How Long Does Wax Take to Dry?

Candle-making is becoming one of the most popular DIY trends now. People all over the world try them at this seemingly simple but very creative activity that can bring you not only pleasure but also money.

But when you are into making candles, you will sooner or later face one question: how long candle wax takes to dry?

In addition, candle cure time may also become a concern for you. So if you still feel uncertain about this information, we are here to help you out a bit!

Read on to find out how much time you should wait until your handmade candles fully dry and how long to wait extra until they are cured.

Also, you will learn whether bees wax and soy wax dry the same long and how to make candle wax dry faster without affecting the quality of your candles.

How Much Time Does Wax Need to Dry?

If you are wondering how long to let the wax dry when making candles, note that there won’t be one general answer. Sorry but it’s true! The drying time depends on the type of wax you are using for your candles.

Since distinct types of candle wax contain different ingredients, they may affect the drying, as well as curing time of your candle. Besides, quite many types of candle wax also contain various additives these days (e.g. fragrances, colorants, etc.). Those can also make the drying time longer or shorter.

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Candle Curing Time | How to Cure Candles | How Long Should You Cure Your Candles?

But we would like to give you at least some general information on the subject. So typically, candle wax dries at different rates:

• Paraffin takes only 3-4 days to dry
• Soy and beeswax take two weeks to harden and dry
• Quick dries made of high-quality waxes (like soy wax) take about three days to dry

As you can see, the difference in the drying time it takes to harden each candle wax varies significantly. However, you should not be tempted to use quick-hardening waxes like paraffin only because they need less time to harden!

See, paraffin, as well as other quick-hardening waxes, is not only bad for the environment and your health but also low-quality too.

A good and safe alternative would be quick dries, for example, candles made of soy wax and similar natural and organic stuff. They will not produce the same amount of harmful elements as a candle made of paraffin.

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How Long Does It Take For Paraffin Candle Wax to Harden?

How long does paraffin candle wax take to dry? Usually, if you follow all the candle-making instructions correctly, candles made of paraffin would take three to four days to dry.

Five days is the longest! Paraffin dries so quickly because it has a melting point of 99°F. Such a low melting point means that it has a quick drying time.

Of course, this is the ideal scenario since you need to not only use the ingredients correctly. You also need to provide your candles with the necessary conditions for drying and curing properly.

Nevertheless, paraffin remains the most commonly used candle wax even despite being harmful for people and the environment! First of all, it is cheap, but this cheapness is exactly what points to its low quality.

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How Much Time Do Beeswax Candles Need to Dry?

If you want to make candles using safer ingredients, try out beeswax. It is an absolutely natural and organic product, however, you need to be careful since people with beeswax allergies won’t be able to use your candles!

how long do candles need to cure? 🤨

Also, when using beeswax, note that every kind of beeswax candle will dry differently because of the significant difference in beeswax composition. This is why experienced candle makers recommend letting your beeswax candles cure for at least seven days before trying to burn it.

When you let your beeswax candles sit and cure for at least a week, it allows them to soak up their scent, additives, and color.

As a result, when you burn your candle, it will create a fantastic throw or honey aroma!

There is one more thing you should keep in mind if you decide to work with beeswax. See, throughout a bee’s lifetime, its pollination patterns are sporadic. Because of this, each batch of beeswax (as well as each beeswax candle) may produce different results!

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How Long Does It Take For Soy Wax to Harden?

For those who want to make human-friendly candles that can be used by people who suffer from allergies, soy wax is an ideal solution. The minimum amount of time that it takes for a soy wax candle to dry is three days.

Soy wax candles should cure for at least one week before you can start using them. You will get the best results if you let your candles cure for two weeks because this amount of time will give your candles enough time to soak up scents and additives (if there are any).

Giving your soy wax candles enough time to cure is important because the better they cure, the more environmentally friendly these soy candles will be.

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How Long Does It Take Coconut Wax to Dry?

There is no exact amount of time for coconut wax to dry. But on average, a candle made from pure coconut wax takes around two weeks to dry because of its melting point of roughly 109°F and slow burn.

However, there are no strict or exactly defined time frames since candle makers typically mix coconut wax with other wax bases. As a result, such mixtures of different waxes cause fluctuations in the dry time.

This is why, if you make candles out of coconut wax, the optimal solution for you would be to wait for at least two weeks before burning these candles or selling them. Like this, you will make sure that your candles get enough time to dry and cure. Anyway, it’s better to give them more time than give less than they needed!

Now you know how much time different types of candle wax might need to fully dry before you can start using or selling them. Also, you are now aware that these drying time distinctions come from the ingredients that each type of candle wax consists of.

Like that, when you choose what candle wax to use for your candle-making next time, you will be prepared for this and will use this information as your benefit.

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How to Harden Candle Wax Fast?

When you start making candles, you might reach the point where you want to speed up the curing and hardening process. However, if you want to know how to harden candle wax fast, the answer is you can’t do it. The only possible way to use your candle sooner is to use the type of wax that dries and cures fast.

See, as you are now aware, each type of candle wax needs a certain amount of time to dry and then cure. The curing process will go smoothly only if you prepare the wax mixture correctly and you let it dry and harden correctly! That means letting it sit without disturbing it!

Just keep all candle wax as still as possible while it is hardening. If you move your candle wax while it is curing, you put it at risk of developing bubbles. In addition, it may result in deforming the shape of the molds that you are trying to create.

This is why experienced candle makers recommend pouring your candles on a flat and even surface, so there is no need to move them afterward.

And in addition, you need to make sure that you give your candles enough time to harden. For the best results, opt for a two-week period of time. This will usually be enough for any kind of wax to cure properly.

Candle Curing Time

As you already know, curing is the same important stage of a candle-making process as the preparation of the wax mixture and drying it later. The better your candles cure the higher their quality will be later. Properly cured candles burn slower, burn brighter, have a better scent, and last longer.

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If you are a beginner in the candle-making business, here is a brief guide for you on how fast different types of candle wax cure. Like that, you will always know for sure how long you should wait before your candles can be used.

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How Long to Cure Beeswax Candles?

A beeswax candle’s cure time is typically from seven to ten days. The exact amount of time needed depends on whether you are using pure wax or it contains any additives. Also, the presence of colorants, fragrances, and other additional components will matter a lot.

But no matter how long exactly your beeswax candles will be curing, make sure you don’t disturb them during this process! So pour them into their molds on a flat and stable surface at once. This will be the surface they will be curing on.

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How Long to Cure Soy Wax Candles?

Soy candles’ cure time is usually from one week to ten days. Just like with beeswax candles, it depends on what else your candles contain meaning additives, fragrances, colorants, etc.

So if you have a limited amount of time for making candles (e.g. if you need to make them by the exact date), soy wax might not be the best option for you due to its long drying and curing time.

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Coconut Wax Curing Time

Candles made of coconut wax will need up to two weeks until they fully cure. This amount of time will typically remain the same even if you are not using pure coconut wax. So if your goal is to have ready-to-use candles as soon as possible, better opt for a kind of wax that dries and cures faster.

Paraffin candles are the quickest when it comes to drying and curing time. Such candles will cure in 3-5 days already. However, since paraffin is not safe for you, we would not recommend you use this material.

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Why Is My Wax Not Hardening?

Those who are new to candle making often face the same problem: their wax doesn’t harden! But why does it happen and how it could be fixed? There can be several reasons for this. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

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If your wax is not hardening, there might be several things that could be wrong with the wax mixture. So if you see that there is something wrong with your candle wax solution that prevents it from hardening, check out the following possible reasons:

• You might use excess fragrance oils
• The temperature was too high
• You burned the wax
• You used an expired wax
• The type of fragrance oil was incompatible with the type of wax
• There’s excess water

Unfortunately, you can’t fix the existing candles, but you can still correct these errors simply! All you need to do is to re-evaluate your candle-making process from start to finish step by step. Like that, you will see if there is anything that you did wrong and can change the next time you will be making candles.

Now you know all about the most important nuances of candle making!

You know how much time candle waxes need to dry and cure, what it depends on, and whether or not you can speed up the curing process. In addition, we told you what possible mistakes might lead to your wax not hardening.

Like that, now your candle-making process should become much simpler!

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