How to Make Whipped Wax for Candles

It might look complicated, but making a whipped wax topping for your candles is fun and easy! Whipping wax is a good technique to learn if you want to take your candle designs to the next level. Making whipped candle wax is a fun method for making your bakery and coffee-inspired candles look adorably realistic. This technique is great for cupcake candles, hot chocolate candles, pie candles and so much more. The possibilities are endless!

How to Make Whipped Wax for Candles

Whipping wax is messy, but it’s easier than it might look. To whip candle wax, you need a tool such as a stand mixer, immersion blender or mini mixer. If you don’t have these tools, you can use a whisk or a fork instead. Whipping wax will take more effort if you are doing it by hand, but it’s still completely doable.

Keep in mind that any tool you use to whip wax will be covered in wax and be difficult to clean. It’s best to use a tool that you will use exclusively for crafts. We don’t recommend using a mixer that you plan on using again for food in the future.   

What Kind of Wax Can You Whip?

You can use essentially any type of candle wax, but soy wax and soy blends are usually the easiest to work with. You don’t need to use any other ingredients than wax. However, if you have trouble getting the wax to hold its shape, you can try using stearic acid. This additive will help make the wax stiffer.

It is best to add the stearic acid when you melt your wax. This is because it needs to liquefy in order blend properly with whatever wax you are using. If you decide halfway through whipping the wax that you want to add stearic acid, the best way is to re-melt the wax and add the stearic while the wax is melting. You want both ingredients to melt and blend together.

How to Whip the Wax

To whip candle wax, you simply need to melt the wax and let it start cooling. It will start getting opaque and begin setting up along the sides of your container. Once the wax has reached this stage, simply begin whipping it until it forms peaks that hold their shape. It’s a very similar process to making real whipped cream. As mentioned above, you can use an immersion blender, hand mixer, whisk or essentially any other similar tool for whipping.

How to Put Whipped Wax Topping on Candles – 2 Methods

You will have to work somewhat fast after you whip the wax. Because whipping the wax forces it to cool down, it will begin to get hard more quickly than wax that is simply poured and left to sit. With that in mind, there are two easy methods to place the whipped topping onto your candles.

Method 1: Spoon the Whipped Topping

The first way is to transfer the whipping with a spoon, fork or other similar utensil before it hardens too much. In my opinion, this is the messier of the two options. However, there’s nothing wrong with it, and it might be your preferred method if you want to get the whipping on more quickly. The end result is a whipped topping that looks somewhat choppy with lots of little fuzzy peaks.

If your wax becomes too hard to work with, you may need to reheat it a little so it becomes softer. It may be necessary to re-whip the wax to return it to a nice consistency as well.

Method 2: Pipe the Topping

The second way is to pipe the wax – just like you would pipe frosting onto a cupcake. I find that this creates a more polished look. And personally, I find that it makes the whipped topping stay soft longer, making it easier to work with. Because you are holding the piping bag in your hand, the heat from your hands keeps the wax softer as you work. It stayed the perfect consistency the entire time I was piping the candles for this tutorial.

Here are some tips for piping candle wax:

• To pipe on the whipped wax, you can use a piping bag or just a plain zippered sandwich bag. You can get great results with either. The benefit of using a sandwich bag is that you don’t need to clean it up – you simply toss it when you’re done. On the other hand, the benefit of using a piping bag with a frosting tip is that you can get more creative with the design. Your whipped topping will have sharper details too.
• It works best to use a spatula to transfer the wax into the bag. You may find it helps to place the bag into a paper cup (tip down) to hold it in place while spooning in the wax. If using a sandwich bag, cut a small corner off one side of the bag when you’re done filling it with wax.
• Once the wax is in the bag, start piping at the center of the candle around the wick. Work your way out towards the edges of the container, moving the tip in a concentric circle. To create a peak of whipped topping, repeat this motion two or three more times, creating smaller and smaller concentric circles on top of the rings you just made.
• If you’re using a sandwich bag rather than a piping bag, you can still get realistic results. All you need to do is move the tip up and down (towards and away from the candle) as you make the circles. This will create peaks and folds that look professional.
• When piping, try to avoid creating any large gaps in the frosting. Gaps will trap pockets of air that may collapse when you burn the candle.

Can You Use Fragrance Oils in Whipped Wax?

You may add fragrances to your whipped wax toppings, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First, the whipped topping will melt pretty quickly when the candle is lit due to the fact that the whipped wax holds a lot of air and is less dense than the rest of the candle. Therefore, it doesn’t necessarily need to be scented, as the rest of your candle will begin melting and giving off its scent once the whipped topping melts.

More importantly, candles with whipped wax toppings are usually made with bakery scents. Bakery fragrance oils almost always contain vanilla or vanillin. This is an ingredient that can cause a slightly yellow coloration in your wax. This discoloration doesn’t always occur, but to be on the safe side, we don’t recommend scenting it with any fragrances that contain vanillin. It might look fine when you finish your project, but discoloration may begin to happen over time. And no one wants yellow whipped cream…

If you’re unsure about which fragrance to use for your frosting, check the product page. We list the vanilla content on each fragrance page.

If you do end up using fragrance oils in your whipped wax, stick to the recommended fragrance load for whichever wax you’re using.

Let’s Make Some Candles with Whipped Topping!

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of making whipped wax, it’s time to get started on a project! There are so many ways to use whipped wax. One of our favorite ways is to use whipped wax on hot beverage candles such as coffee candle, hot chocolate candles and more.

Follow along with our Coffee-Inspired Candle Tutorial to make some adorable votive candles with us!