Basic Candle Questions

[Guywithsoap?]

Hello,

I have never made a candle, but I was getting soap supplies and noticed the store selling candle making supplies. I read a candle making book a while ago, but it was quite old. Here are some basic questions:

WAX: Soy, Paraffin, Bee.

I took a cursory look and saw that Soy was much less expensive than Beeswax. Aside from the cost I am interested in mainly 2 things:

1. Is there a particular wax that is "safer" "healthier" to burn. Air quality, breathing, etc....

2. I am interested in making a Pillar Candle and possibly adding a scent.

Would you add a EO or FO to a candle? Does the burning impact the scent? For instance, say I add Lavender EO....will this create a lavender scent?


3. From what I have read, the trickiest part is going to be determining the proper wick. I read that some wicks have Zinc or metal cores. I believe I would want to only use a cotton wick. Is their no concern with burning a metal core in a closed space? Inhaling the fumes, even though they might be imperceptible.

Wick Pin


I am unsure about this? Some instructions do not talk about using a wick pin, others do. Why do you use one, why not?

Thanks.

If anyone has any good sites, etc... I would appreciate it.

 

[Genny]

There's never been anything proven about paraffin, soy or beeswax being an unclean burning wax or on any of them being harmful to breath in.
I do know that it's easier to get paraffin to give a nice hot throw than with soy. Soy can be tricky, but once you get it down, it's not so bad.

Eo's can be really finicky in candles. Some work, some don't. Citrus eo's in candles a lot of times tend to smell like fuel. Plus, there are some eo's that can be very harmful when inhaled and/or ingested by cats and birds. So, when I made candles I didn't chance it, I just stuck to fo's.

As far as wicks go, there were some problems years back with companies using lead wicks. But zinc wicks have never been shown to cause any problems, plus they smoke less than cotton. But better than zinc, are CD wicks, which burn hotter than zinc & more consistently.

Wick pins are just to help make sure your wicks are centered in votives & pillars. I always used them and found them to be helpful and easy to use.