Beeswax votives

[greensoaper]

Hi all.

I'm thinking about dabbling in candle making after the holidays. I already have some divine beeswax on hand, so I thought I'd try making some beeswax votives to start.

I do have a couple of questions though.

Which mold material is preferred for beeswax, metal or silicone/rubber?

Also, does anyone know the max fragrance load for pure beeswax? I know it's usually left unscented, but I just can't help myself.

Finally, stepping away from the votives for a second, are there any containers that beeswax works well in?

Thanks so much!

[jbement]

Hello,

Depending on your pour & room temperature, you can use either kind of mold. If you pour beeswax on the hot side (> 160) and the room temp is cold, we put the metal votive molds out of drafts to keep the votives from cracking as they cool down. Even covering the filled molds with an inverted box works fine. The silicone molds are more forgiving of air and pour temperature and will also allow you to make more candles per day as they cool quicker as well.

We melt down use all of our stubs and trial candles in small bucket-like tins or ceramic flower pots with a high percentage load (4-5%) of Citronella for outdoor use in the summer (#10 wick). I don't think I would go higher than that for any other scent.

Other than that, we have found beeswax works well in just about any container, although matching wicks to large mouth containers can be challenging. Remember that beeswax burns hot too, so watch out for the proper wick size so that the container does not heat up too much!

jb

[greensoaper]

Thank you so much.

That is all excellent information!