Making Candles with Unrefined Beeswax

Tom has been after me to make beeswax candles, but I have been working on making Hard Lotion with Beeswax. I found a beekeeper that gave me two buckets of unrefined beeswax. I gave a bucket to my sister-in-law Joanne and kept one for myself. We both wanted to make Hard Lotion.  If you were thinking about making beeswax candles or Hard Lotion you'll find the following instructions on refining the beeswax helpful. 

The instructions are found at www.LifeUnplugged.net

Historians believe the first candles were made from beeswax in ancient Egypt, and despite thousands of years of technological advancement, beeswax remains among the best candle making materials. You can find purified beeswax sheets and pellets in most craft stores, but with a little extra work and a lot less money, you can make your own candles from unrefined beeswax.If you don't raise your own bees, you may be able to buy unrefined beeswax or raw cappings from a local apiary. A few specialty retailers also carry unrefined beeswax, but it tends to be fairly expensive. Avoid buying beeswax for candle making from a retail source unless it is labeled as 100% pure and unrefined. Otherwise, you may wind up with a mixture of purified beeswax and paraffin, which won't burn as slowly or as cleanly as pure beeswax.

Preparing the Beeswax

If you're starting with raw cappings, you'll need to wash them before use to remove excess honey and other contaminants. Place the cappings in a large plastic bucket; add enough water to cover, and strain through cheesecloth or a sieve. The cappings don't have to be perfectly clean, and a little honey left in the mixture will give your candles a sweet natural fragrance. Place the cappings or block of beeswax in an old coffee can or other deep metal container. Fill a large pot with four or five inches of water, and put the coffee can in the water -- it should float slightly. If the can sinks until it is flat against the bottom of the pan, you can use a metal cookie cutter to elevate the can about half an inch to prevent scorching. Bring the water to a low simmer over medium heat. Solid blocks of beeswax may take a few hours to melt, but keep a close eye on the wax while it heats. Once the beeswax has melted, the temperature will increase rapidly and you'll need to reduce the heat to prevent it from burning. Try to maintain the melted wax at about 145 degrees; if the temperature exceeds 160 degrees, the beeswax will begin to burn.

If the beeswax you're working with hasn't been filtered, it may contain dead bees and other solid debris. You can filter out unwanted material by pouring the beeswax through several layers of cheesecloth or an old t-shirt, but proceed carefully and wear heat-proof gloves. Spilled beeswax sticks to the skin and can cause serious burns. 

Making the Candles

Once the beeswax is melted and filtered, you can start making candles. Molded or container candles are the simplest to make -- simply pour the beeswax into the greased mold or container and allow to cool. If the molds don't include a wick channel, you can suspend the wick from the top of the mold with a pencil. Once the beeswax has cooled completely and you've trimmed the wick, the candles are ready to use.

To make dipped candles, you'll need to cut lengths of wick a little more than twice as long as you want the candles to be. Prepare the wicks by dipping them into the wax once and allowing them to cool completely. This will help the beeswax adhere to the wicks as you dip them to build layers.

Bend the wicks in half, and dip them quickly into the wax while holding the center in a gloved hand. As you dip each wick, hang it from a dowel rod and allow it to cool for a few minutes before you dip again. Continue this process until the candles reach the desired diameter. Trim the wicks to 1/4" before using.

Although making your own beeswax candles is a fairly time-consuming process, it's not hard to master with a little practice. Many people enjoy the experience of making candles the old-fashioned way, but unrefined beeswax candles are also a superior product. Your handmade candles will last much longer and burn more cleanly than paraffin or gel candles. Unlike purified beeswax candles, they will also fill your home with the sweet fragrance of real honey.