Is it possible to make soy candles at home?

Yes, you can easily make your own soy candles with a few basic supplies. Soy wax is an all natural product made from soy beans and hardy enough for use in candle making. It's easy to find on the internet or at many craft stores and not only does it burn clean.

You can even make it yourself at home.

Soy wax does not produce the same level of soot and other pollutants as beeswax or paraffin waxes, and while many candle makers find that soy candles have a unique scent of their own, others say they smell just like regular candles made from other materials.

Candles can bring an ambience, a presence, a state of mind and a feeling of relaxation and calmness into any room. They can make the perfect gift for yourself or for loved ones even better if its handmade. Here are three steps to making your own soy candles.

1. Select a container. This will depend on the size of candle you want to make, but you can't go wrong with glass. The advantage is that it's easy to see what your candle looks like when you're pouring it and you can make sure its nice and level.

You can also find glass containers in all shapes and sizes and they make your candles look nice and finished. There are also metal tin cans which you can use for different sized candles as well.

2. Select a wick. You can get the proper wicks at most craft stores or online candle supply shops, but if you're looking to save a little money buying them in bulk online can be useful. You can get all different types of wicks, including cotton, hemp and steel core. The wick is the most important part of your candle because it's what makes the flame, so choose one that feels right for you.

3. Once you have all of those things, it's time to start organising yourself - you'll need a double boiler , glass or metal jars, essential oils, fragrance oils, candle dye colours (if desired) and wax. The basic idea is to heat the wax until it melts add the fragrance or natural essential oils and dye if you're using it and pour the wax into the jar. Let it cool, trim your wick , light your candle and bask in its glow!

There's a bit more to it than that, pouring temperatures depend on the wax so you don't end up with a ruined candle, with sink holes. What you should do is check out your wax's pouring temperature on the package - most of them will be between 105C and 150C for general candles, just make sure you don't go above 160C otherwise you'll end up with a pool of melted wax instead of a candle. ( The above is in Fahrenheit)

You'll want to cure your candles for at least 24 hours before you test them, this allows the fragrance oils to bind with the wax properly. To cure your candles, you'll want to place them in a safe area that's well ventilated.