How To Make Massage Oil Candles

We use all natural ingredients to make a homemade Massage Oil Candles. Although it looks like a regular candle, it is actually used to give massages. The candle heats up the massage oil for your massage. The oils that are used are specially selected to give you a good slip like you would expect from a massage oil and to ensure they don’t absorb too quickly.

You might be worried that the oils are going to be too hot to use on your skin. The thing is we are using soy wax, butters and oil to ensure that the candle has a low melting point. The candle oil is going to heat up to just above skin temperature.

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If you have not used a massage oil candle before, yo are in for a treat. Even though these look just like a regular candle, they are actually a solid body oil. When the candle is lit, the oils heat up. You are able to pour them on to your hand and then use for a massage.

The candle is made with skin loving cocoa butter and shea butter, both are solid at room temperature ( we will discuss this more). These butters are combined with soy wax and a carrier oil. The blending of these oils and butters, allows you to create a candle that burns at a low temperature. This way the wax heats up, but it is not going to get hot like a regular candle wax would.

How to use a massage oil candle

To use the massage oil candle, you will want to leave your candle lit until a pool forms on the top, this will normally take about 5-15 minutes. Blow out the flame and pour the wax directly on your hand and use for massage. Never pour directly on anyone’s back, always pour on your hand or a container first. I think you will be surprised at how nice the hot oils feel on your skin.

Please be aware that you do not want to leave this burning for long periods of time. Leaving it burning for a half hour could cause the container to get too hot and the oils could get too hot. The key is to light it long enough to get a small pool of oils and then pour them out. Remember, you can always re-light the candle later.

Please note, it is important not to leave the candle to burn for too long as the container can get hot. You will always want to make sure the oil isn’t too hot. 

Soy Wax

We use Soy Wax because it has a low melting point. It does not take very long to heat the wax up and to form a small pool on the top of the candle. You might be thinking, you want me to actually use candle wax? Yes, but be sure that the soy wax that you are using is skin safe, as you will be using it on you skin.

The one that I am using is skin safe, in fact you can even use it for a lip balm!

Be sure that you are using a Soy wax for these candles. You do not want to use a beeswax or parafin wax in any massage oil candle. Both of them melt at a very high temperature and will cause your candle to be hot.

Soy wax on it’s own would not make a very good massage oil, so we have a special blend of butters and oils to create the perfect massage oil candle.

Cocoa Butter

Melting Point & Texture

Cocoa butter was chosen because it is a very brittle butter, with a low melting point. Since we are making a candle, we need to make sure that it stays in candle form. The cool thing about cocoa butter is that is also has a relatively low melting point of about 93°F.

To kind of put that into perspective, your back is roughly 92°F – 98° F. Meaning that this hard butter would most likely melt on contact with your back.

Absorption Speed

The next thing that we need to consider is how quickly the oil will be absorbed into your skin. The last thing we want is our oil to absorb in super quick like a lotion. Have you ever tried to give a back massage with lotion? It is just sillyness.

We are looking to have oils that absorb slower, allowing us more slip on the back. Cocoa butter has what I would call a medium absorption speed. It is not going to be absorbed super quick.

Shea Butter

Melting Point

Shea butter has a super low melting point, seriously just pick it up and hold it in your hand. Within a few seconds it is going to start melting on you. Not quite as bad as a coconut oil will, but it will melt right in your hands.

It’s melting point about 89°F. And this is why we chose to use shea butter. However, unlike the cocoa butter that has a brittle texture, shea butter is solid, but a soft solid.

Absorption Speed

Shea butter has a slow absorption speed. It is one of the reasons why I love it in a whipped body butter. Shea butter is going to give you plenty of slip for an amazing massage.

Caster Oil

Absorption Speed

Castor oil is an amazing carrier oil for massages, it has a slow absorption speed, meaning that you are able to massage longer with it. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that are good for relieving sore muscles.

Love Spell Fragrance Oil

When deciding on the fragrance oil that you would like to use, there are two important factors that you need to consider.

1. Candle safe: Your fragrance must be suitable for use in a candle
2. Skin Safe: Not all fragrances that can be used in a candle can be used on your skin.

When determining the percentage of fragrance oil to use, you want to use the manufactures recommendation. For example, a fragrance might be able to be used at 8% in a candle and 4% on your skin. For this candle, you would use the 4%, because you are going to use it on your skin.

Colorant

I personally do not use any colorant in my massage oil candles. If you want to use one, be sure that it is both skin safe and candle safe.

Wicks for Massage Candles

When choosing a wick for your massage oil candle, make sure that it is primed with soy wax. You do not want to use one that is primed with paraffin wax. If you would like, check out this video on How to Prime A Candle Wick. The cool thing about priming your own wick is that you can make them whatever length that you need for your container. Another thing to keep in mind is choosing a wick that is appropriate for the diameter of your candle. If you are unsure about what wick to get, read the manufactures recommendations.

Containers for Massage Oil Candles

You can go with a tin container or a glass for your massage oil candle. Both work great and your candle is not going to burn very hot. You want to make sure that the candle is not very tall. This is because we will be pouring the wax out for a massage and a tall container would have a lot of tunneling.

Why add shea butter after the oils are heated?

The reason why we add the shea butter to the melted oils is because shea butter is packed with fatty acids. These fatty acids will cool at different temperatures and can cause issues with the butter getting grainy.

By adding the shea butter after the melted oils are removed from heat, we can be certain that they do not get too hot. Meaning, there is less cooling. Plus, it helps to cool down the melted oils so we can pour it into the candle mold sooner.

Massage Candle Recipe

Massage candles are super easy to make. It is as simple as placing the wick, melting the oils and pouring the massage oil candle. The key is to choose the right container, wick and blend of oils. I have mentioned this already but it is worth a second mention…. all ingredients that you use need to be skin safe. Since this is a skincare recipe, you need to formulate it as such.

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