I was scrolling on TikTok and I saw this lady selling lotion candles. I had never heard of that even though I have made regular candles myself many times. The biggest difference is that as the candle melts, the liquid can be used as lotion or a massage oil.
The woman on TikTok made her candles unique because after the candles were fully melted, you end up with a beautiful teacup. Well, I am the queen of thrift store shopping so I started to look around my house for cute containers that I could use for candle holders.
I also did some research for various recipes for lotion candles online. Well, when I told my best friend what my latest venture was, she told me that she had made lotion candles before and had a lot of supplies that I could have. Several of the ingredients I didn't have to buy.
I couldn't wait to get started. I also have a kitchen scale, a magnetic stirrer hot plate that I got from a friend who is a chemist, and a digital thermometer. Chemistry is one of the subjects that I taught many years ago. I bought some candle wicks and wick tape from Amazon which were very inexpensive.
I used 8 ounces of soy wax, 2 ounces of cocoa butter, 2 ounces of avocado oil, 4 ounces of mango shea butter, and .3 ounces of fragrance oil.
Using my kitchen scale, I measured out the soy wax first and added it to a stainless steel container that I had. I placed it on my hot plate with a magnetic pellet inside the cup. As the hot plate heated up, the magnetic pellet stirred my melted wax. I then measured the rest of the ingredients and added them to the stainless container.
I kept watch on the temperature because the fragrance is added last when the temperature is around 180 degrees. My research suggested that this is the optimal temperature to avoid the fragrance from evaporating.
I placed the wicks in my small teacups on a wick sticker. I slowly poured the melted mixture into the cups and put two craft sticks against the wick to hold it in place until the wax hardened.
After the wax gets hard, the wicks should be trimmed to about a fourth of an inch. Ideally the candles are supposed to cure for a few days before you do the first burn. I love the final result. I was already in love with fragrant candles, and now I have a lotion that I can use as the candle burns.
I love the smell of lavender and it has a calming effect on people. If you decide to duplicate this recipe, know that you do not need fancy equipment like I used. You can melt your ingredients in a microwave or in a double boiler on the stove. You can also manually stir your mixture with any utensil. Wood would be nice. And finally, if you don't have a thermometer handy, then just let the mixture cool off some before you add your fragrance and pour it into your containers.
Good luck. Enjoy your day.
