How to Make Herbal Candles

Candles have long been used as a source of light. They not only add a wonderful warm glow to any room, they add amazing fragrance as well! Learn how to make your own healthy herbal candles in this tutorial. They are natural, non-toxic and scented with herbs and fragrances you may already have around your home.

You can be incredibly creative when it comes to making herbal candles. The different aromas of herbs can be paired to achieve beautiful smells, and the leaves, stems and flowers can also be dried and incorporated into candles for a stunning visual effect. Keep reading for a few of our favourite candle recipes, and be inspired to try your own variations and scents!

A couple of notes when it comes to making and burning candles. Never place dried herb leaves, stems or other decorations too close to your candle wick. They will start on fire and become a hazard. And secondly, always be mindful when burning candles, and never leave them burning if you’re not around.

Basic Candle Recipe

To get started you’ll need:

• Jars, tins or cute mugs
• Candle wicks
• 1 pound of natural soy wax or paraffin wax
• Glue dots
• Metal wax pitcher (or tin can)
• Saucepan (to create a double boiler)
• Clothespins
• Tweezers
• Popsicle stick
• Your favourite essential oils
• Dried herb leaves, stems or flowers

First, choose your candle containers. You can use almost anything including canning jars, tins, and even cute mugs. You’ll also need candle wicks that are the right length for your containers. (I bought a bag of longer wicks and trimmed them to the right height on shorter jars.) And don’t forget to buy your natural soy wax flakes or paraffin wax.

Create a double boiler using your saucepan with a couple inches of water and a tin can. Place your wax flakes or paraffin wax in the tin and bring the water in the saucepan to a boil.

While the wax is melting, prepare your candle containers. The first step is to secure any dried herb leaves or stems (if you’re using them) to the side of the jar so they show through the wax. (You can do this step after the candle is poured, but it’s much harder to keep them up against the edges of the jar and visible.) To do this, take a pair of tweezers and dip the leaf or stem in melted wax to coat it. Then press it against the inside of the candle jar wherever you’d like it to show through.

Once you have all your leaves and stems secured to the edges of the container, use a glue dot to secure the candle wick to the bottom of the container. Then use a clothespin to secure the wick at the top and keep it centred.

At this point, you’re ready to add fragrance (and colour if you wish) to your wax! Remove the melted wax from the heat and stir in your essential oils using a popsicle stick. Then carefully pour into your prepared jars. Allow the candles to dry fully before trimming the wicks to the correct height.

Now that you know the basics, here are a few recipes you can try for different aromas and visual effects. You can also add more or less essential oil depending on how strong a scent you like.

Rosemary Cinnamon Herbal Candles

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• Dried, pressed rosemary stems
• 60 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 50 drops of cinnamon essential oil
• Cinnamon sticks
• Cinnamon powder

Secure the dried rosemary stems to the sides of your jar as described above. It’s tempting to use fresh rosemary stems instead of going through the process of drying them, but I find they go brown even if they are coated in wax. Taking the time to press and dry them will result in a much nicer looking candle.

Add the essential oils to your melted wax and pour your candles. Once the wax has started to dry, add your cinnamon sticks around the edges at the top. Keep in mind that anything below the surface of the wax will not show once it’s completely dry. Leave a portion of the cinnamon sticks above the top. Also be mindful, not to place any herbs or cinnamon too close to the candle wick as they will start on fire.

After the candle is almost completely dried, sprinkle pinches of cinnamon powder around the cinnamon sticks to add a nice visual touch.

Lavender Herbal Candles

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• 40 drops of lavender essential oil
• 1 teaspoon of dried lavender flowers (optional)

This recipe is very simple to make. Just add the lavender essential oil to your melted wax. You can also add colouring if you’d like to achieve a lavender coloured candle. For this you can buy candle colouring, or you can use an easy candle colouring ‘hack’. Shave off little pieces of crayon into your melted wax to get your desired colour. Crayons are made of wax, so it mixes in very well.

Pour your candles and once they are almost completely dry, sprinkle some dried lavender flowers around the top, being careful not to get any too close to the candle wick.

Eucalyptus Herbal Candles

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• 60 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 5-6 dried eucalyptus leaves (optional)

For this recipe, you can add the dried eucalyptus leaves to the edges of your jar ahead of pouring or you can decorate the top of the candle after it has begun to dry.

I hope these recipes will inspire you to create your own deliciously scented candles! They are completely natural and perfect for aromatherapy. They also make the perfect gifts, room decor and romantic lighting!