When I first created my wickless Appearing Scene soy candles back in 2004, a lot of other chandlers wanted to know my process. Because I was selling them, I kept my secrets pretty guarded, so that I could be assured of exclusivity. While the process is probably not something that could be patented (others could duplicate it fairly easily), I did spend a lot of time on research and development of this candle. Below is a step-by-step process on how to make a wickless Appearing Scene soy candle, and the hurdles that I had to overcome in designing it. You may be wondering why I'm giving this information away now. Well, I want a lot of people to be encouraged to visit my site, and I have no reason to keep it a secret anymore. If you find this information useful, or even profitable, you may contact me to make a donation to my website, which I would appreciate very much.
First of all, what is an Appearing Scene wickless soy candle, and what makes it unique from other wickless candles?       A wickless candle, also sometimes called a flameless candle, works basically like an air freshener. It is a candle jar filled with scented wax. You put the jar on a warming unit, and when the wax heats up and melts, it releases the fragrance into the room. It takes between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 hours for all of the wax to melt, depending on room temperature. When you turn off the warming base, the candle will slowly become solid again. A wickless candle is much safer than a regular candle, because there is no flame to risk starting a fire. Wickless candles also have better scent "throwing" ability than regular candles, because all of the scented wax melts, as opposed to just a small pool on the top of the candle. Plus, additional fragrance oil can be added to a melted wickless candle when the scent begins to fade. This makes a wickless candle an awesome value, because it can last for a very long time. If there is a glass scene inside, such as in an Appearing Scene wickless candle, the scene will be revealed as the wax melts, because soy wax becomes clear when melted. The benefit of using soy wax as opposed to paraffin wax, is that soy wax has a lower melting temperature, thus it will not take as long to melt and begin releasing fragrance. The glass scene inside gives the candle maker freedom to create custom designs, and to be more creative. Here are the instructions for how to make an Appearing Scene wickless soy candle. Step 1 - Choosing materials The jar that you use is the most important choice for your candle. You need to be sure that you are using a glass jar that can withstand being brought up to a wax melting temperature and cooling many many times over without cracking. If you buy cheap, fragile glassware, it will be a safety risk, or at the very least cause someone's antique table or  expensive Persian carpet to be ruined by melted wax if it ever cracks. After durability you need to consider dimensions of the jar. This is an area where I did extensive testing, so that I can tell you that you want a jar that is no taller than 4" with no larger than a 14 ounce capacity. The problem with a tall, skinny jar, is that it will take too long to melt the wax on the top. The problem with a wide, short jar, is that you are limited as to what embeds you can use. Anything too tall will stick out the top. A 14 oz. bulb jar works really well. A 10 oz. apothecary works even better, except that most embeds will be too tall for it. Once you have found the perfect jar dimensions, you will need a reputable glass dealer. I recommend Libbey glass, because their candle jars are very durable. Make sure that you get samples, so that you can check the durability of the jar and test it for speed of melting. Wax: Well, of course I am going to say that soy wax is the best to use, because that's what I use. I do have several reasons why I think it is superior in wickless candles though. First, because it has a lower melt point than paraffin wax. Second, because it cleans up more easily than paraffin wax if it spills. This is a benefit to me when cleaning up after I pour candles. It would also be a benefit to someone who's child tips over a melted candle. Soy wax does have a downside in wickless candles too. The chemical bonds in hydrogenated soybean oil (i.e. soy wax) are somewhat "flimsy". That is my non-chemist, layman's description of it. Soy wax can sometimes get what is referred to as "bloom" by soy wax chandlers. Once in awhile, and I don't know what the conditions are that cause it - be it temperature, humidity or what - soy wax will get a funky cauliflower-like appearance on the surface when it hardens. Most of the time you can melt it, and it will harden with a nice smooth surface, but every once in awhile, the surface of your wickless candle will cool and harden to look like a mini volcano. There are additives that you can use to stabilize soy wax, but keep in mind that they will all increase the melting temperature of the wax, and that's undesirable in a wickless candle. You want it to melt as soon as possible so that it can start releasing scent and to show the scene inside. The bloom problem is really just cosmetic though, it isn't a safety issue. Fragrance Oil (abbrev. FO): I can't tell you how essential oils would work in a wickless candle, because I never tried them. I was always nervous about the higher flashpoint close to a heat source. I always worked with candle fragrance oils. There are a lot of them out there to play with, and this is probably one of the best things about wickless candles - their awesome scenting ability. When all of the wax in a candle melts, as opposed to just a pool on top, you can release a lot more fragrance. Most chandlers who work with soy wax will tell you that about 7% is as much FO that soy wax can "hold" before it ends up as oily spots on the surface of the hardened wax. I've found this also to be true. If I make a candle with 12 ounces of soy wax, I will add about .8 ounces of FO by weight. The easy calculation for this is: Take your weight in wax, divide by 100, multiply by 7. This gives you 7%, or the amount of FO to add. I like to use soy based FOs with soy wax. I find that they incorporate into the wax better. Other chandlers may say that soy base FOs are just marketing hype. All I can say is, try it for yourself and see what you think. If I find a fragrance that I love, and it's not soy based, that's not going to stop me from using it. Some will claim that wax can only hold so much fragrance, and even when that fragrance is gone, you won't be able to add more past a certain point. I totally disagree with this. I have wickless candles that I've been re-melting for over two years now, and I am still able to add more fragrance to the wax when it fades.	Embeds: Glass embeds are small colored glass figurines that work really well in a wickless candle scene. Most of them will be manufactured in China, and anything handmade by artisans is really expensive. Ceramic embeds can also work, but only if they are completely glazed, and not at all porous. Just do an internet search on "glass embeds" and you will find lots of examples. You need to know the dimensions of the embed to make sure that it will fit in your candle jar, covered by the wax. This way it can "appear" when the wax melts. It's really nice if the embed is free standing, or has a base. If it doesn't you will have to glue it in place. See my discussion on glue below. You may be tempted to put other things in your Appearing Scene candle. I've tried this and without much success. Seashells will add impurities to the candle and cloud the wax - even if you wash and boil them clean. Sand and flowers, don't even try it. Fake flowers might work, but I doubt it. I've never tried it though - I am basing my hunch on all the other things I've tried. Plastic embeds may melt or warp over time. The wax really doesn't get that hot, but it's still a possibility. I think a hard plastic might work though. It just wouldn't look as classy as glass, in my opinion. Also, those colored glass vase gems are really nice on the bottom of your candle. They add color, if you've got an illuminated candle warmer. Here are a few scenes I've done with embeds: Antarctic seal and penguins.     Christmas Santa and tree. Fantasy wizard and dragon.   Valentine hearts and rose. You can see that I'm NOT a photographer. It took me over a year to figure out how to take pictures with my digital camera that didn't turn out blurry. Step 2 - Scene preparation First you will need to set up your scene in the candle jar. If all your embeds will stand up stably on their own then great. If not, you are going to need something to adhere them in place. I did a lot of research on different adhesives that might withstand being in melted wax. Here is a list of glues that I have tried, and whether they worked or not: *Super Glue - bond breaks down over time in melted wax. *Ceramic glue, Cyanoacrylate - same as Super Glue, and the thought of breathing this in didn't seem too healthy. *2 part epoxy adhesive resin - this actually held pretty well, but was messy to work with.sin - this actually held pretty well, but was messy to work with. *Silicone adhesive - pulled away from the glass in melted wax. *UV curing glass glue - this worked really well, but had to be cured a day ahead in bright sunlight. This was my glue of choice. Even with glue, you will only get a vertical hold, you will never get any horizontal weld to hold, such as trying to adhere something to the side of the jar. Once you have your scene arranged, glued and fully cured if necessary, you are ready to pour in your scented wax. Step 3 - Preparing and pouring the wax Tip: Don't add color to the wax. You may be tempted to do this, but this will only serve to give the wax a murky look when it melts, and obscure the scene within. Look at the picture of the Fantasy scene above to see what I mean. Soy wax has a natural yellow tinge to it when it melts. It looks like cooking oil, because that's actually what it is - Crisco with a higher melt point. My suggestion is to make peace with the color, because you just won't be able to get the wax to look like water with blue dye, no matter how much you want to. Start by melting your wax. If using soy wax, bring your temperature to about 155 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a good temperature to incorporate fragrance, because it opens the wax molecules, and allows the fragrance molecules to bind better, but it isn't so hot that you will lose some of the fragrance to evaporation. Again, my my non-chemist, layman's description, so any of you chemists out there who want to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, well you are probably right, but that is still the point I've found where the FO incorporates the best with the wax. After mixing in your FO, allow the wax to cool to around 120 - 130 degrees F. Then you can slowly pour it into your jar with your pre-set scene. Be careful with this step, because you don't want to upset any embeds. It will take a couple hours for your candle to harden, and then it is ready to sell, give as a gift or use. A note about packaging: You will want to provide a lid with your candle, because it keeps out dust when the candle isn't being melted. You may not notice it at first, but eventually you will see pieces of dust and hair floating in your melted candle if you don't keep it covered when not in use. If you are going to sell a wickless candle, or even give one as a gift, please include safety and usage instructions. This is a good practice. You may even use mine if you want.                                                      Angel holding heart.

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This page was last updated on 10/02/09.