Fir & Pine Beeswax Candles - Salt in my Coffee (2024)

These beeswax candles are quick and easy to make, and they smell just like walking through a Christmas tree farm! Made with essential oils and natural beeswax, they're much more healthful to burn in your home than candles scented with fragrance oils.

If you've read any of my recent posts, you probably have gathered that I'm making handmade gifts for almost all of our friends and family this Christmas. First, I went on a soap-making kick, and then a sewing spree, and this week I've been busy making beeswax candles.

Our house smells amazing right now.

Beeswax candles are my favorite because they're a natural, clean-burning wax that smells SO good, even if you don't choose to add any additional scents. But add a few wonderful essential oils like Fir and Pine, and it makes the house smell like you're walking through a Christmas tree farm!

When making candles, I only use natural essential oils for any scent.

"Fragrance oils" that are sold for scenting DIY soaps and candles are full of toxins that aren't healthful to breathe in. For me, I'm so sensitive to artificial fragrances that just being around them can make me feel nauseated, experience vertigo, and break out in hives. So in our house, it's essential oils all the way.

Making natural beeswax candles is quick, easy, and FUN. Here's how to do it!

Ingredients for Fir & Pine Beeswax Candles (makes 5)

• 12 ounces beeswax
• 3 ounces coconut oil
• 5 4-ounce mason jars
• 5 wicks with bases
• 40 drops fir needle essential oil
• 20 drops pine or spruce essential oil

Equipment for candle making

• Pourable candle-making container, or large heat-proof container with pour spout
• Saucepan, or bottom of double-boiler
• Candy Thermometer that will read down to 100°
• Stirring spoon

1. Melt the wax

Start by adding the wax and coconut oil to your heat-proof container.

Over the bottom of a double-boiler, or saucepan with a few inches of water, melt the wax over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally.

Once wax is fully melted, it needs to cool down below the essential oil's flash point (100°F for Fir, 104°F for Pine). While the wax cools a bit, prepare your candle jars.

Why does the wax need to cool before adding essential oils?

All essential oils have what's called a "flash point" - the temperature at which they begin to vaporize. If you add the essential oils while the wax is too hot, above the essential oil's flash point, you'll lose much of the wonderful scent from your valuable essential oils.

To preserve as much scent as possible, cool the wax below the essential oil's flash point, then add the essential oils.

Keep in mind that all essential oils have their own, individual flash points (this can be further complicated by the fact that many inexpensive "essential oils" are not pure essential oil). Assuming you're working with quality, pure oils, the flash point for each recipe will always be the lowest flash point of the essential oils you're working with. In the case of this recipe, that would be Fir Needle, with a flash point of 100 degrees F.

2. Prepare the candle jars

Adhering the wick's base to the bottom of the jar helps the wick to stay correctly centered in the jar as the candle is poured.

To do that, dip the metal base of each wick into the melted wax, and immediately press the base onto the center bottom of the jar. (It's not as hot as you think it is!)

If your wicks want to flop over instead of standing nicely, you can use a candle wick holder, or just a pencil or twig on each side of the wick to hold it upright.

Shouldn't I just hot glue that base down?

Virtually every "natural" beeswax or soy wax tutorial you read online will coach you to use hot glue to adhere the metal wick base to the bottom of the candle jar. I don't do this for two reasons.

First, hot glue is made of toxic polymers that I don't want melting and releasing fumes into my home - not even "just" the during the final minutes of burning a candle. It's just a hard "no" for me.

Second, I want to reuse my candle jars again and again, and having a used metal wick base stuck to the bottom of the jar with hot glue makes it harder to reuse that jar for making future candles. These candles aren't designed to be disposable. Reuse that jar!

3. Add Essential oils, and pour the candles

Once the wax mixture cools to under 100°, you can add your essential oils. (This is the part of the process where you'll move quickly.) Add your essential oils to the wax, and stir thoroughly to incorporate.

Immediately wipe off your spoon while it's hot, for easy cleaning.

Now, pour your candles smoothly and steadily. This recipe makes enough wax to fill each jar just about exactly to the widest ridge on the jar, at the base of the threaded lid area.

Check your wicks to make sure they're standing straight in the center of each candle. Remember, the candle cools from outside in, so you have time to fix each wick if they've flopped a bit.

If you're making a larger batch of candles, consider pre-warming your essential oils to help the wax to cool less quickly

Now, 70 drops of essential oil isn't a huge amount, and 5 candles don't take long to pour. But if you're tripling this recipe, for example, this step might make things a little easier. The closer the essential oils are to the temperature of the wax, the less they'll cool it down when they're added. Placing the bottles in a little bowl of 90+ degree water (or just carrying them around in your shirt for a while), can buy you a little extra time of the wax staying at a pourable temperature.

4. Trim wicks and label the candles

Trim the wicks even with the top of the jars.

Once candles are completely cool, you can replace the lids, and label them if you like. I love using these round "kraft paper" labels, for their natural look.

How to burn a beeswax jar candle

I've tested these candles really thoroughly, and find that they hold up well to being burned for both short and long periods.

To help your candle last and burn well, these two tips help:

1. Before lighting, be sure wick isn't longer than ½".

Burning a beeswax candle with a wick that's too long will cause the flame to burn too high, and less evenly. If your wick is a little on the long side, take a moment to trim it to ½".

2. Don't pour off any melted wax once the candle has been burning.

This will cause it to burn less evenly next time. Allow melted wax to re-harden after burning the candle, and it will hold up to being used multiple times, burning nicely until the last drop of wax is gone.

Frequently Asked Questions about making beeswax candles

Can I make this beeswax candle recipe with fragrance oils instead?

Absolutely. The principles for melting the wax and preparing the jars will be exactly the same.

I'm very sensitive to fragrance oils and feel sick just being near them, so I haven't personally worked with artificial soap or candle scents, and can't advise on any tips for making this substitution.

Can I use colorant in beeswax to make these green like a Yankee candle?

You can color these candles naturally if you'd like a green candle! Just as some spirulina powder ⅛ teaspoon at a time until you get the color you'd like. It does NOT take much, and ⅛ teaspoon may be enough, so stir well after each addition.

The candles still burn perfect even with this natural coloring - no toxic commercial colorants needed.

Have other questions about making beeswax candles?

Let me know in the comments below and I'll try to help!

That's really all there is to making your first batch of all-natural beeswax candles. I hope you have fun!

Here's a printable copy of the instructions so you don't have to keep them pulled up on your phone while you're crafting.