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DIY Candle Making Supplies List: Everything I Use to Make Candles at Home

I’ve included everything I use to make candles at home in this DIY Candle Making Supplies List. You’ll find affordable candle supplies and easy-to-use candle making equipment. 

I have been an avid candle maker for several years now. And there’s one thing I’ve found frustrating – it’s finding good candle making supplies. I can’t count how many wasted trips I’ve made to find candle supplies. And came up short!

It’s hard enough finding a store that carries supplies to make candles, but it is even more difficult to find quality candle ingredients and candle making equipment. As with many things, good ingredients and the right equipment can create a much better result. 

With this in mind, I put together this all-in-one DIY candle making supplies list. It covers basic candle supplies and tools I’ve found essential to my candle making success! 

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What supplies do you need to make your own candles?

If you are a seasoned candle maker or you are ready to make candles at home for the first time and find yourself tapping your chin asking, “Where can I buy candle making supplies? And what do I need to make candles?”, you’ll delight in this all-in-one candle making supplies list.

There are a few basic supplies and a few essential candle tools you’ll need to start. Luckily, all are affordable and some things you may already have. 

Candle Wax

Candle wax is one of the first choices you’ll have to make before taking a stab at candle making, so it’s essential you learn the difference between each candle wax type. I am continually asked, “What’s the best candle wax to make homemade candles?”. With very unique choices of wax to make candles, it’s no surprise many have a hard time choosing. 

These are my top candle wax choices for creating quality candles: 

Soy Wax

Regarded as the best candle wax for container candles, many candle makers choose to only work with soy wax. It’s definitely one of the best candle wax types in my experience! Affordable, vegan, clean-burning, easy to blend, and beginner-friendly. 

Beeswax 

Beeswax blocks, sheets, or pastilles made from sustainable honey farming are an ideal candle making supply. Many, including myself, adore its natural sweet scent and long-lasting burn time. You’ll find its many varieties available in varying shades of gold or white which can be used to make beautiful beeswax candles. 

Coconut Wax

Derived from coconuts, coconut candle wax is relatively soft and creamy, like virgin coconut oil. It’s not a wax I use alone. Instead, I blend it with other candle waxes to create a slow burn and an incredible scent throw. 

Check out my ultimate guide to each candle wax type, including beeswax, soy, coconut, palm, and more!  I answer all your candle wax questions in the guide – Which candle wax lasts the longest? What’s the best candle wax for scent throw? And can you mix different candle waxes?  

Candle Wicks

Unlike candle wax, there is a lot weighing on the choice of your candlewick. Choosing the right candle wick is crucial if you want to avoid candle wick problems and create high-quality candles.

It mostly comes down to size. The size and diameter of your candle are the most important.

Here’s a list of the four types of candle wicks I use the most. Refer to our candle wick guide to help you choose the right candle wick for all your homemade candles! 

ECO Candle Wicks

ECO candle wicks are a coreless flat braid interwoven with 100% organic cotton and paper fibers. They have minimized mushrooming and a clean burn.

Hemp Candle Wicks

Made from 100% organic hemp, biodegradable and non-toxic, hemp candle wicks are dipped in natural beeswax. You can buy them pre-tabbed or in a spool to make any desired candle height for candles such as tapers and pillars. 

Wood Wicks

Wood wicks create a cozy campfire atmosphere, crackling and all! Watch our video of homemade wood wick candles to see for yourself.  My favorite wood wicks are made in the U.S. from native, sappy fruit trees and sourced sustainably from the Forest Stewardship Council.

Flat LX Candle Wicks

Braided in natural cotton threads, flat LX wicks have a very flat finish that helps candles have a consistent flame. You see, they have a curling ability that reduces mushrooming, afterglow, soot, and smoke. Each is coated in natural soy wax, fully biodegradable, and environmentally responsible. 

Related To: Beginner Candle Making Guide

Related To: Soy Candle Making Kit Review

Candle Fragrance

Candle fragrance has truly become the most defining characteristic of a candle. So, if you want to learn how to make scented candles at home it’s essential you start with learning the ins and outs of candle fragrance. The fragrance load being the key. 

While 1 ounce of fragrance per pound of wax is a good starting point. I’ll give you a more accurate amount with my easy-to-use fragrance load calculator. 

I like using essential oils to scent beeswax candles. For other waxes and blends, natural fragrance oils composed of aromatic isolates from nature and essential oils are my favorite choice for candle fragrance. You also might consider carefully the select natural fragrance oils from Bramble Berry. 

Speaking of candle scents, take our quiz to get a printable list of the best candle scents for you! 

Candle Containers

Candle containers are one of those candle making supplies I can’t get enough of. You can use a variety of options for candle containers as long they are heat-safe. (Just make sure to avoid these.)

I personally love making candles in mugs, mason jars, ceramic ramekins, glass yogurt jars, amber glass jars, and metal candle tins. Cheese and sugar molds, as well as terracotta pots, are fun options, too!

Candle Wax Color

Adding color to candles can give your candles extra personality beyond the scent. Knowing where to start and what really works to make colored candles can make your head spin. The good news is there are several types of candle dye you can effectively use to color candle wax. 

I point you in the right direction here on when to choose which type. As well as which candle dye performed best during my testing. Here’s a brief look at ideal choices for how to color candle wax:

Candle Dye Blocks

Candle dye blocks come in a great variety of colors and nearly endless shades. And every color is non-staining! These are the dye blocks I have used made with soy wax for beautiful pastel color candles.

Candle Liquid Dye

To achieve bold, brightly colored candles, candle liquid dye is the way to go. A super-concentrated oil designed for incredible color saturation. You’ll find it comes in small dropper bottles, similar to liquid food coloring.

Candle Dye Chips

Made of wax and highly pigmented color, candle dye chips create fully saturated colored candles. They are quite easy to use and provide consistent results, even for small batch homemade candles.  Like candle dye blocks, chips are non-toxic, cruelty-free, vegan, skin-safe, and irritant-free, and they won’t stain either! 

What equipment is needed to make candles?

The good news is you don’t have to buy professional-grade candle equipment to create good quality candles. However, the right candle making equipment can greatly help you reduce the chance of these common candle making problems.

Here’s a quick overview of basic equipment for candle making and a few tools I’ve found to save me time.

Candle Wax Melting Pitcher

A candle melting pitcher is basically a big pitcher to safely melt wax in and pour from. Could you melt wax in a kitchen pot? Sure, but it’s really difficult to pour the wax and creates quite a mess.

Also called a candle pouring pitcher, it has a spout and a handle that stays cool. Which makes pouring candles a breeze. It’s made of aluminum that can resist high temperatures, and the pot fits well in a double boiler system to melt wax. I’ve found the use of a candle making pitcher to be essential to my candle making process. 

You can often find one in a candle maker’s kit that holds 1 to 2 lbs of wax, which is great for small-batch candles. For larger candles or to make more at once, use a candle making pitcher that holds up to four pounds of wax. 

Digital Scale 

You may be surprised to learn that most candle making supplies are measured by weight – not volume. And many are unfamiliar with the process since we bake and cook by measurements of volume. (I explain more about this here.) Therefore a digital scale is a must for accurately measuring and calculating candle supplies such as wax and fragrance. 

Thankfully, the cost of a digital scale is minimal, and you may even already have one in your kitchen. 

Candle Thermometers 

A thermometer is a must-have candle making supply! You need a thermometer to track and control the heating and cooling of the wax at various stages of candle making. 

When I first began making candles, I used a glass candle thermometer clipped inside the melting pitcher. You could use a glass candy thermometer in place of it. Both options are slightly inaccurate depending on where the tip of the thermometer is in the wax. Mine barely reached the wax in a 4lb candle pitcher. 

This past year, I started using a no-touch infrared thermometer. It meant I could measure the candle wax temperature contact-free. (No more cleaning the wax off the thermometer.)  Plus – I get more accurate readings as this type of thermometer works by bouncing infrared light off a surface and measuring how much heat it generates.

How do you measure candle wax temperature with an infrared thermometer? Stir the wax and aim the infrared thermometer toward the middle of the wax for a good reading.  

Candle Wick Centering Devices & Holders

After you’ve gone to the trouble to select, measure, melt, blend, and pour candle wax and fragrance, I’m sure you don’t want a crooked candle wick. I’ve tried quite a few things over the years to center candle wicks and hold them in place. Here’s what worked for me:

First, secure your candle wick before pouring the wax. I use sturdy wick sticker tabs for all candle wick types. Before I discovered wick sticker tabs, I used glue dots. They worked fairly well, but I prefer the alternative. 

After pouring wax you’ll need something to center the candle wick. Clothespins are an option most of us have at home, but you have to eyeball it. Popsicle sticks with a hole in the center is another inexpensive choice. However, candle wick centering devices with multiple holes and wick bars are more precise. 

Candle Wick Trimmer

After the wax has cured in your homemade candles, you’ll need to trim the wicks. Trimming the wick to ¼ inch each and every time you burn a candle will help control the amount of wax that is drawn up for ideal combustion.

It’s also important to note that you don’t want to allow any wick trimmings or debris from the wick to fall into the candle. So, hold the candle at an angle when trimming the wick. If any debris does fall into the candle, wipe it out before burning the candle. 

While you don’t need every one of these candle making supplies, each of these tools helps me create stellar candles with consistent results! Did I leave any candle making equipment out that you find essential? Let me know in the comments.