Easy Goats Milk Candles
- littlehopefarm2
- Dec 3, 2023
- 3 min read
Easy Goats Milk Candles-
As the holiday season approaches I find myself looking for ways to incorporate our dairy lifestyle into the gifts we give. I wanted to try out some easy recipes for holiday scented, insect repellent, and lush smelling candles I can make with ingredients right here on the farm or locally sourced. The process was pretty straightforward and much easier than I expected. These candles make excellent gifts and great homestead tools for hurricane season and summer.
Once you get the hang of making and pouring candles you can customize them in a lot of ways with colored mica, scents, neat containers and other wax options. This recipe is an easy basic beginner recipe that was easy to do and produced a great result.
Goats Milk Candles
2.5 lbs of beeswax
1/3 cup of Goats Milk
Essential Oils in a smell you love (I used Citronella, lemongrass, and grapefruit for repellent candles, lavender for a lush gift type scent, and fir/ juniper for a holiday feel)
Wicks proportional to your jar or long wicks for dipping
Tools- Double Boiler, Scissors, jar or bowl you want your candles in, clothes pins or a fork, small bowl for mixing fragrances.
A little preparation goes a long way- Weigh your beeswax try sourcing some from a local beekeeper, farmers markets are a great resource to use to meet local bee keepers). Check your wicks length, they can always be trimmed so err on the longer side if you can't find the exact length you want. Premix your essential oils if you are using multiples. I found a fragrance calculator I added below to help you find the right balance. Each oil scent is a little different and many places you order from will offer insight on how much to use for each purpose (soap, candles, etc). Try out a few ways to stabilize your wicks before pouring the wax. I used clothes pins and a fork to hold the wick in the center while the candle cooled. https://www.calconic.com/calculator-widgets/fragrance-load/5e1ffb136028e7001e539df6
The Process Melt your beeswax in the double boiler over high heat.
Once all the beeswax is melted completely leaving no non melted wax spots, reduce your heat to low.
Add the goat's milk and stir to combine it completely. Goats milk will give your wax a much creamier appearance. When you add the goat's milk wax will harden around it, continue to stir until all the hardened wax has melted again.
Dip the bottom of the candle wick (an inch or two) in the wax and set them on the bottom of your jars or bowl. It will cool rapidly and give you some added stability when pouring the remainder of the wax to fill the candle.
Add your fragrance to your wax and milk mixture. Stir in to combine.
Pour your candle wax into your jars slowly and carefully. Remember the wax is HOT! Pot holders help if your double boiler does not have handles.
Stabilize your wicks in your jars.
Let your homemade candles cool completely before trimming the wick to 1/8 an inch above the wax level.