Making coloured wax melts involves a few key steps, primarily focusing on accurately measuring ingredients and properly incorporating colour and fragrance before pouring the wax into molds.
Steps to Create Coloured Wax Melts
Crafting your own coloured wax melts allows for customisation in scent and appearance. Here's a breakdown of the process, incorporating essential techniques for adding vibrant colour.
Preparing Your Materials
Accuracy is crucial for consistent results in wax melt making. Start by preparing your workspace and materials.
- Weighing the Wax: The first step is to weigh your wax. Place your pouring pitcher on a digital scale and tare the weight. Measure the desired amount of wax according to your recipe or mold capacity. Using a scale ensures you have the correct wax-to-fragrance/dye ratio.
- Cutting the Dye: If you are using a solid dye block, you need to cut the candle dye block. Cut off a small piece – start with a tiny amount, as dye is concentrated. You can always add more, but you can't remove it once mixed. The amount needed depends on the desired colour intensity and the type of dye.
- Weighing Fragrance: Weight our fragrance and add to wax. Measure the appropriate amount of fragrance oil using your digital scale. Fragrance load is typically a percentage of your wax weight (e.g., 6-10%). Weighing ensures accuracy, which is important for melt performance and safety. Add the weighed fragrance oil to your melted wax (this step isn't explicitly numbered in the reference but is necessary before mixing/pouring).
Combining Ingredients
With materials prepped and wax melted, it's time to add the creative elements: fragrance and colour.
- Melting the Wax: While not listed as a numbered step in the provided reference, melting the wax is a necessary precursor to combining liquid ingredients. Melt your weighed wax gently using a double boiler or a wax melting pot until it is fully liquid.
- Adding Fragrance: As mentioned in Step 3 of the reference, add the weighed fragrance to the melted wax. Stir gently to combine.
- Mixing in the Colour: This is where your wax melts gain their visual appeal. Mix in the color after the wax is melted and typically after fragrance has been added, ensuring even distribution.
- Dye Blocks/Chips: If using cut dye blocks or chips (from Step 2), add them to the melted wax and stir until they are completely dissolved and the colour is uniform.
- Liquid Dyes: Add liquid dye drops gradually to the melted wax, stirring well after each addition, until the desired shade is achieved.
- Mica Powder: If using mica, mix it with a small amount of liquid carrier oil or melted wax first to prevent clumping, then add to the main batch of melted wax and stir thoroughly. Note that mica can sometimes clog wicks if used in candles, but works well for wax melts.
Stir the colour gently but thoroughly for at least 30-60 seconds to ensure it is fully dispersed and you don't end up with speckles or uneven colouring.
Pouring and Setting
The final steps involve transferring the coloured, fragranced wax into molds and allowing them to solidify.
- Pouring into Molds: Once your wax is perfectly coloured and fragranced, it's time to pour the wax into clamshell molds or other wax melt molds. Pour slowly and steadily to avoid air bubbles. Fill each cavity carefully.
- Cooling and Finishing: Allow the wax melts to cool and solidify completely at room temperature. This can take several hours depending on the size of the molds and ambient temperature. Once fully hardened, close the clamshells or remove the melts from other mold types.
By following these steps, paying close attention to measurements and mixing, you can consistently produce beautifully coloured and fragrant wax melts.
