Candle Making for Beginners: DIY Essential Oil Beeswax Candles

I have a candle problem. A candle hoarding problem. One side of our sideboard is just candles. My family never used candles beyond birthdays or Advent growing up, so I never gave them much thought until college. I had one friend who always insisted on having a candle lit and gifted me my first “grown-up” candle. I always remember how inviting her apartment was and that 1st candle (darn you Anthropologie, Blue Capri) opened the floodgates to a candle hoarding habit. So of course I had to make some DIY Essential Oil Beeswax Candles.

The problem is, good candles cost. A lot. And get discontinued after you’ve found “your” scent! I always go for 100% soy or beeswax candles for a clean burn and healthy home, but wanted an easy way to make my own candles to know exactly what’s going in it. I saw these candles that let you repurpose the containers for sugar & creamer and loved that idea! I chose a ceramic, tiered container with a lid so I can store matches in the bottom.

The beeswax has a faint, honey scent that is so deliciously warm and the coconut oil smell disappears once the candle sets. You could use pure beeswax, but coconut oil helps the beeswax burn evenly. You can also scent the candle with essential oils, just find your favorite blend ratio so you can quickly scale up or down depending how strong you want the scent. Let’s make some DIY Essential Oil Beeswax Candles!

You’ll Need
1/2 lb beeswax
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
essential oils
heatproof container
candle wicks
skewers
large glass jar or tin to use as a double boiler

1. Place the large glass jar/tin in a pot of water, making sure the water line stays well below the opening.
2. Transfer the beeswax to the jar/tin and melt over medium heat.
3. Once the beeswax is completely melted, add the coconut oil and your favorite essential oil blend. For this candle, I used 30 drops of jasmine, 15 drops cedarwood, and 10 drops ylang-ylang.
4. Prep your candle container and heat it up slightly- warming the container decreases the temperature difference between the candle wax and container which can cause the candle to pull away from the sides. If this does happen, no biggie. The candle will still work! It’s just an aesthetics thing.
5. Pour just enough candle wax into the container to create a shallow wax bed to stick down your candle wick. Let cool until the wick no longer moves (~5-10 minutes). Secure the wick to a skewer and center over the container. Or if you’re using 3 wicks, create a skewer triangle to lay over the candle container to help evenly space the wicks and secure.
6. Slowly pour the remaining wax into the container.
7. Cool times will vary depending on container size/thickness, but ideally, don’t light before 24 hrs.
8. Trim the wick to the same level as the container top before lighting.

I used 3 wicks for this candle based on the rule of thumb that a container with a diameter of 4″ or larger may need a double wick.

I had leftover beeswax bars from making wood butter, but you can buy beeswax in pellets or at your local farmer’s market. Beeswax at farmer’s market typically come in 1oz. bars. Grab 8 for this DIY.

What scent blend is your go-to? Would you try to make a DIY Essential Oil Beeswax Candles?