How to Color Candle Wax with Candle Dye

Choose a dye made for candles

Candle dyes come as liquid, solid blocks or chips, and sometimes flakes or powder. They are made to dissolve in wax. That matters because wax is oil-based. Candle dyes burn along with the wax, while other colorants can leave residue that blocks the wick.

Skip colorants that were not made for candles. One supplier says to avoid food coloring, which is water-based and will not mix into wax, and crayons, whose pigments do not dissolve and can clog the wick. The same supplier says powdered pigments such as mica are for bath and body products, not candles. Candle dyes are also for candles, not skin: dye makers say not to use them in bath and body products.

How much dye to use

There is no universal drop count. A dye’s strength is set by its maker, and the numbers below show how different they are. Use the maker’s own directions for the dye you bought, and treat them as a starting point.

Notice the spread. NorthWood and Village Craft & Candle both give drops per pound, yet the numbers differ by several times. These are different products, and drop sizes differ too, so the figures cannot be swapped. If you change dye brands, start again from the new maker’s directions.

Start low. You can add more dye, but you cannot take it out. A weight-based note is easier to repeat than a drop count when you scale up. Write the dye, the amount and the wax weight in your recipe.

How to add it

1. Melt the wax fully. Suppliers say to add dye to fully melted wax before the fragrance, so the color is even.
2. Add the dye. One supplier says most people add it at about 185°F, but that it mixes at any temperature once the wax is fully melted. For dye chips it says not to go above 225°F. Two wax data sheets give 70°C (158°F) for liquid dye, blocks and chips, and about 75°C (167°F) for powder dye.
3. Stir until you see no streaks or specks. Check the bottom and sides of the pitcher.
4. Test the color. Put a little of the colored wax on a white dish and let it cool, or pour a small test candle.
5. Add fragrance and pour. See when to add fragrance oil.

One wax data sheet suggests a trick for richer color: add a little black dye to the color you are using.

Why the finished color is different

• Hot wax looks darker than the cooled candle. Judge color on a cooled sample, not in the pitcher.
• The wax matters. Soy and coconut blends often need more dye than paraffin for a similar color, as the doses above show. A dye maker also notes that colors vary with different wax, fragrance and additive combinations.
• Fragrance oil can tint the wax. Some oils are yellow, orange or brown, and will shift your color.
• Frosting is not a dye problem. One supplier says soy wax can frost whatever dye you use. See candle frosting.

Dye changes how the candle burns

Dye is not just cosmetic. A supplier warns that more than the recommended amount can clog the wick, leading to a weak flame and tunneling. A wick guide says to consider going up one or two sizes with a lot of dye or dark colors, and notes that its own wick testing used a medium shade. So a wick that burned well in an undyed candle may not work in a deep color.

Treat every change of dye or shade as a formula change. Pour a tester with the dye, oil and wick together and run a full burn test. One wax maker’s data sheet puts it plainly: every combination of size, wax, dye, fragrance and wick must be tested for burn quality. See also candle wick size.