How To Make Tealight Candles
Tealight candles are one of the most common candles in any home. If you are a candle making beginner, tealight candles can be a great starting point to your candle making journey since they are easy to make and can be easily customised with the help of fragrance and colour.
MATERIALS
- Summit Wax
- Liquid Dye (your preference)
- Digital Scales
- 30mls Fragrance Oil (your preference)
- 8 x Standard Plastic Tealight Cups
- 8 x PRO WICKS CDN 3 Tealight 27mm
EQUIPMENT
- Double Boiler Setting
- Thermometer
- Pouring Jug
- Glue Gun or Wick Stickums
- Stirring Utensil
STEPS
Step 1 - Calculate Your Measurements
The first step is to calculate the proper measurements you need based on how many tealights you want to make. Each standard plastic tealight cup has a capacity of 17 grams of unscented wax. As an example, we will create 8 tealights. This would mean you would multiply 8 tealights X 17 grams of wax per tealight which equals 136 grams of wax.
We then need to calculate our fragrance loading. For tealight candles, we recommend starting your testing with a loading of between 6 - 10%. We are going to use 10% for a nicely scented tealight candle. So we need to determine 10% of the quantity we originally calculated. This would mean you need to find 10% of 136 grams which equals 13.6 grams of fragrance. We then need to sustract this amount from our original wax quantity. Subtract 13.6 from 136 grams and you will get 122.4.
To summarize, for 8 tealights you will need 123 grams of wax (rounded up) and 14 grams of fragrance (rounded up).
Step 2 - Melting the Wax
Place 123 grams of soy wax into a pouring pitcher and, using a double boiler setting or hot plate, heat to 85 degrees Celsius.
Step 3 - Centre and Secure Your Wick
Prepare your tealight cups by placing one CDN 3 Tealight 27mm wick in the centre of each cup. There are four tiny plastic prongs inside the bottom of the plastic tealight cups that will help you to centre your wick. You can secure the wick in place by using a glue gun or wick stickums.
Step 4 - Add Liquid Dye (Optional)
If you have decided to use colour, stir this in now. You can add dye chips, dye blocks or liquid dye to colour your candle.
Once your wax reaches 85 degrees Celsius, add in your dye and stir gently.
Step 5 - Add Fragrance
Remove your wax mixture from the heat and add 14 grams of your preferred candle fragrance oil.
Step 6 - Allow to Cool
Allow the wax to cool to 65°C and then slowly and carefully pour into the prepared tealight cups. Make sure you do not have any air bubbles.
Step 7 - Check Your Wicks
Tealight wicks can sometimes tend to fall over or bend in the wax pool. This is particularly common when you have heated your wax to a temperature that is too high. Take the time to check that the wicks are perfectly straight and centred. If they are out of shape, readjust whilst the wax is still liquid.
Step 8 - Cure
Cure overnight for optimal results.
Congratulations! You just made a tealight candle!
If you would like to give your handmade tealights as a gift, why not present them in specially made packaging for that extra professional look. Click here to browse our tealight packaging.
