Sand wax makes a candle without melting anything. You pour the granules into a heat-safe vessel, push a wick into the centre and light it. You need no pot or thermometer, nothing has to set, and an unscented candle takes under a minute.
What sand wax is, and why makers use it
Sand wax, also called candle sand or powdered candle wax, is a white wax in fine granules that pour like sand. It melts at 55 °C or above, so in the vessel it stays dry and loose. Once the wick is lit, only the wax nearest the flame melts. That forms a small pool, which sets again as it cools, and the rest of the vessel stays as it was.
So it suits any setting where hot wax would be a nuisance:
- Events and table settings: candles poured on the spot into whatever suits the table, from bowls and tumblers to hurricane lanterns.
- Workshops and children's classes: nobody handles hot wax, so a group can fill and scent their own candles without a stove in the room.
- Refillable candles: as the granules burn down, you top them up, and a bowl you like stays a candle for as long as you keep filling it.
Our sand wax is sold white and unscented, so the fragrance and the colour are your choice.
What you need
- Sand wax
- A heat-safe vessel with a wide mouth, such as a glass bowl, a tumbler or a hurricane lantern
- A wick, ideally pre-waxed (see below)
- A scoop or a spoon, and scissors for the wick
- For a scented candle: a fragrance oil, a kitchen scale and a bag that seals
- For colour, if you want it: coloured sand wax or a powdered candle dye
How to make a sand candle, step by step
- If you are scenting the granules, do that first and give them a day to absorb the oil (see the next section).
- Fill the vessel with granules.
- Level the surface with the back of the spoon so the wick stands in an even bed.
- Push the wick straight down into the centre, keeping it upright as it goes in.
- Trim the wick to about 5 mm above the surface.
- Light it. A small pool forms around the flame while the granules further out stay dry.
Scenting and colouring
Fragrance
Mix fragrance oil into the granules at up to 5% of their weight: for 500 g of sand wax, up to 25 g of oil. Weigh both rather than judging by eye. Stir until the oil is spread evenly, then seal the granules in a bag and leave them for a day to absorb it before you pour.
That 5% is the wax's limit, and the oil may have a lower one. Every perfume oil has its own maximum for candles, shown in the usage table on its product page among our perfume oils. Check it before you mix. If an oil's candle limit is lower than 5%, use the lower figure.
Colour
Fold coloured sand wax or a pinch of powdered dye into the white granules. Start with less dye than you think you need, since you can always add more.
Choosing a vessel and wick
The vessel
Any glass or ceramic vessel that can take the heat of a flame will do. Choose one with a wide mouth, because the melt pool spreads outwards as the candle burns.
The wick
A poured candle needs a wick that melts the wax right to the edge of the container, which is why our guide to choosing a candle wick sizes it by diameter. In sand wax the granules away from the flame never have to melt, so choose the wick for the flame you want rather than for the width of the vessel.
Pre-waxed wicks push into granules most easily. Our cotton and paper interwoven wicks have a paper core that holds them upright; our pure cotton wicks are softer, so straighten them before you push them in. Pick a length that suits the depth of the vessel and leaves enough above the surface to hold.
Reusing and refilling
After a burn, only the small pool around the wick has set into solid wax, and the rest of the vessel is still loose granules. To refill, lift out the old wick with the piece of set wax around it, top up with fresh granules, level the surface and push in a new wick.
You can also pour the dry granules out and use them again. For a scented candle, top up with granules scented the same way so the fragrance stays even.
Safety
A sand candle has an open flame, so the usual rules apply:
- Never leave a lit candle unattended.
- Keep it away from curtains, draughts and anything that can catch fire.
- Keep it out of reach of children and pets. In a children's class, an adult lights the candles.
- Stand the vessel on a heat-resistant surface, since it warms near the flame.
- Keep the wick trimmed to about 5 mm. A long wick gives a tall, smoky flame.
- Do not move the candle while it is lit, and let it cool before you refill it.
To make your first one, start with our sand wax and a wick from our candle wicks, and add an oil from our perfume oils if you want it scented.