Gel candles are in a class of their own. The gel wax and fragrances are a little different than that of traditional candles. And what can be created with gel candles is nothing short of amazing. From tropical drinks and champagne candles to garden and seashore scenes, the possibilities are endless.Gel candles produce a transparent candle perfect for embeds. There are some important precautions when making gel candles. It is imperative that you only use gel candle safe fragrances, which have a flash point of at least 170° F and are non-polar. Most suppliers can provide this information if you are unsure. It is also vital that you only use containers that can withstand heat and non-flammable articles for embedding. Failure to follow these important safety tips can result in exploding candles or potential fire hazards.
Provided safety measures are taken, gel candles are quite easy to make. You’ll need to use gel candle wax, which is a mixture of 95% oil and 5% polymer and dries to a rubbery solid. There are several types of gel wax based on the thickness of the wax. Basically, the thicker the gel wax, the more fragrance it can hold.
The most common gel wax is made by Penreco Company, which have been working with petrochemicals for over 100 years and own a patent for gel candle wax. They supply three basic types, LP, MP, and HP. LP is the least viscous and produces the least amount of bubbles (a common feature in gel candles, sometimes desired; other times not). It also holds the least amount of fragrance at 0-4 percent. It is not as durable and sometimes slips from the sides of the container. MP produces a moderate amount of bubbles and is great for embeddable objects. It will hold 3-5% fragrance and is quite durable. HP is the thickest of the gel waxes. It can hold up to 6% fragrance and is the most durable, especially for shipping. It is perfect for embeddable objects, but potentially produces more bubbles.
Gel candle wax melts at 195-210° F, so melting over a direct heat source in a melting pan is recommended. Since gel candle wax is an oil it has the potential to overheat and catch fire in the melting pan much like cooking oil, so watch the pan at all times. Gel candle wax has to be melted at a higher temperature than paraffin wax. It also sets up faster and does not need to be topped off.
Metal core wicks, particularly zinc core wicks, are best to use in a gel candle. Since gel candles burn with a smaller flame than paraffin candles, wicks should be trimmed shorter, approximately ¼ inches. Do not use cotton wicks as these will soak up the gel wax. Now that we have gone over the general guidelines of gel candles, we can jump into the tutorial in our next post.
The Bonnie Bath Co.
Natural, handmade bath and body products
Posts
