Candles makers who wonder how to make palm wax candles needn't worry! Basic candle making skills are all that are required to make these lovely and natural candles.
How to Make Palm Wax Candles: What is Palm Wax?
Palm wax candles are made from the oil palm. The wax that is made from the oil palm is regarded as being environmentally friendly. The palm continues to grow with only its nuts being harvested, thus making palm oil a sustainable resource. This makes the palm and palm wax popular amongst 'green livers' and people who care about the environment. Palm oil is used for many things in addition to creating palm wax for candles. It is also a key ingredient in soap making and many cold process soap makers include a proportion of palm oil in their soaps as it creates a firm soap that is long lasting.
Benefits of Palm Wax
In addition to the environmental benefits of using palm wax, many candle makers like the fact that this is a totally natural substance and without the potentially negative effects of petroleum candles. It is clean burning and burns with a bright flame. Palm wax is also very easy to work with and this makes it ideal for beginning and experienced candle makers. Palm wax is naturally creamy in color and this means that it takes the addition of color well, however many people like the natural effect of the uncolored wax.
Instructions and Tips
The process of making palm wax candles is very straightforward. Basic candle making supplies are all that is required to create lovely, natural palm wax candles. An outline explaining how to make palm wax candles is detailed below:
Materials and Supplies Required
- Palm wax
- Molds (metal molds are recommended)
- Wicks
- Double boiler
- Candle maker's thermometer
How to Make Palm Wax Candles
- Heat the wax in the double boiler until it is melted. Do not exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius)
- Remove from the heat and prepare the molds and place the wick in the mold
- Carefully pour the wax into the mold, being careful not to dislodge the wick
- Leave the molds somewhere safe to cool before removing the finished candle.
Tips
Palm wax is a highly crystalline wax and this means that all sorts of interesting design effects can be achieved. Many different types of effect are formed through a mix of different circumstances. Hot wax poured into a very cold mold, for instance will produce a very different effect to that poured into a heated mold. Different effects also depend on the type of palm wax. The supplier will be able to provide more information about producing special effects with their palm wax.
Adding Color and Fragrance to Palm Wax
Many people like to leave the natural color of the palm wax, however it is simple to color using candle colorants. Palm wax also accepts fragrance oils well and a wide range of scents and fragrances are available. It is important to use specially formulated candle fragrance as this gives the best results. [[Making Scented Candles|Making scented candles is very straightforward.
The most popular types of fragrance and coloring used with palm wax are scents and colors that have a natural theme. Flower fragrances, for instance, combine well with the natural palm wax and colors such as brown, cream and orange follow the natural theme. Palm wax candles make great gifts and look lovely when wrapped in handmade or recycled paper. A few dried flowers make very attractive embellishments and add an interesting finishing touch.
Knowing how to make palm wax candles is another useful technique for candle makers and one that is bound to be used time and time again!
