles like that often need the edge rolled in as it burns down and that might be really difficult to do when it’s in a jar. . . have you made one that big yet and tried it? I’d be interested in knowing if you had problems 🙂
I tried this and my candles cracked and didn’t burn nicely….any suggestions? My bees wax was straight from the hive..would this have any impact? Impurities?
Thanks.
We also use beeswax straight from the hive and we filter it at 2 times to remove any impurities.
Jill – you can also use this method to melt your beeswax – it’s what I do when making beeswax/tallow/ lip balm. (melt in oven, pour into lip balm containers). Put your wicks into your jars wrapped around with a well soaked wooden skewer balanced on top. Pour your beeswax pastilles into the jar a bit higher than desired depth. Place jars on a cookie sheet covered with parchment into a 275 degree oven until beeswax is completely melted. Take out and let cool, cut the wicks.
No stove top, no can, no pouring hot. I’m just lazy.
Awesome! Sometimes the lazy methods are the best. 😉
Hi all, we have been making beeswax candles for years. We are honey producers, so we have lots of wax. We do make pillar candles and hand dipped tapers (they look beautiful in an old time candle holder – the ones with a tray and finger ring).
Beeswax candles burn hotter than paraffin. Don’t place tapers in a hurricane lantern. If the flame gets too close to glass not made for high heats the glass could shatter. I’ve never tried small mason jars but will do that next year.
The size of wick is very important. Too small and the flame will create a “well” in the center. I don’t think a quart jar will work well since I’m not sure there is a wick large enough to prevent the candle from “welling” and have 2 or more wicks would have the flames too close to the glass.
Please do not add essential oils, these beautifully naturally scented candles don’t need it. They remove scents from your air (we light them when cooking fish or spicy foods) so it is counterproductive to add scents.
What size wick would you recommend for these ~2 inch mason jars. Also, do you dip your tapers or pour the wax over the wicks. What’s your method
We have been using square braided wick size 5 for our 2 1/4” pillars and size 1 for the tapers.
We dip our candles. The wick is tied to the bottom of a metal frame looped over 2 hooks on the top and then tied to the bottom of the frame. The frame is then dipped into the wax 10 times with a bit of time in between to allow the wax to harden. After the “starter” candles have cooled, we cut the candles above the knots. Then hang the candles from 2 hooks about 1.5 – 2 inches apart on a piece of wood. Then we dip the candles until they are the right size for the candle holders. Then we heat up an Olfa blade and cut the bottom off. We use a micrometer so we know when the candles are the right size but you can always dip them more if they are too small.
Hope this helped.
Jill,
Thank you for the great write up! I made these for my girlfriend, and she was thrilled! How close should I trim the wicks? The first one we lit is smoking, and I think I may have used the wrong size of wick. The jar is 2-1/2 inch diameter and I used the medium wicks you suggested.
I’ve seen other recipes where they mix the bees wax with coconut oil? Have you tried this?
I havent, but it should work just fine!
I want to make these candles with the materials you listed on amazon. Do I need to filter the wax when I buy it on amazon?
Thanks so much!
Where do you get your artificial fragrance for your candles? Brand you use? Thanks
Hi,
We have endeavored to make pure beeswax candles in small vessels from beeswax pastilles we purchased. We are having a problem with tunneling, so we increased our wick size several times. One of our containers is about 2 inches wide at the mouth with a number 4 wick. We still have tunneling… Can you explain what might be going wrong, or if this is the expectation with beeswax.
Somewhere I read that candles in containers will tunnel if you don’t let them burn to the point where they are completely melted on top the first time you light them. It said that equates to about an hour per inch diameter of the candle. I have found this to be true with my soy candles. So the first time I light them, I know I will be around a while.
I’ve tried beeswax candles and mine always crack when they cool. Is there a tip to keep this from happening?
Love to make things with mason jars. This handmade candle looks so easy to try.
Hi, I could use some help with my Beeswax candles. I tried making a candle in a glass votive using both 100% beeswax and another one that was 50% beeswax and 50% coconut oil. I found that when i lit the candles that the flame would spread as the wax melted, making for a very large flame and bad smell. Do you know what would cause this? I can’t seem to find any answers online. I know beeswax is flammable but why do I seen to be the only one having this issue? Thank you so much in advance for your response.
Such a nice & informative post……… a few days ago, I was also researching for 100% Beeswax Candles and I found that this is very remarkable substance. When I am in search of these of candles, my friend suggest me website https://www.beehealthycandles.com/ Its products are really very impressive and good at very reasonable rates. They guys are really doing very well.
Hey there,
I have 4 ounce jelly cars from Ball, would the wicks you recommended here be okay to use with these size jars? Also I have UNFILTERED beeswax, is that okay?
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing the article. Melting the wax in a jar is a great idea. Must try it.
Keep sharing!
Hello there, I am a crazy male that is trying to replicate my mothers candles in her old mold. She passed away years ago and I have found memories of her doing all sorts of candles. I have decided to make candles with one of her molds that I acquired after her passing. It is a 12 inch star shaped taper, 3 ” and 6″ at the bottom. The first two were perfect but the rest have fracture lines in the wings. I have added beeswax from old candles that I have collected over the years as well as some of hers to add her energy. Now I am having problems. The original wax was bought from a bee keeper and has been filtered and clean.
What the heck am I doing wrong or should be doing different. If the two first ones were a problem would understand.
Btw have found a sweet way of melting wax. I use a large crock pot with disposable liners. No cleaning or having to have a dedicated pot and fill the mold with a can.
I talk too much would appreciate any insight
Ken Horrell
Make sure you’re allowing the wax to completely dry (at least two days, they say) before you burn. Burning them before then can lead to those cracks you’re talking about.
Did you cure the candles before burning them?