No More Ugly Candle Tops!
Get beautiful smooth tops on all your handmade candles with these simple tips and quick fixes!
Making your own candles is easy… but getting the tops to turn out perfectly smooth? Yeah not so much. If you’ve ever been frustrated by less-than-beautiful candle tops, this one’s for you!
Quick Fixes
Do you already have some homemade candles with ugly tops? I certainly did when I was starting out. Let’s discuss a couple of quick and easy ways to fix them first, and then we can talk about how to prevent this next time.
Quick Fix 1: 2nd Pour
For the first pour, I always fill the candle container to about 1/4 inch below where I want the top of the finished candle to be. I reserve a little wax and let everything cool completely. This means it’s no longer warm to the touch. When in doubt, wait until the next day.
Then I reheat the remaining wax and pour a thin layer over the top of the candle to cover any imperfections. This second pour should cool much faster than the first and give you a nice smooth top.
Quick Fix 2: Heat Gun
A heat gun is inexpensive and a total game-changer. It took me a few years, but I finally ordered this one from Amazon (it was only like $25), and it makes quick work of any candle imperfections. It’s worked for every type of wax I’ve tried, including ones with higher melting points like beeswax and palm wax.
Simply turn it on low, hold it over the top of your candle and move it around slowly until the top layer of wax is melted. It should take less than a minute.
1. Wrong Pouring Temperature
Each type of wax has an ideal pouring temperature, which should be listed by the manufacturer. For almost every type of wax this is considerably cooler than the ideal temperature to add fragrance oil, so you’ll likely need to wait a bit before pouring your candles. This inexpensive digital thermometer is my go-to for all my DIY candles and wax melts.
Here’s a cheat sheet for the most common types of candle wax:
Here’s an in-depth look and comparison of the most common types of candle wax to help you decide which is best for you.
2. Uneven Cooling
3. Not Enough Cooling Time
If you have a sink hole in the middle of your finished candle, it’s likely because you didn’t wait for the candle to cool completely before doing the second pour. I’ve found this is a common problem when working with waxes that have higher melting points (and therefore pouring temperatures), especially paraffin and beeswax. To fix it, just do another pour once it’s cooled completely, or use a heat gun to even things out.
4. Too Much Fragrance Oil
Each type of wax has a “fragrance load.” That’s candlemaker speak for the amount of fragrance oil a particular type of wax can hold, and it will generally be expressed as a ratio.
If you add too much fragrance oil, it will form pools on top of your finished candles. Each wax manufacturer will have slightly different fragrance load recommendations for their wax, so if you’re having problems it’s a good idea to go back and be sure your ratio is correct.
And here are my basic candle recipes for each type of wax again for reference: soy candles, paraffin candles, and beeswax candles.
More Candle Making Tips…
The Best Candle Jars and Tins & Where to Get Them
How to Make Candles Smell Stronger: 6 Tips for Great Scent Throw
The Best Fragrance Oils for Candles (That Actually Smell Good!)
How To Make Scented Tealight Candles