Making Wooden Wick Candles
It’s been years since I’ve used candles in my home.
I’m very sensitive to strong scents and most commercial candles are just too chemically scented. Natural candles are wonderful, but also very expensive. To me, it’s much easier to diffuse essential oils than to use a candle.
However, we recently renovated our bathroom with surround tile around our 1950’s Cinderella tub. It’s perfect for taking a nice, relaxing soak and reading a good book by candle-light. Naturally, this made me decide that I would just have to make my own candles. I wanted to make a candle that would help me relax, but that would also help deodorize my house.
Natural Ingredients for a DIY Candle
That sent me on the search for a good DIY candle recipe. I learned quite a bit from this post on how to Make Your Own Natural Beeswax Candles. One major thing I learned from this article is that you should select beeswax that is 100% natural (organic if possible!) because some beeswax can actually be treated with chemicals.
Since I didn’t have any palm oil on hand, I decided that I would use coconut oil instead. I tried a few different attempts, but finally settled on a beeswax to coconut oil ratio that worked.
Beeswax is a natural deodorizer, but to give this candle an extra deodorizing boost, I added some essential oils. It’s important to note that essential oils are quite flammable, but when mixed properly into the candle, they will burn nicely.
For this recipe, I chose two of my favorite air purifying oils: tea tree and spearmint.
I love the minty-freshness that spearmint brings. Its sweetness is complimented by the fresh, clean smell of tea tree. This combination is a favorite of mine because it works extremely effectively to rid my home of unpleasant odors.
I also chose to use a natural wooden wick because I love the amount of light they give off. It’s really important that you purchase a wooden wick that has not been chemically treated or else you will end up releasing chemicals into your home as the candle burns.
DIY Wooden Wick Candles for Deodorizing
Ingredients & Supplies
- 4 natural (untreated) wooden wicks and metal anchors (find them here)
- 4 mason jars (I used three quarter pint and one pint)
- 10 ounces natural beeswax (find it here)
- 8 ounces coconut oil
- 100Â drops spearmint essential oil (find pure spearmint EO here)
- 30Â drops tea tree essential oil (find pure tea tree EOÂ here)
Directions
- In a glass pyrex batter bowl, measure 10 ounces of beeswax and 8 ounces of coconut oil.
- Microwave for 5 minutes, then stir well.
- Continue microwaving at 30 second intervals until beeswax is completely melted (this took me about 1 minute longer). Stir thoroughly to blend.
- Add essential oils and stir slightly to incorporate.
- Pour a small amount into one jar, with the wooden wick and anchor in place. (This will hold the wick in place so you can pour the rest of the beeswax.) Hold wick/anchor until beeswax solidifies. Repeat for the remaining jars.
- Pour the rest of the beeswax into each jar. (If your mixture starts to harden, put the pyrex batter bowl back in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.)
- Allow candles to harden slowly. If the candle hardens t0o quickly, there will be cracks, so just let things happen naturally.
- Trim wicks to approximately ¼ inch. (Wooden wicks tend to have a big flame, but keeping the wick trimmed is a good way to keep the flame under control).
I absolutely love using my wooden wick candles! They are easy to customize with your favorite essential oils and take only minutes to make. Just be sure to keep the open flame away from children and pets.
Looking to try more deodorizing DIYs? Check out these posts:
- Homemade Carpet Deodorizer with Essential Oils
- Homemade Deodorizer Spray for Sports Equipment
- DIY Toilet Bombs that Clean, Disinfect, and Deodorize
- DIY Stain, Spill, and Odor Removers for the Holidays
- 10 Ways to Use Essential Oils for Cleaning Your Home
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Jenny D says
This is great! I have missed candles. I would like to make some for Christmas gifts and was wondering if you have a recipe or ratio for making a more Christmas tree scent or fall type scent?
Glenda Beckham says
Thank you for a great post. I love candles & will for sure be making these. I like the wood wick idea too. I don’t use Tea Tree oil though because of my pets. Could you tell me what EO I could use in place of it? Thank you. God bless.
Katie Vance says
Hi Glenda, no problem! You can use solely Spearmint (130 drops) or replace the Tea Tree with Juniper Berry or Siberian Fir essential oils.
Laurie says
Can you give directions for making this on top of the stove or in an oven? We don’t use a microwave. Thanks!
Betsy Jabs says
Hi Laurie,
Just use a makeshift double boiler to make these on the stovetop. Add beeswax and coconut oil to a pyrex measuring cup and set it inside a pan that contains a few inches of water. Heat on low or medium-low until the beeswax is completely melted. Stir thoroughly to blend, then pick up with Step 4 of the directions in this article. Hope that helps!
Roxie says
Hello,
Thank you for this wonderfully sounding recipe. But I was wondering how many drops of EO do you use to give out a lovely odor?
Thanks you for your consideration.
Roxie
Betsy Jabs says
Hi Roxie,
The amounts are listed under the “Ingredients & Supplies” section. It calls for 100 drops spearmint and 30 drops tea tree.