How beeswax candles are made (2024)

17 November, 2020

Beeswax candles are made using the wax that honeybees produce.

There are a few variations on the beeswax candle, and I’ll discuss how a couple of them are made in this blog.

Rolled candles

The simplest of all the beeswax candles is the rolled candle because it involves very little equipment. Rolled candles are made using a beeswax sheet. These can be purchased online from suppliers of bee equipment such as Thornes. You also need wick.

The clue to making rolled candles is in the title. You simply pop your wick at the edge of your beeswax sheet and tightly roll the sheet around the wick. The sheet of wax needs to be at room temperature or slightly warmer otherwise the wax can crack. In the past I’ve used a hairdryer to slightly warm the wax. The above link has a wee tutorial video! These candles are satisfying to make and nice and easy too.

Hand dipped candles

Hand dipped candles are a little more complex and a bit messier! These candles involve melting your beeswax and using the liquid wax to create the candles – hence the mess.

You’ll need to get hold of some beeswax, either through a local beekeeper or a bee equipment supplier or perhaps you have your own beehives. This wax then needs to be melted using the bain-marie method. You’ll also need plenty of candle wick. The process basically involves dipping the wick into the liquid wax, pulling the wick back up, letting the wax cool for a minute or two, and then dipping again. This process is repeated until you have a candle that is the thickness that you desire and will hopefully produce a lovely tapered beeswax candle. I found a nice video on YouTube that shows the process well.

Final stuff

I have made the above candles myself and you can see the results in the photograph. They’re really fun to try and satisfying if they work out.

The final beeswax candle I want to mention is the moulded candle. I haven’t made a moulded candle myself, so I am simply going to attach a how-to video!