To ask how to make candles?!

[Bunny2607]

Apologies I didn’t really know where to post this.
i’m thinking about having a go at making some candles, like the ones in the glass jars with some whipped wax on the top, probably for Christmas just to try sell cheaply and to gift as presents. Does anyone know where to even start? Where to buy kit cheaply? Anyone make body butter or soap etc? Thank you!

I think YouTube videos will be your best friend here OP

Could you maybe try Hobbycraft? They usually sell beginner sets.
That will give you an idea of how to start small OP.
Also YouTube is great for advice and will teach you more complicated candles with mixed colour waxes etc.
Have fun :)

Candlemakers' supplies is a good source of wax, moulds, dyes, wicks etc as well as books on candlemaking.

You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself imaging you can sell candles (and presumably make money?) when you don’t even know how they’re made yet.

But yeah, try youtube.

It's fun but messy, just like other hobbies.

Every business starts with a person who has to learn the skill….thank god i’m not as negative as you!

thank you to all of the other helpful replies :-)

You can buy the wax flakes and wicks etc at most good hobby shops.
Word of warning though, use your oldest pans that your not bothered about for the melting.
Car boot sales are great for cheap old pans, as well as jars and pots to use for the candles.
Have fun.

I make candles but it’s easy to get it wrong and end up with candles that don’t burn effectively and that don’t throw the scent properly.

you need to put a Lot more essential oil in than you think and use decent thick wicks plus you will need to play around to get the number of wicks right for the containers you’re using. You also need to go slowly since otherwise you’ll get sinking around the wick. It’s actually quite a lot harder than it seems to make decent candles. It’s easy to make shit ones though..

Ensure regulations are followed. There are some rules about not making them look like food, using safe containers, and getting the wick right is really important.

If you fancy making nice bees wax candles, then this video is useful (She's got some really useful tips on making sure they work right.

Making bees wax candles might cost you more but they burn for longer and are far nicer than anything else.

You’ll need to do lots and lots of testers and use high quality supplies to get candles that are anywhere near selling quality. Don’t be tempted to go for cheap components. Definitely don’t be tempted to melt your wax in the microwave unless you’d like a house fire.

You need to figure out how much materials cost and how much time it takes to make each candle, then work out how much people might be willing to pay for the product. Then do the maths and work out whether or not it’s a viable business idea at all.

Lots of these crafty hobby things are really enjoyable, but not at all viable as a business. I knit. The economics on that are hilarious. You’d have to charge a thousand pounds for a handknit jumper to make it worth the time and materials and almost no one is willing to pay that kind of money for a jumper.

Candles are likely to be more economically viable than knitted jumpers, but you still need to do the maths carefully before you consider it a possible way of making money.

You can’t just make some soap and sell it in the U.K. without a lot of paperwork and testing to be legally compliant with cosmetic laws.

I make my own, not for selling, but I would be willing to give as presents. I had an electric melts heater anyway, so I just stick a wick (bought 100 from amazon) to the base of a candle glass (from previously used ones), add soy wax flakes bought from amazon while jar is on the heater base, add more until up to the required level when melted, add essential oils (I think about 8-10% by weight of the wax - I measured it once and now have an idea) and stir in, then let solidify. Ta-dah. Is fairly quick and easy just for me.

Candles are one thing (you need hazard stickers etc) but soap making has a LOT of hurdles to jump through to sell.

We make soap for our own use and to give to family and it is quite a complicated and dangerous business with the caustic soda. If you want to go down the cheaper melt and pour route then that is easier, but you can’t really call it homemade soap. You will need testing done on each recipe you use to sell. I believe it is the same for body butters etc. I dry and grind orange peel to use in our soap and use essential oils. It can get expensive if you use good ingredients.
I have made candles too. You would want to stay away from petroluem based waxes and opt for soya or beeswax (the best!) These skills take time to learn, especially soap. I have been making it for years now and still get nervous that it wont cure properly.

Agree with other PPs - making candles is one thing, making cosmetics is a whole other thing!
Soap, body butters, scrubs, moisturisers etc - you need insurance, all products have to be tested, you can't then deviate from your recipe, you need decent ingredients etc etc.
I love making soap but to make it into a business is a whole other thing.
Candle making is relatively straightforward; look on YouTube or buy a book or go on a course - as other say you need to understand the throw of the scent; the type of waxes, the oils/fragrance; the wicks & container sizes.
Have fun just exploring each one, have a go at making a few & see how it goes.

You'll need insurance to sell and for candles you need CLP compliant labelling etc. Took me almost a year to get my candles in a position to sell. Lots and lots of testers, it can get very expensive! Good luck ☺️

I've made a few for personal use! Good wax chips (I used pure coconut), little sticky things to stick your wicks in, your wicks (love me a crackly wood wick), a vessel, some scent oil and a pan. You need to measure how much oil to wax you need, melt it, stir forever then pour! I waited until it had nearly cooled, then poked a hole in the top (to find air bubbles) and poured a quick second layer on the top too so it burns well.

As PP have said to sell them you need to have labels (CLP I think?) and lots of warning and safety information. Great for just gifts though!

I don’t think that’s true. I think most businesses start because someone already has a skill, then decides to monetise it. In this case, experienced at candle making for themselves, get good enough to gift and decide to sell.

Exactly what I was going to say, @Testina

OP - I don’t think anyone is being deliberately negative, but homemade candles/wax melts are everywhere. Yours will have to be really good to stand out in a crowded market - and you don’t even know how to make average ones yet.

Go to somewhere like Candleshack who sell kits,

canlde making is all about testing, to make sure the burn is correct, the meltpool is correct, that the candle is not burning to quickly, and then you need to have it labelled correctly. I tend to use a higher percentage of fragrance oil than I do for essential oils.

Soap is a lot of hoops to jump through, melt and pour soaps are easier to make as it doesn’t involve curing, caustic soda, and getting to trace, if you want to sell then they all have to be cosmetically tested. Somewhere like Aromantics is good as they have bases that you can add essential oils to.

Have fun but be aware that candles is a very saturated market and you cannot make anything that looks like food

@Bunny2607 there are a few facebook groups that you could join. Taking the wick is a lovely friendly group. I have a candle making business which I started 8 years ago and back then you didn't need clp. There was very little info when I first started so I now run candle making workshops. Good luck with it.

Thank you everyone for your advice and pointers. It does actually seem more complicated than i thought.
i wasn’t thinking of turning it into a business, I’m actually a solicitor by trade, it was more to make a few at Christmas to gift for example or to have a stall at the school fayre etc for abit of spending money, nothing major as such and not suggesting i’ll be the next yankee candle!
thank you all

Have you thought about making wax melts instead? They're getting increasingly popular and there's less to worry about too. You can use moulds and get them to look pretty.

I used to buy candles but much prefer wax melts these days - they take up less space, and it's much easier to chop and change scent without needing loads of storage too.