How to Make Beautiful Gel Candles at Home
Before you begin, you will need to gather all the materials needed to make gel candles. You can find most, if not all of these things at a crafts store or online. Gel, zinc wicks (never use cotton wicks for making gel candles as they absorb the gel), fragrance, liquid dye, and embeds (optional).
It’s important to make sure all of your supplies are made specifically for gel candles. Fragrance oils from cosmetic stores are not acceptable for making gel candles. Gel candle making kits are available, and are probably best for the beginner. All of the supplies needed are right there.
For embeds, you can use anything non flammable, such as aquarium rocks, marbles, polished rocks, artificial jewels, sand, or seashells. Adding embeds to your candles will make them more original and professional looking.
Before you begin making your gel candles, you will need some sort of container for them. Glass jars and candle holders make wonderful containers, especially if you are going to be using embeds. This makes it easier to see the embeds through the clear glass. Any nonflammable container will suffice. Now you are ready to begin!
The first step to making gel candles is preparing your container. You will need to place a small drop of hot glue in the center of the container bottom. Place the end of the wick over the hot glue and let cool. This will ensure that your wick doesn’t slide around as much when you add your gel. Second, cut your gel into small pieces and place in a stainless steel pot. Cutting the gel will make it melt more quickly and prevent clumping. Turn the stove to medium heat. You will need a cooking thermometer to monitor the temperature on the gel. The temperature needs to be 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Be careful not to overheat the gel, as it loses it clarity when it gets too hot.
Maintain the gel temperature at 200 degrees until the gel becomes smooth and is about the consistency of syrup. Next, add your dye. Colored dye can be added to your preference, but remember, you can always add more, but you can not remove dye once it has been added to the gel. If you are using embeds, it is best not to use as much dye. This makes the embeds easier to see through the gel.
The next step to making beautiful gel candles is to add fragrance. Add 1/3 teaspoon for every glass of melted gel for a nice, subtle scent. You can add more if you would like your candle to smell stronger. Heat the container with the wick glued inside in a microwave or convectional oven to about 150-160 degrees Fahrenheit. The heating of the empty container will reduce the appearance of bubbles and imperfections in the gel when you add it. Adding hot gel to a cool container will almost certainly result in bubbles.
If you wish to add embeds to your gel candle, now is the time to do so. Dip the embeds in a bit of the melted gel first, then stick them to the bottom of the container. It is best to place the embeds close to the sides of the container. This makes them easier to see once the gel has been added.
Now is the time to pour your gel. Place the container on a flat, level surface and slowly pour the hot gel down one side of the container. Both the gel and the container should still be very hot to avoid bubbles. Make sure to keep the wick out of the way when you are pouring the gel. Try to hold it upright and keep it straight as you add the gel.
Once the gel has been added, pull the wick up and roll it on a pencil to keep it straight while the gel cools. Let the candle cool down and trim the wick. You are done! You now have a beautiful, home made gel candle.
