A gel candle is made to be looked at as much as smelled. The wax sets clear, so shells, glitter and bands of colour show right through the glass. It also needs more heat and more attention at the stove than soy or beeswax. This guide covers what gel wax is, what you need, how to make a gel candle step by step, how to place embeds and add colour, the safety rules, and what to do when the gel sets cloudy or full of bubbles.
What gel wax is
Gel wax is a colourless, transparent soft gel rather than a hard block or flakes. It stays clear once it sets, which is why it is used for candles in glass with something inside to see. It burns slowly and holds colour well.
Compared with natural waxes such as soy and beeswax, it needs a higher, steadier heat to melt. Most of the rules in this guide follow from that.
Our Gel Wax is crystal clear. It has been screened for the heavy metals cadmium, lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium, and for the brominated flame retardants PBBs and PBDEs, and none of them was detected. It suits:
- clear jar and glass candles with embedded decorations
- layered and coloured centrepiece candles for events
- gel wax melts and decorative fillers
What you need
- Gel wax: our Gel Wax comes in 1kg, 5kg and 25kg.
- A pan or melting pot you can watch: our wax melting pot has a long handle that keeps your hand away from the heat, and a spout for a controlled pour.
- A thermometer: you need to see when the gel reaches 90–100 °C. Our digital instant thermometer has a long steel probe and reads up to 300 °C.
- Clear glass containers: the point of gel is that you can see into it, so use plain clear glass, such as our candle jars.
- A wick fitted with a metal sustainer at the base, sized for the width of your glass.
- Fragrance oil sold as suitable for gel wax: check that the listing says so before you buy.
- Liquid dye, if you want colour.
- Embeds that will not burn, such as shells.
Wick centring bars are in our candle wicks and candle making tools collections.
How to make a gel candle, step by step
- Stand the wick's metal sustainer in the centre of a clean, dry glass. Hold the wick straight with a centring bar across the rim, so it stays upright while the gel sets.
- Arrange the embeds against the base and the sides of the glass, well clear of the wick. There is more on this below.
- Put the gel in your pan over gentle heat and bring it up slowly to about 90–100 °C, checking the thermometer as it goes. Stay with it the whole time.
- Once the gel has fully melted, stir in a fragrance oil rated for gel at 3–5%. Add liquid dye a drop at a time until you reach the shade you want.
- Warm the glass. A warm glass helps keep bubbles to a minimum.
- Pour slowly down the inside wall of the glass rather than straight into the middle. Pour hot for a clearer set, or cooler if you want bubbles as an effect.
- Check the wick is still centred, then leave the candle undisturbed until the gel has set.
Embeds and colour
Embeds are where the clear set pays off. Shells are the classic choice, and glitter is popular too. Whatever goes into the gel must be non-flammable, so make sure each thing you embed will not burn. If you are not sure, leave it out.
Keep every embed away from the flame: low in the glass and against the sides, never close to the wick. As the candle burns down, the flame gets nearer to anything placed high in the glass.
Gel holds colour well, and the clear base shows it off, whether you colour the whole candle or build it in layers. Add liquid dye a drop at a time and stir before you add more. You can always add another drop, but you cannot take one back out.
Safety
Gel wax is melted hotter than natural waxes, so keep to these rules every time:
- Melt it slowly to 90–100 °C in a pan you are watching, with a thermometer in the gel.
- Never melt gel wax in a microwave.
- Never leave melting gel unattended, even for a minute.
- Never add water to the gel.
- Use only fragrance oils rated for gel, at 3–5%.
- Use only non-flammable embeds, and keep them away from the flame.
- Anchor the wick with a metal sustainer.
Troubleshooting cloudiness and bubbles
The gel sets cloudy
Look first at the fragrance. An ordinary fragrance oil, one not rated for gel, can cloud gel wax. The fix comes with the next batch: use an oil sold as suitable for gel, and keep it within 3–5%.
Oil separates from the gel
The cause is the same. An oil that is not rated for gel may separate from it instead of mixing in. Change to a gel-rated oil and stay within 3–5%.
Too many bubbles
To keep bubbles down, warm the glass first and pour slowly down the side rather than into the middle. A hotter pour also sets clearer than a cooler one.
You want bubbles
Some makers like the look of bubbles suspended in the gel. For more of them, pour cooler.
For how the width of a glass affects the wick you need, and how to run a test burn, see our guide to choosing a candle wick. When you are ready to make your first candle, start with our Gel Wax.