Candle Making Tips Singapore
Candle making workshops are an enjoyable and relaxing hobby to pick up. Those in Singapore are especially discovering the creativity and peace these homemade candles offer. Whether you’re new to wax, looking to pick up a candle workshop as a hobby or a seasoned candle container artisan, follow these tips and techniques to make beautiful and quality candles which are clear, strong and fragrance-filled. Here are the Top 10 Tips on Candle Making geared for the local market in Singapore.
Best Candle Making Workshop Tips in Singapore
1. Choose the Right Wax
You can opt for soy candles, which work well in Singapore’s humidity – it copes better with stress in this aspect, along with a lower melting point, for a flat and even burn – it is eco-friendly and produces light, negligible soot that keeps indoor air quality clean.
2. Clean Your Containers Thoroughly
Before pouring your wax, make sure that your candle containers are cleaned with soapy water and completely dry. This prevents unsightly wet spots from showing up once the melted wax shrinks in the final product and eliminates air bubbles in the jar of your cooling wax.
3. Optimal Pouring Temperature
Make sure you do not sink into a sinkhole, relax and make sure your wax cools evenly. Pour it while it’s in the golden temperature zone: 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit for soy wax using a double boiler. It’s nice if the temperature inside your home, studio or workshop is steady too, especially when living in the tropics.
4. Use a Candle Journal
Keep an ongoing journal of your wax experiments; which waxes and wick materials were used, what essential oils you used, what temperature you heated the wax, how it looked and any problems that might have cropped up during the process, this will also hone your craft and perfect your technique.
5. Avoid Adding Extras
While dried flowers for making candles with your own candles or glitter might be irresistible, they present fire risks and have the potential to create caustic flame fragments or carbonise and cloud over the surface of the candle, affecting the burn. These additives come ready-blended in your selected colour, adding just a touch of a fragrance note to your candle; if you prefer an unscented candle, select an unscented dye. It is always best to stay true to the formulation, adding nothing, and changing nothing when concocting a candle. Stick with the essential oil and safe cosmetic-grade additives intended for the task, and consume your creation only as a delight for the nose and eyes.
6. Proper Wick Trimming
Cut and trim the wick to no more than 1/4 inch each time you use the candle. If you don’t, you won’t just get excessive sooting and an unmanageable flame, but also the jump-roping of the wicks and the paper top. Wick trimmers can be purchased from most craft stores and workshops (on- or offline) in Singapore.
7. Prevent Candle Sweating
It’s important to store your candles in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and humidity, so they don’t melt or sweat. Keeping them in airtight containers is a good idea too as they are more likely to melt and get moist in Singapore’s humidity.
8. Avoid Paraffin Wax
Although paraffin wax is good for scent throw (meaning distribution of odour throughout a space), once it’s melted it can release harmful toxins into the air. Steer clear and stick with natural ingredients like soy, oil or beeswax candles instead; it smells better and is healthier all around.
9. Create a Controlled Cooling Environment
If creating more than one candle of the same shape or design, pour them in turn, and allow the wax hardens before commencing the process again. Cool the candles in a stable environment at room temperature, away from drafts and sudden temperature fluctuations. Candles gel candles that are cooled too hastily or in a sudden change of temperature run the risk of developing sinkholes or uneven surfaces.
10. Test Fragrance Load
The fragrance oils must be added at the right temperature and in the right ratio to ensure that they embed with the wax very deeply. This, in turn, means a larger scent throw. In Singapore, with most indoor spaces being air-conditioned, a greater than fragrance oil load would be beneficial to ensure that one is able to detect and smell the scent.
Candle Making Tips Singapore
Crafting scented candles and happy candle making in Singapore is a satisfying and easy hobby, that’s both relaxing and creative in nature. With a few useful localised tips from nature-loving neighbours, you soon will be creating your own felt-wrapped, wick-winding, three-wick wonder candles, that will burn picturesquely and scent your surroundings with delicious fragrances. Nature loves neighbours, after all. Go ahead and make some candles!