How To Make Gel Candles At Home

Learning how to make gel candles at home is easy to do, and by using gel rather than wax, you can be even more creative by adding little trinkets into the gel, anything that is inflammable, so things like pearls, or polished stones, coloured marbles, sand, or pebbles, just make sure that it is something that will not burn!

Ok, so what do you need to make your first gel candles at home?

gel
zinc candle wicks (do not use the cotton wicks for gel candles, as they will absorb too much of the gel)
essential oil of your choice
liquid color dye
candy thermometer
embeds – items to decorate the candle if you choose to glass containers

Or, you can go to a craft store, or candle making suppliers, and purchase a gel candle making kit which will have everything you need to make your first few gel candles. Do not plan to use fragrance oils from a cosmetics shop as these are not suitable for use in gel candles.

Now the containers for your gel candles are best made from glass, so that you can put embeds in to make them more unique and interesting.

Although you an buy glass jars inexpensively at dollar stores, you may find that you can easily pick up a supply of them from garage sales and second hand or thrift stores, and if it is a family project, your children may enjoy being given this task.

Ok, so now we have all the supplies we need to make our gel candles at home, and we can start.

1. Using a small amount of hot glue at the center of the jar, attach your wick to it, and let the glue dry. Make sure the wick is longer than the height of your jar so you can trim it later.

2. To get the gel to melt faster, cut it into small pieces and melt it in a pan over a medium heat.

3. Let the temperature of the gel reach 200 degrees, but no higher. If gel is overheated, it becomes less clear. The gel should all melt and become smooth like a syrup.

4. Add color to the gel, gradually until you reach the color you want.

Remember that if you are using embeds, then you will want to use less color so that you will still be able to see the emeds.

5. Add the essential oil of your choice – you only need about 1/3 teaspoon for each candle. Obviously the more you add, the stronger it will be.

6. Gently heat the glass jar in the oven, as this will reduce the chance of bubbles in the gel.

7. If you are using embeds, then quickly dip them in the hot gel first, and then place them in the glass jar. Keep them to toward the outside of the jar so they can be seen more easily.

8. Make sure your container is on a level surface, and then carefully pour the hot gel into the container.

9. Make sure the wick is upright in the gel – you could do this by wrapping the end around the middle of a pencil, and placing the pencil over the container.

10. Let the gel cool, then trim the wick to about 1/4 inch.

That’s it, you have now made your first gel candle. It is not difficult, and you have lots of options for decorating and making your gel candles at home more interesting, but at least now you have the basics on how to make them,gel candles at home.