How to Make Candles with Essential Oils (+ Video)

Learn how to make candles in this easy DIY tutorial (with video!). I love the vibe a candle gives off, but want to embrace more natural scents. Now you can have the best of both! Instead of buying them, learn how to make scented candles using 100% natural essential oils.

Why You Need to Make These Candles

In an effort to reduce the amount of chemicals in my life, I have started using essential oils more and more over the last 2 years. I LOVE how they smell, but if I can be really honest with you all, while I like diffusing oils, I really missed my candles. I’ve been a total candle girl since I can remember, but some of these candles are toxic, you guys!

So, I decided to make some easy DIY essential oil candles cause I’m greedy and want the best of both worlds. Who knew how quick it would be to learn how to make candles? Of course, I had to share!  So here is the EASIEST way to make DIY candles. 

The GREAT news? Making DIY candles is so easy! Out of all the projects with essential oils, making DIY essential oil candles was the one that freaked me out the most. I had zero experience with candle-making and it seemed really intimidating, even to a super diy-er like myself. 

Luckily, it was SO FREAKING EASY to do! Seriously, if you’re a candle girl like me, give these easy DIY essential oil candles a shot!

Candle Making Supplies

First up, gather your supplies. Luckily, you can grab virtually all of these at your local craft store, OR if you’re lazy like me, order on Amazon while watching Netflix. Either/or. ?Now let’s make those DIY candles!

Note: You can skip purchasing individual supplies and purchase this handy kit instead if you prefer—this is a fun way to test out candle-making and see if you like it. Just skip the scent and use essential oils instead. 

• Containers/jars (here are some I like! )
• Essential oils also available here on Amazon (see section below about the best essential oils to use)
• Wick-centering tool
• Soy wax
• Candle wicks -make sure the wick is taller than your container! Here are some other options.
• Microwave-safe glass measuring cup
• Something to stir wax with like an orangewood stick

Which EO Brand to Use for Making Candles

Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you might already have a favorite brand, which is great.

However, if you are lost in a sea of trying to figure out the best essential oil brands, here are a few ideas. I used to use Young Living, and was happy with them, but have switched fully over to Plant Therapy. 

For example, you can get this lemon, lavender, and peppermint essential oil set for around $20.

Another reason I love them? Safety. If you have children around, you have to be hyper-aware of what they are breathing and make sure it’s 100% safe, which is another reason I switched to Plant Therapy—they have an entire line of kid-safe essential oils that would be perfect for making safe essential oil candles to enjoy with little ones. 🙂

They also have aromatherapists on staff you can email for free with any questions, which I have taken advantage of frequently! :

At the end of the day, as long as you are using a 100% essential oil brand you should be okay. The brand is up to you!

My biggest advice is don’t use your most pricey oil…you will be using a LOT of oil to get a good scent. Hoard the really, really good stuff for diffusing or other projects, and use the cheaper oils here.

How to Make Essential Oil Candles

You’ll be surprised at how simple it is to make essential oil candles that burn cleanly and make your house smell fantastic, minus the toxins. 

Just follow these simple directions and you’ll be well on your way to learning how to make scented candles. 

1. Center and attach your wick. 

Use the wick-centering tool to find the center for your wick, then attach it using either the stickers included in this candle-making kit, or a dab of hot glue.

Make sure the wick is centered and straight! If your container is too wide for the wick-centering tool, you can use something like an orangewood stick or paintbrush to center it and hold the wick (see the photo in step 5 for an example).

2. Melt the wax in your glass measuring cup. 

I found that about 3 cups of wax at a time was right, but how much you need depends on the size of your container. You can always add more! Melt the wax in the microwave using 30-second intervals, stirring each time until fully melted.

3. Add essential oils to the wax. 

You can use whatever scent you like, but keep in mind it takes a LOT of oil to produce a scent…I did 30 drops and the scent is very, very subtle. I’d suggest 40+ which seems excessive, but it’s not for this purpose, I promise. 

Then, give the wax mixture a stir.

4. Pour wax into the container. 

Carefully pour your scented wax into the container—remember, it’s hot!

5. Let the wax harden. 

The wax will harden faster if you stick it in the fridge—but I left mine out overnight and it was ready the next morning.

6. Trim the wick. 

Trim the wick to 1/4″ length above the wax. Sure, you can use a fancy wick trimming tool, but I just used scissors, shh don’t tell. #fancy  

7. Light and enjoy! 

Enjoy your hard work and the aromatherapy benefits of your homemade candle! See, wasn’t that easy? 🙂

Best Scents for Essential Oil Candles

As with most things, this is largely personal preference, but here are a few of my favorite scents for DIY candles. Like I mentioned above, you need a lot of oil for these to be scented! The suggestions below are for a fairly subtle candle. Trust me! 😀 

I personally use and love Plant Therapy, but have also used Young Living in the past which was great too. However, for a project like this, I’d recommend using an oil with a lower price point since you’ll need a good amount of it!

You can make almost every scent combo above by purchasing this Plant Therapy essential oils set, or use whatever brand you like best! 🙂 You do you, boo.

FAQ About Making Candles with Essential Oils

This is one of my most popular posts ever—I guess you all love your diy scented candles and essential oils as much as I do! Here are a few FAQs that have made their way into my inbox:

Can you use essential oils in candles?

Yes, you can add essential oils to your candles. Essential oils keep best if stored in a cool, dark place—the very opposite of being poured into a hot wax candle!

However, this doesn’t mean the oils are ruined—remember, oils are extracted from plants and herbs at a high heat temperature of around 250 degrees! 

That being said, some essential oils work better than others when it comes to high heat like hot melted soy wax, due to varying flash points. According to this helpful post, it’s important to know which scents will work best for diy scented candles.

In short? The higher the flash point, the more the oil can handle heat.

A low flash point doesn’t mean the oil won’t necessarily work in the candle, but it does mean you need to let the wax cool off first.

Best practices are to use a candle-making thermometer to check and see when the wax is cool enough for oil to safely be added without losing their properties.

Soy wax has a melting point of around 140 degrees, so plan carefully for the most benefit to your diy scented candles! 

How much essential oils do you put in candle wax?

If you are making DIY scented candles with essential oils, you’ll need to use quite a bit of oil, as the scent dulls significantly when poured into wax.

For that reason, I recommend using at least 45 drops per 8oz candle—and that’s for a subtle scent!

It’s also important the oils are distributed evenly: soy wax candles work particularly well in DIY scented candles because it melts easily which allows you to drip the essential oils in and stir to distribute fully before the wax hardens.

Hopefully,  I’ve convinced you by now that it is easy to learn how to make candles! Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂

More Easy DIYs with Essential Oils to Try 

• DIY Bath Bombs
• 60-Second Lavender Bath Salts
• Rose Sugar Scrub