A Primer on Making Beeswax Candles
Making beeswax candles is gaining popularity because of the clean burn and purity of the wax itself.
Beeswax is one of the oldest types of materials used to produce candles; it is natural and is easy to procure. Did you know that candles made from beeswax are found to have existed deep in Egyptian pyramids, along with Egyptian royalty?
Here’s a quick fact about beeswax that may interest you: beeswax is produced by bees for a myriad of purposes. Beeswax always has a certain amount of honey infused into its physical structure. This is the reason why beeswax candles always generate a pleasant smell when being used. You can opt not to add any more essential oils to melted beeswax, because the wax is fragrant as it is.
How beeswax is made
When beekeepers harvest honey, they naturally have to destroy some of the existing honeycombs in the Langstroth hive. After capping (the removal of the caps of individual honey cells) and the extraction (beekeepers place individual frames of honeycombs in a revolving drum, which naturally extracts the honey), the beeswax comes off. The beeswax is filtered several times and melted. The end product is pure beeswax is block form.
Buying beeswax for candle making
Buying by bulk is always cheaper… so we recommend that you buy large beeswax blocks that can weigh anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds. But there are also smaller blocks if you just want to try things out.
If you prefer to use small, cute blocks of wax, we recommend “wax blocks” (usually 1oz. each) that look like small golden bars. You can go for larger blocks (2 oz. to 8 oz. each) if you also plan on using beeswax for soap and lotions.
Soap making and candle making are related crafts; the only difference is how the wax is applied.
Buying by bulk
If you are a candle making enthusiast looking to break into your local market with your own signature beeswax candles, we recommend that you buy beeswax in large volumes. You can save up to $2 per pound of wax that way. The usual price for each pound of beeswax is $7; suppliers are willing to lower the price to $5 or even $4 if you are buying more than 50 pounds.
