How to Make Your Own Wax Melts at Home: A Step by Step Guide

Our wax melt guide is a must-read for beginners and perfectly complements our wax melt starter kits as they contain all the key ingredients which are listed below.

Key Materials:

• Candle Wax
• Fragrance Oils
• Candle Dyes
• Clamshells 

Additional Items:

• Container to melt the wax in such as a wax melter or a bowl inside a pan
• Cooker or heat source to melt the wax
• Pouring jug
• Utensil to stir the wax
• Thermometer
• Weighing scales

Now let’s get started with the exciting craft of candle making!

1. Preparation

   Before you begin your wax melt making it important to prepare your space, especially as dealing with wax can be quite messy! Make sure you have a clean flat surface to work on, moving anything you don’t want to get wax on. Also make sure you have your clamshells at the ready as the process can go a lot faster than you might initially expect. Weigh/measure how much wax you need. For this example, we are using 100g. 

2. Melting the wax

   Empty your now measured wax into your heating pot. Heat your wax to 70°C whilst stirring gently. Do not exceed 80°C. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to melt. For this example, we placed a glass bowl into a pan filled halfway with water. Use your thermometer to keep an accurate reading of the temperature.

   *Please note that paraffin wax takes a little longer than soy wax to melt as it has a higher melting point, persevere!
   
   
   

3. Adding Colour

   Once your wax has reached 70°C, open your bag of candle dye and empty into the molten wax. Stir gently until all the colour has dissolved and spread evenly. We suggest using 0.2%, therefore a 10 g bag of dye will colour 5 kg of paraffin wax. Vegetable waxes may require a higher loading. (If you are using liquid candle dye, use a few drops at a time to get your desired colour.)

4. Adding Fragrance

   Once the dye is fully dissolved take your wax off the heat, regularly check the temperature until the wax reaches 65°C. Once the wax is at 65°C, open your bottle of fragrance and pour in. Gently stir the wax whilst pouring the fragrance. We suggest using up to 10% fragrance oil therefore 500 ml of fragrance oil will fragrant 5 kg of wax.

   

5. Pouring

   Now all your ingredients are mixed, with your wax is at 60-65°C, it is time to pour the wax. Pour your molten wax out of the container and into a pouring jug. Slowly pour your wax into your wax melt mould. (If you are using paraffin wax & plastic wax melt moulds, ensure you pour at 60°C, any hotter will melt the moulds & cause them to leak.) Your wax melts should now be setting. Allow a good few hours for them to set & fully solidify. We recommend storing your wax melts in a cool, dark place for approx. 2 weeks to ‘cure’. This isn’t essential however, so if you’re super excited to get melting a few hours after they’ve set, then that’s fine too!

   
   
   Please note, this wax melt making guide is a general starter guide for beginners into wax melt making. Variations in waxes, fragrances and dyes can all affect the finished product, what works for some wax melts may not work for others.
   
   The key to great wax melt making is trial and error.
   
   

We’d love to see your work!

Once you’ve made your wax melts, take a picture and share your work on Instagram or Facebook and tag us!