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Make Massage Candles

Make Massage Candles 

 

Also known as lotion candles, spa candles or body candles, a massage oil candle is a blend of skin safe waxes, oils and a hint of skin safe fragrance that melts at a low temperature.

In candle form, the ingredients form a solid skin balm. Once lit and extinguished, the warm contents of the melt pool can comfortably be poured directly onto the skin, or into your hand first for extra safety.

A massage candle is not hot wax poured onto skin. It is a skin nourishing, relaxing alternative to cold massage oils. It is not supposed to burn the skin or hurt when applied. Most importantly, massage oil candles must have a low melt point. This is the temperature at which the wax turns from solid to liquid form when exposed to heat like a flame. 

 

 

Suggested Materials:

  • Jar:  Jar with spout - this particular jar has a maximum capacity of 115g per jar. Or select your own chosen jar.
  • Wicks: We use HTP83 or HTP93 with the below recipe and vessel as a starting point. But you will need to do your own testing and consult the wick chart, rather than relying on this. Since you are not burning the candle for long, only to create a small melt pour prior to extinguishing. Remember that a massage candle is not designed to be burned in the same wax as a traditional candle.
  • Glue gun or stickums
  • Wax: Skin safe Soy Wax (We do not use paraffin wax since it has a higher melting point).
  • Oils: Your chosen oils such as jojoba and soy oil, depending on your recipe.
  • Butters: Your chosen butters such as shea butter or cocoa butter.
  • Double boiler set up with aluminium jug / or microwave with pyrex jug.
  • Pouring jug.
  • Digital Scale.
  • Stainless steel stirring spoon.
  • Wick holders. 
  • Skin and candle safe fragrance oils or essential oils.
  • Sharp scissors to trim wicks
  • Protective paper if you are concerned about possible spills
  • Thermometer

5 Steps:

1) Preparation

  • Lay out your massage candle jars on protective paper on a stable and flat surface.
  • Wick them with a glue gun. Ensure the wicks are centred. If you're using stickums, ensure that they're no bigger than the wick tab to avoid fire hazards.
  • You can choose to cut your wicks slightly shorter at this stage if they are very long.

2) Measure The Ingredients

2a) 

Tare your digital scale to zero prior to measuring the soy wax. Work out how many candles you will be making. If each container, for example, has a maximum capacity of 115 grams, and you are making 20 massage candles, the calculation is 20 candles x 115 grams . However, in the case of a massage candle, you will need this broken down into wax as well as oils and fragrance. For example, if you are using soy wax 60g soy wax only x 20 candles, then the remainder will be in oils.

2b) 

Measure the oils in your recipe e.g. soy bean oil and jojoba oil. Again, use the same calculation method as above to work out how much oil you will need.

2c) 

Measure the butters in your recipe eg: shea butter.

3) Melt & Combine Your Ingredients

3a)

Melt the soy wax slowly at a low heat in you double boiler or in the microwave in a heat safe container in 40 second bursts on low heat. The soy wax should be heated enough to ensure the soy wax becomes transparent. Stir between bursts. The wax should be lower than 40 degrees Celsius.

4b)

Once the wax is fully melted and at the right temperature, you can add the oils to the wax. Massage with wax on its own won't work. The oils add an emollient quality.

4c)

Now, add the Shea butter to the melted wax and oils. It is important that you add the shea butter in small chunks to allow only the heat of the liquid wax and oils to melt it. Do not add it while your double boiler is on the flame and do not melt it in the microwave The warm melt pool of the melted wax is sufficient to melt the shea butter, which can have the tendency to turn a slightly green colour if heated too high. Once your shea butter has fully melted, your mixture should be a nice opaque, creamy consistency now that looks like its close to setting.
 

4) Add Skin Safe Fragrance: 

The fragrance ratio is approximately  2-3%. This means, for example, that if your vessel holds 115 g of ingredients, the calculation is 115 x 2 % = 2.3 grams fragrance. You can safely increase up to 3 % if your clients really want the fragrance stronger. Remember, you are not trying to fragrance the room. You would never add the same fragrance ratio you do for a traditional candle. 

 

You need to ensure that you are being IFRA compliant for safety. IFRA Category 5 is 5A Body lotion, 5B Face moisturiser, 5 C is Hand cream and 5D is leave on baby products.  The IFRA has set the standard for maximum usage levels. Each commercial fragrance you purchase will have an IFRA certificate conformity you can request from the supplier you purchased it from, or your manufacturer will publish the maximum usage levels on their website. IFRA certificates indicate what application the fragrance can safely be used for. IFRA is short for The International Fragrance Association. They are responsible for creating guidelines around safe use of fragrance ingredients. Each category focuses on what that fragrance is used used for eg: candles, lotions etc. It may be that your fragrance manufacturer expresses the maximum usage level as a number rather than a percentage. In that case you would need to multiply that number by your percentage. If you sell a product and it causes irritation, you will be legally liable.
Mix well. Adding the fragrance while the mixture is cool ensures that the fragrance doesn't evaporate. All Blaze & Foam fragrance oils are phthalate free so better for the skin. You can also choose to use skin safe essential oils instead.

5) Pour Your Candles

Pour the mixture into the containers and ensure that the wicks are centered once they have been filled to your desired height. Leave approximately 1 cm above your candle. If you container has a lid, you will need to accommodate it too. You might like to fill the jars to 80% full and let it cool, then follow that with a second pour after re-centering the wicks. Do not move the jars until they have full set. Wait six hours before trimming the wicks, to avoid disturbing the surface of the candle.  If your candle sets with a skew wick, you can always use a heat gun on it briefly to remelt the top of the wax, but remember not to go too close to the wick or you might singe it.


Allow the candles to set & enjoy!

Let the candles cure for three days to enable the fragrance to infuse before use. Light the candle and when a small melt pool forms, around ten minutes, then extinguish the flame, before allowing to cool for several minutes, then carefully pouring into the hands or directly onto the skin. A massage candle is also lovely to use as a moisturiser. Simply dip your fingers directly into the candle without lighting for a skin nourishing balm.

The candle will re-harden and you can use it again when you need it. 

 

    Massage

     


    Here is one recipe we have tried successfully, however… there are many recipes online and you might want to explore making your own recipe. Keep in mind that the more soy wax you add, the higher the melt point temperature, which means the hotter it will be on the skin. Different oils also have different skin nourishing properties. Your choice of recipe will also depend on your climate.  

     

    Massage Oil Candle Recipe For A 115g Container  
    1. 60 grams Golden Brands Soy wax 464 *Not all soy wax is suitable for use on skin, so check with your manufacturer. 36 grams total Oils: 16 grams soy bean oil or sweet almond oil & 20 grams jojoba oil (For more on the nourishing qualities of various oils, check out our massage candle blog post.)

    2. 16 grams Shea Butter or cocoa butter (note: you can increase the shea butter and decrease the soy wax percentage if you prefer a softer, creamier recipe)

    3. 2.3 grams skin and candle safe fragrance oil or skin safe essential oil

    4. Wick - as noted earlier, you will need to choose your wick based on both the size of the container and your recipe. You might like to try the HTP83 or HTP 93 as a starting point with our 115 gram massage candle container, but again, this is a suggestion only. Remember to leave approximately 1 cm of space above candle to light wick.

    5. We have chosen to add no colour, since the colour needs to be designed for burning and must simultaneously be completely safe for skin. The dye used for candles is not skin safe. That, and they look better natural. Blaze & Foam takes no responsibility for this recipe or it not working out the way you want it to. 

     A Note On Labelling

    Because massage candles are designed for use on the body, they should be labelled in the same way as other skin products for sale purposes. The full list of ingredients must be displayed. See AICIS for more specific information (formerly NICNAS) and more on labelling here. You will need to do your own research on labelling if you plan to sell them.