How to Make Beeswax Candles: A Beginner’s Guide
The Maker’s Studio
A block of beeswax, a cotton wick and a little patience can become something lovely. Start with one small candle, learn its rhythm, and keep the notes that make your next batch better.
This beginner guide follows a beeswax votive made in a metal mold with a removable wick pin, using supplies available from Bees Light Candles. The pin creates a channel while the wax sets; the cotton wick goes in afterward. A silicone pillar uses a different preparation method, explained below.
Choose your candle before choosing your tools
Keep batch one simple: one wax, one shape and one wick candidate. A modest project makes it easier to spot what changes between attempts. Your wax and mold suppliers’ instructions provide the temperatures and handling details; testing tells you whether the finished combination works.
| Project | Before pouring | Where the wick goes |
|---|---|---|
| Metal votive with wick pin | Center the pin inside the closed-bottom mold. | Thread a tabbed wick into the cooled candle after removing the pin. |
| Silicone pillar with wick hole | Thread loose wick; prepare its opening and support as directed. | The wick is already in the mold when wax is poured. |
| Candle container | Attach a suitable tabbed wick and center it. | The wick stays in a vessel specifically suitable for candle making. |
A finished votive needs a properly fitting votive holder when burned. Its small size does not make it a freestanding pillar. For containers, an attractive drinking glass is not automatically candle-safe; the National Candle Association explains the dedicated requirements for candle glass.
Your beeswax candle-making supplies
- Beeswax: our pure yellow beeswax blocks bring a golden finish. White beeswax offers an ivory-to-white alternative. Choose one for your first trial.
- Mold and pin: our metal votive mold with wick pin measures approximately 1.75 inches across the top, 1.50 inches across the bottom and 1.94 inches tall.
- Wick: a suitable tabbed votive wick, selected for your wax and finished design.
- Pouring equipment: our 2000 ml stainless steel candle pouring pitcher, plus an appropriate double-boiler setup and dedicated stirring tool.
- Measuring and workspace essentials: a digital scale, wax thermometer, catch tray, heat protection and suitable votive holder for testing.
Keep your first formula plain. Oils, dyes and fragrance introduce additional variables. Leave dried flowers and herbs outside the wax: NCA testing found combustible decorations can become a fire hazard.
Choose the right wick format
Our beeswax-coated votive wicks are 2⅜ inches long, with #2 square braided cotton and a metal tab. Their coating may be white or yellow. Confirm suitability through testing; a product name alone cannot guarantee your result.
Our square braided cotton wick spools provide loose wicking in several sizes for projects such as through-hole silicone molds. Loose wick and pretabbed wick serve different preparation methods.
What size wick should you use for pure beeswax?
Choose the candle format first, then the wick family and size. Our square braided cotton options include loose spools and beeswax-coated wicks with metal tabs. Wick length and wick size are different: “9-inch” describes the length you can trim; “3/0” or “#2” identifies a size within the square-braid family.
Understand the numbers
In our square-braid range, the sequence runs from 6/0 toward 1/0, then #1 through #6 as the wicks become larger. A 3/0 wick is not a #3 wick. Keep the slash and number sign in your notes, and do not translate these numbers into an LX, ECO or other wick series.
Our published pillar and taper starting ranges
The following ranges come from our own wick listings. Measure the finished candle’s diameter, not the mold’s outside width. These are candidates for testing with pure beeswax; overlapping ranges give you options to compare. Wax batches, shape and burning conditions can change the result.
| Finished diameter | Starting sizes in our guide | Listed application |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 inches | 6/0 | Small pillars and tapers |
| 1–2½ inches | 5/0 or 4/0 | Small to medium pillars and tapers |
| 2–3 inches | 3/0, 2/0, 1/0 or #1 | Medium pillars |
| 3–4 inches | #2, #3, #4 or #5 | Large pillars |
| About 5 inches | #6 | Extra-large pillars and container starting trials |
Shop square braided cotton wick spools for cut-to-length wicking, or 9-inch beeswax-coated, tabbed square braided wicks for methods requiring a metal tab. A thick or unusually shaped candle needs its own trials; choose the wick format your mold instructions require.
Tealights, votives and jars
- Standard tealights: our 3/0 beeswax-coated tealight wicks are approximately 1⅛ inches long and already tabbed. Use suitable tealight cups and test the complete combination.
- Votives: our #2 beeswax-coated votive wicks are 2⅜ inches long. In the wick-pin project below, insert one after cooling and pin removal, then test in a proper votive holder. The pillar-diameter table does not replace these format-specific recommendations.
- Jars: use an appropriately sized tabbed wick and a vessel made for candle making. Measure the inside diameter where the wax sits. Jar shape and retained heat change performance, so a pillar’s size recommendation cannot establish a finished jar recipe. Contact us with your inside diameter, fill depth and wax details if you need help choosing trial sizes.
Compare one change at a time
Make otherwise identical test candles with nearby candidate sizes, label each one and use the same wax, dimensions and holder. A weak flame, persistent tunneling or self-extinguishing calls for reviewing wick choice and burning conditions. An oversized flame, heavy smoke or excessive holder heat means stop the test and reassess. Choose the combination that performs consistently through supervised testing, rather than judging only the first burn.
Make a first-batch card
Name your trial—“Golden Votive A” is enough—and record the details before heating anything. Clear notes turn a promising first candle into something you can repeat.
- Materials: wax supplier and lot; exact wick name and size.
- Shape: mold identity, finished dimensions in inches and test-holder identity.
- Process: wax weight, heating and pouring temperatures, cooling conditions and date.
- Next question: the single feature you will compare in the next trial.
How to make beeswax votives, step by step
1. Prepare the metal mold and pin
Begin with clean, dry equipment. For easier release from metal molds, use Stoner E206 silicone mold release or a comparable wax-compatible release approved for your mold. Apply a light mist to the cool mold as directed. Stoner specifies shaking the can and spraying from 10–12 inches away; work with good ventilation and away from flames, hot surfaces and other ignition sources. Follow the current can label before adding wax.
Seat the matching pin’s flat disc inside the mold, against its closed bottom, with the rod upright and centered. Place the mold on a level, heat-resistant catch tray. There is no cotton wick in the mold at this stage.
The wick-pin method forms a channel for later wicking. The mold itself holds the liquid wax; the catch tray only catches accidental drips. Clear a cooling area and keep children and pets away before heating begins.
2. Weigh the wax and melt gently
Tare your empty weighing container, then weigh the beeswax in ounces by weight or grams. A pitcher’s 2000 ml capacity measures volume; it does not tell you how much wax a candle needs. Use the mold’s fill guidance and record the amount used.
Use controlled indirect heat: water belongs in the outer pot, with wax in the separate inner vessel. Keep water out of the wax and monitor the water level. Heat gently, watch the thermometer and follow your beeswax supplier’s temperature instructions. Never leave melting wax unattended or expose it to an open flame.
Liquid wax is not automatically at the correct pouring temperature. Keep your chosen beeswax instructions together rather than borrowing temperatures from a soy or paraffin recipe.
3. Pour around the pin
At the specified temperature, pour slowly to the intended fill level without displacing the pin. Let the wax settle undisturbed. If your method requires a second pour for shrinkage, leave the pin in place and follow that method’s instructions.
4. Cool, demold and insert the wick
Allow the candle to cool fully. Release it from the mold according to its instructions. Support the votive and gently press the pin’s tip toward the candle’s base until you can withdraw the pin from underneath. Feed the tabbed wick through the finished channel from the bottom, leaving its metal tab flat against the base.
Do not force a stuck pin or crack the candle. Inspect the finish, trim the exposed wick as directed and allow the recommended rest period before testing.
Using a silicone pillar mold instead?
Choose a candle-rated silicone mold with an intact floor or its specified, securely fitted base assembly. A hollow sleeve alone cannot contain wax. For a through-hole design, thread suitable loose wick through the small wick opening, leaving enough at each end for securing and finishing. Follow the maker’s sealing instructions; do not enlarge the hole or cut away the base.
A 15-inch wicking needle may help if your mold calls for one. Align any designed release slit, secure it as directed and center the wick without stretching the silicone. If poured upside down, the closed end forms the candle’s top and the pouring end becomes its base after demolding. These tools are separate from the votive-pin setup above. Do not assume a release intended for metal molds is suitable for silicone; check compatibility with the mold maker.
Making beeswax candles in jars?
For a container candle, attach the wick before pouring. Use our 200-pack wick stickers to secure the underside of a suitable metal wick tab to the center of a clean, dry candle jar. Press firmly according to the adhesive’s instructions and check that the tab is secure.
Then support the wick above the rim with our stainless steel wick-centering bar, approximately 3.9 inches long, if it fits your vessel. Keep the wick straight without pulling its tab loose. Choose your size from the 9-inch tabbed square braided wick range and confirm it through jar-specific testing.
The sticker anchors the tab; the bar supports the wick at the top. Neither determines wick size. Wick stickers are for this container setup, not for securing the removable pin inside the votive mold.
Give your first candle a proper audition
Test the votive in its intended votive holder on a stable, heat-resistant surface away from drafts and combustibles. Use supervised burn cycles through the candle’s stopping point, respecting its maximum session length. Record the flame, melt pool, smoke, wick movement and holder condition. Stop if it behaves unsafely.
Change one variable in a fresh sample for the next trial. Never swap wicks mid-test, and finish testing before gifting.
Beginner questions
What wick size should I use for beeswax?
Use the pure-beeswax wick guide above to identify starting candidates for your format and diameter. Record the full size—including the slash or number sign—and test with your actual wax and holder before committing to a larger batch.
Do I have to add coconut oil?
No. You can make a candle with beeswax alone. Any added ingredient changes the formula and needs its own compatible instructions and testing.
Can I hurry cooling in the freezer?
Let a new pour cool gradually; rapid chilling can crack beeswax. Utah State University Extension recommends slow cooling. Any release treatment for a fully cooled candle is a separate, mold-specific step.
Build your own little candle studio
Explore our candle-making materials with one project in mind. For a closer look at wax color, visit Ivory & Honey. Your best souvenir from batch one is a candle you understand—and useful notes for batch two.
Images are AI-styled compositions based on photographs of the Bees Light Candles products linked in this guide. They illustrate the supplies and do not document our workshop. Purchase items separately as described in their listings.