A great way to take your candle loving to the next level is to dive into making your own candle. If you’ve pondered this thought before, you may have encountered the decision of what vessel you want to use for your candle. A very common choice for a vessel is a glass jar. But one thing you should think of if whether or not the glass vessel you’ve chosen is appropriate for fostering a candle.
Not all glass vessels are safe for candle use so you’ll need to make sure you’re practicing caution when picking out your vessel. When deciding whether your glass can host a candle or not, you need to keep in mind that it needs to be heat and crack resistant and isn’t porous.
There are some types of glass vessels that you’ll want to avoid and there are also ways to figure out whether or not a vessel is good enough for candle making. While there is a popularity behind using glass vessels for candle making, people often forget that there are risks and safety hazards that can come along with using glass for your candles.
What to Avoid When Choosing a Glass Vessel
Glass vessels are widely popular in the candle making community and there’s a good reason for it. Glass can create a beautifully packaged candle but it can be tricky to find the right vessel to use. Just because a vessel would create a beautiful candle doesn’t mean it’s suitable for candle making.
To choose a vessel, you need to keep in mind that the vessel needs to be thick enough so that it won’t crack or completely shatter when you pour the molten wax into it. You also have to make sure that the glass isn’t porous, too. While the first two requirements may seem self explanatory, finding a glass that isn’t porous may be a bit more confusing.
The term porous doesn’t mean what most people believe that it does. Most people because that being porous means that water is going to leak through the glass, which isn’t true. Instead, it means that there are small pores within the glass that can allow air or liquid to get into it, making it permeable.
Most glass isn’t going to be porous. There are ways to tell it may be porous, though, even if there’s no visible pores. One of the more obvious ways to know if a glass is porous is if it’s etched. The less obvious way to know if it’s porous is if the glass has been cleaned with an alkaline chemical.
Which Glass Vessels Should You Avoid?
With the information I laid out in the previous section, we can now decide which vessels aren’t suitable for candle making and should be avoided.
Vases
Vases aren’t great for candle making because they’re not built to be exposed to the heat of melted wax and a flame. While you probably could make a candle using a vase vessel, it’s not a vessel I would recommend to use. It’s better to find a different vessel than worry about your vase cracking or shattering under the heat of the melted wax.
Drinking Glasses
Many drinking glasses aren’t made for withstanding hot liquids, which means they may not be able to hold the candle without cracking once you pour the melted wax into it. If you’re trying to use an older glass that’s been used countless times, you may also face the problem of the glass being porous. Would a drink themed candle be cute? Yeah, I’m sure it would. Is it a good idea, though? No, it’s not an idea I would recommend.
Vessels that can Tip Easily
While this seems like common knowledge and doesn’t pertain exclusively to a glass’s structural integrity, it definitely needs to be addressed. If you’re going to use a glass vessel, you want it to have a flat bottom but you also don’t want it to be an awkward shape that’s going to tip easily if it’s bumped into.
What Else?
While it’s not glass, it’s worth noting that you should without a doubt avoid using any vessel that is ceramic or made of clay. These types of vessels are porous and aren’t suitable for holding candles within them. You should also stay away from vessels that may be flammable because it’s going to be exposed to heat when you pour the wax and it will also be exposed to fire when you light the candle.
What Vessel is Recommended Then?
While it may seem difficult to choose a glass vessel after knowing what to avoid, it’s actually pretty simple. There are plenty of glass vessels that are perfectly capable of holding melted wax and hosting a flame once you light your candle.
One of the vessels I would completely recommend is a mason jar. The glass is thick enough to withstand the heat without cracking and they’re literally made for hot products to be poured into them when canning items.
There are other vessels that are definitely capable of hosting a candle, too. Some examples of vessels you can choose from are:
- Apothecary jars
- Tureen jars
- Jars that are specifically created to host candles
If you look online, you’ll be able to find many different jars that are specifically created to host candles. If you’re in a store, though, you’ll want to find a jar that is fairly thick, or at least not paper thin. You’ll also want to make sure that you find a vessel that is made out of smooth glass that doesn’t have any etching on it. That’s a good way to know that your candle isn’t porous.
Read more about Best Jars for Candle Making.
How to Prepare You Jar for Pouring Candles
Before you pour your melted wax into the vessel, you need to make sure it’s well prepared to hold the wax without breaking or cracking. First, you’ll want to make sure that you clean your vessel to ensure there’s no debris lingering when you pour the wax. If there’s debris in the glass, it can get caught in the wax and can eventually clog the wick.
It’s also important to make sure the glass is heated before you pour the wax into it. A great way to do this is to pour some boiling water into the vessel. Empty it out and dry the vessel before you pour your wax inside. This will help ensure that the vessel won’t crack under the heat of the melted wax.
Another way to heat your glass is by using your hair dryer. Just use it to blow hot air along the whole outside of the vessel. You could also put the vessel in your oven at 120 to 160 degrees. Warm it up while you melt your wax and then take it out right before you want to pour the wax.
Read more about How to make scented candles at home.
Final Thoughts
There are many kinds of glass vessels that you can choose from to use for candle making. This doesn’t mean that you can use any type of glass container as your candle vessel. if the candle can easily break or crack or is porous, you should definitely avoid using it. You’ll also want to make sure that your glass vessel isn’t an awkward shape so it won’t knock over easily.
There are many kinds of vessels you can use, though. One I would definitely recommend would be a mason jar. Just make sure you prepare your vessel by cleaning it and warming it before pouring the candle wax into it and you’ll have created a successful candle.
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