Candle Making Terms

Important Candle Making TermsImportant Candle Making Terms

Have you ever looked up the meaning of one or another term or abbreviation used in candle making? Look no further! In this post, we'll go over the main candle-making terms - get to know them!

  1. Additive: A substance mixed with wax to improve its burning properties or change its properties. Additives can include a UV stabilizer (e.g. BEKRO CS 6000), stearic acid (e.g. TEFACID 1 VL ), a burning aid (e.g. BEKRO BE 60) or a wax bleach (e.g. BEKRO white paint 08-201).
  2. Afterglow: The light emitted after the power source has been removed. The wick may "glow" and still burn a little even after it is extinguished.
  3. Burn rate: the amount of wax burned per hour in grams.
  4. Burn Time: The time it takes for the wax in the candle to burn out completely.
  5. Cold Throw: The smell emitted by a candle when it is not burning.
  6. Core: Refers to the inside of the candle. The term is also used to refer to the inner material of the candle wick (can be cotton, linen, fibrous hemp or paper).
  7. Coreless: Used to describe wicks, meaning no core material.
  8. Container Candle: Any candle poured into any type of container, such as jars, glasses, tins, etc. Candles in containers create a large pool of melted wax. Since the wax is in a container, this type of candle is convenient to use and very popular. Such candles also emit a strong smell, which is due to the pools of melted wax they create.
  9. Curing: keeping the finished candle for a certain period of time before lighting it, so that it finally solidifies, dries out, and the molecules of all the ingredients of the candle come together to help enhance the scent of the candle.
  10. Diameter: The measurement of the candle, its container or mold at its widest point.
  11. Dipping: Coating the surface of a finished solid candle with an alternative wax to produce color or other effects.
  12. Dye: Dye used to color the wax.
  13. Drain Holes: Holes inserted into the candles to release air bubbles that may form as the wax cools in preparation for the second pour.
  14. Essential Oil: Oil obtained from natural substances (plant matter, flowers, leaves, wood, grass).
  15. Fragrance Oil: A mixture of synthetic and/or natural components used to create a scented oil.
  16. Fragrance concentration: the amount of fragrance in the wax; usually expressed as a percentage.
  17. Flash Point: The lowest temperature at which the vapor of a flammable liquid can ignite instantaneously in air. This applies to both wax and scented oils. In the case of wax, this is the temperature the wax must reach in order for it to burn and catch fire. For a fragrance oil, this is the temperature it must be in order for the oil to ignite when it comes into contact with a spark or open flame.
  18. Frost: White, chalk-like spots that often appear on soy candles. Similar to the bloom-like pattern that forms on beeswax candles.
  19. Hot Throw: The smell emitted by a burning candle.
  20. Jump lines: Unintended horizontal lines or rings along the sides of a jar or solid candle. Lines give the wax a rough or slightly sunken appearance and prevent a smooth candle surface.
  21. Layered candles: 2 or more different colored candles in containers or solid candles.
  22. Misting: This is the coating of the wax surface of the candle with droplets, which can be caused by direct sunlight, high humidity in the air, or excessive fragrance in the wax.
  23. Mold: The mold used to make a free-standing (solid) candle. Molds are usually made of silicone, aluminum or plastic.
  24. Mold Spray: A product used to coat the inside of a solid candle manufacturing mold to facilitate removal of the candle once it has set.
  25. Mold Sealer: A clay-like material used to seal the hole in the bottom of the mold, used to block the extra space left around the wick on the outside of the mold.
  26. Mushrooming: carbon deposits on the tip of the wick after firing. This is an unburnt candle product.
  27. Melting Point: The temperature at which the wax begins to liquefy.
  28. Melting Pool: Liquefied wax on the surface of a burning candle.
  29. MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet): Product safety information sheets prepared by product manufacturers and sellers.
  30. Neck: The vertical metal member of the wick holder that secures the holder to the wick. The lengths of the holder necks may vary.
  31. Pillar Candle: A candle made in a mold and intended to stand freely.
  32. Pillar (free-standing) candles: These are irregularly shaped, free-standing candles made by casting, molding and/or pouring wax into a mold. Many of these candles are intended for burning, while others are used for decoration and are not intended to be burned, especially irregularly shaped candles.
  33. Pouring temperature: This is the temperature at which you pour the existing wax into the mold or containers. The pouring temperature depends on the type of wax used and the desired effect.
  34. Scent Throw: The scent emitted by the candle. (See also cold and hot shot).
  35. Scent OOB (Scent Out of the Bottle): The scent of the fragrance oil, smelled directly from the bottle.
  36. Sink hole: A cavity that forms when the wax hardens and shrinks.
  37. Second pour is pouring over the unfilled space left after the wax has completely cooled to make the top of the candle even.
  38. Single Pour Wax: A wax that does not shrink enough to require a second pour.
  39. Synthetic Oil: A man-made aromatic oil.
  40. Soy wax: a natural wax made from soybeans. A clean burning wax that is a natural alternative to paraffin.
  41. Stearic Acid: Used to increase the opacity of the wax, retard burning, and pack the wax.
  42. Shrinkage: Most paraffin waxes will shrink as soon as they harden and separate from the sides of the mold or container, as well as indent in the middle.
  43. Taper Candle: A tall, thin candle that gets thinner towards the end of the burn. A candle holder must be used with this type of candle.
  44. Tea Light: A small candle, usually poured into an aluminum or polycarbonate container, about 38 mm in diameter and about 24 mm in height.
  45. Tunneling: When the wick has not melted the full pool of wax in the candle, leaving a ring of unmelted wax on the sides of the candle.
  46. UV Stabilizer: An additive used to protect the wax from fading when the candle is exposed to UV or fluorescent light.
  47. Water bath: two pots placed inside each other, a smaller pot with wax, a larger pot with water, to heat the wax slowly and evenly until it melts.
  48. Waxed: A term used in reference to wicks; means a wick covered with wax.
  49. Wick: The substance that flows the liquid wax into the flame in the candle.
  50. Wick Centering Tool: A tool placed on the wick used in candle making to keep the wick centered at the top of the candle.
  51. Wick holder: a flat metal circle with a small hole in the center for the wick; holds the wick at the bottom of the candle.
  52. Wet Spots: An area where the wax has pulled away from the walls of the container and left the impression of a wet spot; a common problem with candles in jars.

Read the next article: Candle Making Tips for Beginners


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