Welcome to the world of Gel Candle Making. Gel candles are continuing to grow in popularity, especially as new techniques of design are developed. Gel has become popular with candle makers because its clarity allows a great many design options not available with soy or paraffin.

Gel candle wax is not a clear paraffin, but rather a mixture of resin and mineral oil that is processed until it reaches the form that we use to make candles. The Penreco Corporation owns the patent for Versagel Candle Gel in the United States and Europe.

Penreco's most used gel comes in three densities:

1) Low density (C LP) - the easiest for new gellers to use because it melts quickly and sets up quickly. While it is great for drink candles and votives, it is not a good choice for suspending embeds (i.e. a "swimming" fish in an aquarium). It has a low fragrance load of 0 - 3% fragrance oil (by weight).

2) Medium density (C MP) - probably the most widely used gel. It can be used for suspending embeds and other designs. It holds a fragrance load of 0 - 5% fragrance oil (by weight).

3) High density (C HD) - this is a wonderful gel for suspending embeds and has a good survival rate when shipping in the hot weather. It can also be used, depending on the design and shape of the candle, for free standing candles. It holds a fragrance load of 0 - 5% of fragrance oil (by weight).

Gel candles can be as simple as a colored votive, where the light of the flame dances off the bubbles in the gel, making the candle a delightfully living being.

Or the candle can be complex and a completely bubble free scene (using embeddable items such as glass, porcelain, or resin miniatures) that is double glassed to make it a "forever" candle.

 

GEL CANDLEMAKING EQUIPMENT

1) Thermometer - to measure the temperature of the gel as you melt it and to obtain different effects in the candles. A candy thermometer from any kitchen department in any retail store is fine

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2) Melting pot - to melt the gel to its liquid state so that is can be poured into containers. Candle makers use a variety of pots and pans, but among the favorites is the Presto Pot ™, which can be found in small appliance sections of many retail stores. It is great for melting large amounts of gel and has a thermostat on the handle, which helps gauge the temperature of the gel while it is melting. (However, thermostats can vary as to actual temperature so a separate thermometer is necessary.)

3) Pyrex measuring cups to use for coloring, scenting and pouring the gel. Clear pots for coloring are really essential because it is very hard to guess what color you have in a dark colored pot.

4) Stirring implements - Ideally they should be made of stainless steel or high temperature melt plastic. Wooden spoons cause bubbles in the gel. If the stirring utensils have holes in them, like slotted spoons, it is even better because the holes cut down on the bubbles.

5) Scale - a scale is important for measuring gel and fragrance oils. A digital kitchen scale is the best bet because it measures more accurately than the small (diet type) kitchen scale. It should also have a tare feature, which means you can zero out the weight of the container to get an accurate measurement of the gel and the fragrance oil.

6) Containers for gel candles - when using glass containers, the containers should be thicker glass (as opposed to thin crystal), chip and crack free. A good way to test the glass to see if it will stand the heat of the candle is to, first wash it in dishwasher on highest water setting and the dry on highest heat cycle. If it survives that, then put it in cold oven, turn oven on to 450 degrees and heat for an hour, turn oven off and wait until glass is cool. If there are no cracks, it should be safe. It is best to avoid lead crystal, frosted glass, crackle glass and etched glass as the manufacturing processes used to create these glasses impair their structural integrity, creating safety issues when the candle is burning.

7) Wicks - the wicking used in gel candles is very often a personal preference. Among the most popular wicks are ZINC(zinc do have metal cores, but are NOT lead wicks. Lead wicks have not been manufactured in the United States for over 25 years), HTP(high temperature paper) and LXseries. Wicks also come in several styles - primed (coated with a slight coating of wax) and unprimed (no wax coating). They also come precut and pre tabbed (tabbed means the metal wick holder at the bottom end of the wick. It provides the means to attach the wick to the container) and by the foot or by the spool. If you get your wicking this last way, you need to buy separate wick tabs. The tabs should have at least a ½ inch stem (the neck that the wick goes into) to extinguish the flame so that the candle will not burn to the bottom of the container (a safety feature).

8) Fragrance oil - fragrance oils are a synthetic blend of scents and oil. Because the chemical structure of gel is different than paraffin or soy, any fragrance oil used in gel candles must be non-polar and have a flashpoint of above 170 degrees F. (See the section on how to test for polarity of fragrance oils). Essential oils may not be used in gel candles because their flashpoint is too low.

9) Color - one of the delightful design elements of gel candles is that they can be clear or colored. Colorants come dye block, flakes, crystals, powders, or liquids. The form you use is really personal preference, but remember to start with a very small amount. You can always add more to make it darker.