gel wax candle
Gel Wax
Gel wax is different from paraffin wax in a number of ways. Gel wax is a combination of mineral oil and polymer resin. It has a slow melt rate and a long burn time making it good value for the money. Gel wax is translucent and has the consistency of a firm ‘Jelly’. Gel wax doesn’t so much ‘melt’ as become thinner and runnier, allowing it to be poured.
Gel Wax candle
A popular wax, the clarity of the set wax means pretty embedded decorations can be used. This wax is often found in candles sold in souvenir shops. The gel is dyed a light shade of blue, and sand and shells are often added to make a novelty under-water scene. Other novelty candles using gel wax are filled with slices of dried fruits, small glass ornaments, glitter or anything that won’t melt at a temperature lower than the wax.
Gel wax is used in containers, it doesn’t have the rigidity to stand upright on its own. If you want to color gel wax, it’s better to use a liquid dye. Paraffin based dye chips or pellets will cause the gel wax to go ‘cloudy’ and it’s difficult to get an even distribution of color.
Gel wax has a higher melt point than paraffin waxes and is melted in a pot over direct heat, rather than using a double boiler. Gel wax does have a tendency to bubble, lovely is you’re making a sea scene, not so good if you’re not. To avoid bubbles, heat to a temperature in excess of 230 F, but don’t exceed 260 F – the gel wax could ignite at this temperature.
Kinds of Gel Wax
Gel wax is available in 3 different densities, each one displays different characteristics.
LOW DENSITY
Low density Gel wax is the cheapest, and the easiest to melt as it has a lowest melt-point. It is however not firm enough to support embeds held in suspension, and better kept for candles with decorations that rest on the bottom of the candle. Low density gel wax will only hold fragrance at about 3%, so if you prefer a quite highly fragranced candle, use a higher density wax.
MEDIUM DENSITY
Still relatively east to melt and pour, but slightly thicker than low density, so it will support light-weight embeds such as beads, small flowers, glitters etc. Heavy items such as metal charms, glass embeds, larger beads etc will sink to the bottom.
HIGH DENSITY
This gel wax needs to be melted at a high temperature, but is firm enough to hold embeds in suspension. Wonderful if you are creating 3D scenes. It will hold candle scent up to 5 or 6% allowing you to create more strongly fragranced candles.
