This is a list of candle making equipment. Whether you are just making a few candles as gifts for loved ones, or possibly venturing into the candle making industry; this is the equipment you will need to get started. Please note: Once this equipment has been used to make fragranced candles, it cannot be used again for food purposes.
Other Equipment
Pouring Pots- Coffee cans used to be perfect pouring pots when they were made of metal. By simply bending the lip on one side of the coffee can, you could make a perfect spout to pour candles. Metal coffee cans still exist, they are just harder to come by now. If you do choose to use metal coffee cans as pouring pots, remember to have plenty of heat resistant safety gloves or pot holders available to assist you in holding the hot can. This only works for metal coffee cans; most companies that sell coffee use plastic cans now. Unfortunately, these types of cans cannot handle the heat from the melted wax and they will melt; compromising your candle wax and making a big mess to clean up.
Pouring pots, however, are great for candle making. Not only can they hold up to 4 pounds of melted wax, but they also have a plastic handle on them so there is less chance of burning your hand.
In an ideal situation, you will have a pouring pot for each fragrance that you use to make candles. For example, if you carry Apple Cinnamon (red), Blueberry Muffin (blue), Fresh Bamboo (green), and Vanilla Silk (no color), that would equate to 4 total pouring pots. This works because you would never have to worry about jeopardizing your color accuracy or fragrance aromas in finished candles. But, this is only ideally. If you are just starting out, one pouring pot will work. You just have to make sure you thoroughly clean your pouring pot after each use. You also want to make sure you clean the outside and underneath portion of the pouring pot. Having debris or wax on the bottom of your pouring pot could result in splatter when the pouring pot is placed in the water to maintain wax temperature. The hot splatter can be painful. This splatter is also a reason why wearing safety glasses while making candles is a very good idea.
Candy Thermometer- Wax temperature is everything when making candles. Usually, if there are problems with your finished candles, temperature has something to do with what went wrong. Using a thermometer to monitor your temperature in wax is one way to prevent these problems from occurring. For best results in candle making, pour any single pour waxes at 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit, and any votive or pillar wax at 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Votive and Candle Molds- After purchasing multiple votive molds, you will notice when you receive them, they will be stacked together. Make sure when you try to pull them apart you are wearing heavy duty gloves. The edges of stainless steel votives are extremely sharp. Attempting to pull them apart without gloves will cause cuts on your fingers.
When working with candle molds or votive molds, you always want to make sure that before you pour the hot candle wax into the mold that they are at room temperature. Completing this one little step will save you the headache of trying to release the candle later.
As for the cleaning process for these types of molds, rub a small amount of shortening in the inside and outside of the molds. Then, place the molds on a cookie sheet upside down. Once the cookie sheet has been carefully placed inside the oven, bake at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes. Once the time has elapsed, simply remove the cookie sheet and wipe the individual molds clean. Caution: The molds will be hot when taken out of the oven, so you may want to use pot holders. Please Note: Never use water with your metal molds.
Work Environment- Having a favorable work environment for candle making is a must. Once again, it is all about temperature, and having a room that is 70 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal for the best candle making situation. Proper ventilation in the room is necessary, but you also have to remember rooms that have drafts will not work for the natural cooling stages of your candles. Candles that cool too quickly will give you problems with your finished candles aesthetic look or functionality.
Work Clothes- These items may sound silly, but you never want to risk wearing one of your favorite outfits while making candles. No matter how neat and careful you are, candle dye is permanent, and getting wax, even the smallest amount, on your clothing will ruin them.
Floor Protection- When making candles, a small spill can have detrimental affects to your work area. Besides the facts that candle dyes are permanent, wax messes are not the easiest to clean up, and spilled fragrance oil on a floor is super slippery, you do not want to take any chances especially if your work environment is your kitchen. By purchasing floor mats, or simply placing cardboard on the floor in your work area, you can prevent havoc from occurring. For you own personal safety, this is one perfect work environment step you do not want to skip.
Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons- When it comes to measurements for colorants, additives, and fragrance oils, you will want to have your very own candle making stainless steel tools for this portion of the job. Fragrance oils will dissolve certain plastics, stainless steel measurers will not dissolve and can be cleaned time and time again without staining or scent memory.
