How candles are made
A candle's flame does not burn the wax. It melts it, and the wick draws it up as vapor to burn.
- stations
- 7
- things upstream
- 63
- raw sources
- 18
- steps from the ground
- 10
The short version
A candle is solid wax around a braided cotton wick. Most are paraffin, melted in a tank, mixed with dye and scent, and poured into molds or containers around a wick. As the wax cools it hardens, the candle is released, the wick is trimmed, and the candles are packed.
-
Melt the wax
Paraffin wax, which begins to melt above about 37 °C, is heated in a jacketed tank until it flows like water.
Goes in -
Add color and scent
Dye and fragrance are stirred into the melted wax. Hotter wax mixes quickly, while cooler wax holds scent better.
-
Braid the wick
Cotton yarn is plaited into a wick. A plaited wick curls into the edge of the flame and burns away, so it trims itself.
Goes in -
Seat the wick in the mold
Each mold or jar gets a wick, held straight and centered by a metal tab or a clip.
Goes in -
Pour the wax
Warm wax is poured into the molds. Machines of the 19th century could make about 1,500 candles an hour by ejecting them with a piston as they set.
-
Cool and release
The wax cools slowly so it does not crack, then candles are pushed out of the molds.
-
Trim and pack
Wicks are cut short, tops smoothed, and candles wrapped or boxed.
Goes in
Worth repeating
- Joseph Morgan patented a continuous molding machine in 1834 that made about 1,500 candles an hour.
- A plaited wick soaked in mineral salts, introduced in 1825, curls toward the edge of the flame and burns itself off.
- Most candles today are made from paraffin wax, a petroleum byproduct.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and candle starts as these 18 raw sources.
Everything it is made of See it on the map
Open the whole family tree
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How candles are made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/candle