Coconut-blend luxury candle

A creamy, glossy candle in a coconut-soy blend with a stronger scent throw than straight soy. Wicks usually run one size smaller.

Difficulty: ●●○
Time: active 1 h · cure 3–10 days

Steps Calculator

Safety first

Never leave melting wax unattended, not even for a minute. Keep children and pets out of the work area.
Melt wax in a pouring pitcher set in a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Never put a pitcher or pan of wax on direct heat.
Use a candle or candy thermometer the whole time and stay inside the wax supplier's temperature range. Overheated wax smokes, discolors and can reach its flash point.
If wax catches fire: turn off the heat and smother it with a metal lid or a thick layer of baking soda. NEVER use water, which flashes to steam and throws burning wax. Keep a lid and a class B or ABC extinguisher within reach.
Wear closed shoes and keep a bowl of cool water nearby for splashes on skin. Hot wax sticks and keeps burning, so cool a burn under running water for 20 minutes.
Handle fragrance oils with gloves and ventilate the room while they're hot.
Put warning labels on any candle you give away: burn within sight, keep away from children, pets, drafts and anything flammable, trim the wick to 1/4 in (6 mm) before each burn, burn no more than 4 hours at a time, and stop when 1/2 in (13 mm) of wax is left.
Coconut blends are very soft. Don't pour them into containers you'll leave in a hot car or window, because the wax can sweat oil and soften.

Steps

Weigh your wax and fragrance using the calculator results. Cover your work surface with paper or a silicone mat.
Clean, dry and pre-warm the jars until they're warm to the touch, about 100–120°F (38–49°C). Check your supplier's sheet, because coconut blends vary.
Secure a wick in the center of each jar with a wick sticker and press it flat. Hold it upright with a wick bar.
Melt the wax in the double boiler. The blend melts around 105–120°F (41–49°C). Heat to 185°F (85°C) to add fragrance.
Off the heat, add the fragrance and stir gently for a full 2 minutes.
Cool to 130–150°F (54–66°C) and pour slowly, leaving 1/2 in (13 mm) of headspace.
Let the candles set undisturbed at room temperature for 24 hours. Coconut blends usually set with smooth tops, but a heat gun fixes any rough spots.
Trim wicks to 1/4 in (6 mm). If the jars will sit in warm rooms, lids help stop the soft wax sweating.
Cure with lids on for at least 3 days and up to 10 for peak throw.
Test-burn one candle before making more or giving any away. Burn it 1 hour per inch of diameter (up to 4 hours) and check that the melt pool reaches the edge without soot or a flame taller than about 1 in (2.5 cm). Adjust the wick size and repeat.

Candle calculator

Wax Container holds (fl oz of water)Fill it with water to your fill line and measure How many Fragrance load (%)% of wax weight Jar width (in)Inside diameter at the widest point Wick series Units Scent

Wax25.0 oz

709 g · 25.0 oz

Fragrance oil2.5 oz

71 g · 2.5 oz

Total pour27.5 oz

6.9 oz each

Starting wickECO 4–6

Test burn 3 h, then check the melt pool.

Melt to: 105–120°F (41–49°C) or a little above
Add fragrance at: 185°F (85°C), then stir gently for 2 minutes
Pour at: 130–150°F (54–66°C)
Cure: 3–10 days before judging the scent throw

Coconut-soy blend burns hotter than soy, so this is one step smaller than the soy chart.

Melt about 10% more wax than the total. Some always stays in the pitcher.

If something goes wrong

Oily beads on the surface (sweating): The room is too warm or the fragrance is over the wax's limit. Blot with a paper towel, store below about 75°F (24°C), and keep fragrance at or under 12%.
Flame too big, soot, or the jar gets very hot: Coconut wax melts easily, so it overwicks fast. Drop one wick size and keep wicks trimmed to 1/4 in (6 mm).
Tunneling (the flame burns a hole down the middle): The first burn was too short or the wick is too small. Burn 1 hour per inch of diameter (up to 4 hours) so the melt pool reaches the edge. For a candle that already tunneled, wrap foil around the rim with a hole in the middle and burn to even it out. Go up a wick size next batch.
Wet spots (patches where the wax pulled away from the glass): Pre-warm clean, dry jars before pouring and let them cool slowly at room temperature, not in the fridge or a cold draft. They're cosmetic only. A heat gun on the outside of the glass can reseat small ones.
Weak hot throw (smells good cold, faint when lit): Let it cure the full time with a lid on. Make sure fragrance went in at the wax's add-fragrance temperature and was stirred for a full 2 minutes. Check the wick gives a full melt pool within 2–3 hours. Try the upper end of the wax's fragrance range next time, never over its maximum.