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How to make ombre candles with a pretty color gradient and changes in scent as you burn them. This DIY candle project uses natural wax and will take about forty-five minutes to an hour to complete. The instructions make one of the candles pictured, but you could bulk up the recipe to create three or more at a time.

What if you could make a handmade candle that changes scent and color as you burn it? It’s a lot easier than you would think! Candle wax comes in flakes or chips, which you melt down and pour at a specific temperature. Adding color happens with colored chips that you melt into the wax, and they come in a wide range of gorgeous hues. The best scents for candles are fragrances specifically created for candles. They give a good throw! You could also use essential oils to keep your candles more natural.

Making ombre candles involves melting two pans of soy wax, color, and fragrance. You use these two colored portions of wax to create three individual layers. You do this by pouring it into a heat-proof glass jar fitted with a wick and allowing each layer to cool. Full instructions with more detail are below.

Choosing Candle Scents

I love using essential oils to scent handmade soap and skincare products. When I first started making candles, I tried using them, too. Essential oils are natural, plant-based, and much more friendly to your health and the environment. Unfortunately, they do not have a very good “throw.” That means that once you light an essential oil candle, you must be relatively close to smell it. They don’t tend to be able to scent an entire room like essential oil diffusers do.

How to make handmade ombre candles -- as the gradient changes, so does the fragrance #ombre #candlemaking #lovelygreens — Make multi-colored candles using a simple two-color ombre effect.

That’s why I recommend using candle fragrances instead. They’re perfumes that smell much stronger and will give you the throw you’re used to when burning candles. For air quality and health, it’s best to use phthalate-free types, the main toxin people are concerned about with home fragrances.

When using candle fragrances or essential oils to make soy wax candles, they make up 9% of the recipe by weight. It’s quite a lot but necessary for a good scent. Because you need to use so much, they’re also the main cost of making ombre candles. However, you can leave the fragrance out of your candles if you wish. It’s an optional ingredient when making candles, but I think most prefer scented candles.

Fragrance Combinations

Though you can opt to use just a single fragrance for your candles, you can use another, more creative option. You can use one scent in the bottom layer of ombre candles and another in the top. However, the middle layer, a mixture of the two colors/scents, creates the ombre effect.

A glass jar filled a third of the way with melted pink wax. — Each layer of the candle can have a different scent.

That means that if you do use two scents, you should choose those that work well when mixed is best. Also, if soy candles are burned for a long time, the entire candle can liquify, and the fragrance can mix even further. Here are some fragrance combinations that I recommend:

Choosing Soy Wax

I recommend soy wax for this project, which is relatively easy to clean off surfaces and pans. It also has a lower melting point, making it safer to work with and safer to use as a candle. If you use another type of wax for this project, please be aware that it may not be possible to clean pans of the wax completely. The melting and pouring temperatures may be different, too.

A hand holds a small amount of white flaxy wax. — Soy wax is made from soybeans, which creates good candles that are easy to make.

Soy wax is not all the same, though. There are different brands with different types and each has its pros and cons. I highly recommend working with one not known for frosting, a white, icy-looking frosting that can appear between the glass and the wax. It’s cosmetic but can be annoying, especially with this candle project. The wax that I tend to use is called Gol den Wax 444, and it’s made with US-grown soybeans and has a soy-based additive that reduces frosting. For me, the ideal pouring temperature for this brand is 140°F (60°).

Sourcing Raw Candle Wick

Just as there are many types of candle wax, so are there different types of wick. Not all of them suit this project, so please source the correct one. You’ll need a wick that’s made for soy wax and will have a burn pool as wide as the jars you’re using. The burn pool is how far from the wick the wax will melt. Choose the incorrect one, and the wick won’t burn the candle edge to edge. You could be left with a tunnel down the center.

A hand holds a long, thick, cotton wick with a metal sustainer on the end. — Raw candle wick for soy wax is designed for different diameters of containers.

Wick manufacturers will be different from country to country. My recommendations for sourcing them in the USA based on jar mouth size are: up to 2″ diameter, up to 3″ diameter, up to 4″ diameter.

Candle Making Equipment

There are a lot of different pieces of equipment that you can get to make candles. If you’re starting a business, you’ll want to look into it! However, the materials and equipment you need to make small batches of soy wax candles are not expensive. You probably already have everything you need in your kitchen. You’ll need a stove, a kitchen scale, a thermometer, and four pans. Two smaller and two larger since they must fit into one another. You’ll also need chopsticks and wooden skewers for mixing.

The jars I use are ordinary one-pint glass food jars from the supermarket. Jam jars, honey jars, that kind of thing. They work perfectly fine for soy wax candles since soy wax burns at a lower temperature than other types of wax. You can also use Kilner or Mason jars, which are thicker glass and have a higher heat tolerance—the wide-mouth types are perfect. It’s also important to use a raw wick that can be cut to length. You fix it to the bottom of the jar with a metal sustainer and mounting putty and hold it centered using chopsticks.

More Creative Candle-Making

How to Make Multi Colored Candles (Ombre Candles)

Tanya Anderson

Melt and mix two different colors of natural wax to make ombre candles. These candles are poured in three layers, with the middle layer being a mix of the other two. Choose fragrances and colors that will mix well, such as pink and blue or yellow and blue. Makes one candle but can be scaled up to make multiple at a time. The pouring temperature is specific to Golden Wax 444.

Print Project Pin Idea

Author Tanya Anderson

Cost $15

Equipment

digital kitchen scale
2 small stainless steel pans
2 medium stainless steel pans
2 small glass containers
1 set of wooden chopsticks (unbroken)
wood skewers (for stirring) (for stirring)
thermometer

Materials

10.5 oz soy wax 300 g / Golden Wax 444
wax color chips two colors
0.55 oz candle fragrance oil 16 g / optional
0.55 oz second candle fragrance oil 16 g / optional
1 glass jar pint-sized
mounting putty
unwaxed natural wick suitable for soy wax
1 wick sustainer
string and label to decorate optional

Instructions

Prep Work

Measure 5.25 oz (150 g) soy wax into each of two small stainless steel pans. Add a chip of wax color* to each that's about 3/4 the size of your thumbnail (or smaller).
Cut the wick so that it's long enough to fit the entire jar height and then an extra inch. Fit the metal sustainer on the bottom and clamp it using a pair of pliers.
Measure the fragrance into two glass containers using the kitchen scale. I use little ramekins.

Melt the Soy Wax

Melt the two pans of wax using the double boiler method. Float each pan in a larger pan filled with simmering water.
While the wax is melting, drop the wick into one of the pans of melted wax. Leave it to soak for a few minutes, then fish it out, straighten it, and allow it to dry on grease-proof paper.
When the wax is fully melted, remove the pans from the heat and let cool on pot holders. Turn off the stove, but keep the pans of hot water in place to heat and use again.

Add the Fragrance

Cool the wax to 150°F (65°C), then mix in the fragrance oil. Pour one type into one pot of wax and the other into the second pot. Mix well with wooden skewers and allow to cool to 140°F (60°C).

Assemble the Candle Container

Center and stick the wick into the empty jar using mounting putty or a specialty candle glue tab. It goes on the bottom of the sustainer and will adhere to the bottom of the container. Use the chopsticks to help you press it onto the bottom of the jar. Then, use the chopsticks to center the wick on top.

Pour the First Layer

Decide which color you want for the bottom of the candle. Pour half of the wax from that pan into the jar and then allow it to cool. You can speed up the next steps by popping the candle in the fridge.

Mix the Middle Layer

While the first layer of candle wax is cooling, create the middle layer of colored wax. Pour half of the second wax into the remainder of the first color you just poured. Mix it well – this will be the gradient change layer in the candle.
Set both pans of wax back into the pans of hot water to keep warm. Don't turn on the heat source yet.

Pour the Second Layer

When the first layer of candle wax has hardened to form a thin skin on its surface, gently pour the second layer. This is the mixed color you made in the previous step, and it should be reheated to 140°F (60°C) before being poured.
Allow the second layer to cool in the same way as you did with the first. Keep the last pan of wax at the ready.

Pour the Third Layer

When the middle layer has hardened, pour the last layer of colored wax up to 1/4" from the top of the jar. Now leave the candle untouched until it's hardened but still warm to the touch.

Blending the Layers

The final but optional step helps create a more gradual gradient from one layer to the next. To do this, the candle needs to be slightly melted. Without this step, you may have more of a distinct line where each layer meets the next.
Heat the oven to 200°F (100°C). Set the candle inside and leave it for 5-10 minutes or until you see the top beginning to melt.
Turn the oven off, open the oven door, and let the candle cool to room temperature inside the oven. Leave the candle until the top is hardened enough that it won't slosh around. Then, move it to a kitchen surface to finish cooling to room temperature.

Finishing Touches

If the surface of your candle isn't smooth, you can use a heat gun to melt the surface.
When your candle is at room temperature, cut the wick flush with the top of the jar. A pair of scissors does the trick.
Leave the candles for at least a day before using them. Always burn candles safely away from flammable materials such as curtains or fabric. You can also tie a pretty string and label on them to give as handmade gifts.

Notes

*Adding more than this will run the risk of the soy wax ‘Frosting’. This is a kind of white haze that can appear on the surface and sides of the candle. It doesn’t stop the candle from functioning but it may be an effect that you don’t want.

Tried this project?Let us know how it was!

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