Massage oil candles will light up your night! Rich, decadent and sooooo good for your skin... and fun and easy to make with this simple massage candle recipe.
More than just a candle, massage candles are made of massage oils and body butters that melt as the wick burns down. Their melting point is so low that it's safe to pour them directly onto your skin for hot oil massage.
We'll start with the basic massage candle recipe, then follow with some scent variations, notes for customizing the recipe and suggestions for using them. Enjoy!
3oz Soy Wax
1oz Sweet Almond or Jojoba Oil
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E (or 2 capsules)
30 drops Essential Oil (see below for blends)
4oz candle tin or jar
Pre-tabbed Candle Wick
Buy Supplies - Quick Links
1. |
Prepare your candle tin or jar by fixing the candle wick to the bottom of the tin. (You can use glue tabs or a bit of hot wax to hold it in place. Glue tabs are better because the wax doesn't melt and let them float out of place.) |
2. |
Put about a couple of inches (5cm) of water in the bottom of a medium-sized pot and heat to a low simmer. |
3. |
Place the soy wax in a large heat-proof glass measuring cup (such as Pyrex.) Place the measuring cup in the water and warm slowly over a low heat until the wax is melted. |
4. |
Pour in the oil, stirring slowly to mix. Don't stir too quickly or you'll end up with air bubbles in your massage oil candles. |
5. |
Remove from the heat and gently stir in the Vitamin E. Drop in the essential oils and stir some more. |
6. |
Slowly pour the hot candle massage oil into the tin, making sure the wick stays centered. |
7. |
Let cool and harden for several hours, then trim the wick to about 1/4 inch (1/2cm). That's it, you're ready to go! |
Here's some fun, soothing, delicious essential oil blends for your massage oil candles. Pick your favorite or try one of each!
Citrus Rush
7 drops each bergamot, grapefruit, lemon and orange
2 drops jasmine, geranium OR ylang ylang
Buy bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, orange, jasmine, geranium, ylang ylang
Fire & Ice
20 drops Peppermint, 5 drops bergamot
3 drops eucalyptus, 1 drop ylang ylang
Buy peppermint, bergamot, eucalyptus, ylang ylang
Lavender Spice
25 drops lavender, 2 drops clove
1 drop vetiver, ginger OR cinnamon
Buy lavender, clove, vetiver, ginger, cinnamon
Rose Dream
12 drops rose, 2 drops geranium
2 drops palmarosa OR sandalwood
Buy rose absolute $, Chinese rose oil $$, Bulgarian rose oil $$$, geranium, palmarosa, sandalwood
Silk Road
20 drops sandalwood, 4 drops orange, 3 drops patchouli
1 drop each black pepper, vetiver and ylang ylang
Buy sandalwood, orange, patchouli, black pepper, vetiver, ylang ylang
Sweet Sensuality
3 drops jasmine, 2 drops black pepper, 1 drop ylang ylang
(These essential oils are VERY strongly scented, so you need fewer drops than other blends)
Buy jasmine, black pepper, ylang ylang
Scent isn't the only thing you get to play with when you're making massage oil candles.
You can vary the carrier oils to make the hot oil massage blend absorb faster (or slower) into your skin or even to support your skin type. |
Substitute one ounce of the soy wax with one ounce of shea butter or cocoa butter to make a softer massage oil candle. |
To make a harder massage oil candle with a slight honey scent, replace up to an ounce of the soy wax with beeswax. |
Don't add dye to the recipe - you don't want to end up with blue (or any other color) skin the next day. Candle dyes STAIN!
I like square candle tins for my massage candle recipes because I find it's a bit less messy to pour from the corner of the tin than from the wider lip of a round tin.
To use your massage candle, light the candle and wait for the wax to pool. Then either pour the melted wax into your hand or straight onto the skin.
If that's too hot for you (or your partner, blow out the candle and let it sit for a minute or two, then pour or scoop the warm wax into your hand and use from there.
You can use as much or as little of the candle as you want. Any pooled wax you don't use will re-harden so you can melt it again next time. Yay!
I've found that craft shops charge an arm and a leg for candle supplies. I've taken to buying online in bulk and using them over time. Here's a few of the things you can get for this massage candle recipe from Amazon.com...
The right wick for a soy wax container candle that's 2 to 3 inches wide.
There are a million of them. Start with an 8-inch (20 cm) candle wick and experiment from there.
I recommend Cargill's NatureWax C-3, since it's going on your skin.
There's so much more to essential oils than meets the eye. Their
molecules are so tiny that they absorb deep into your body in a matter
of moments.
If the essential oil you buy is filled with additives (to "stretch"
the scent) and fragrance boosters, those potentially harmful ingredients
are also absorbed straight into your body. Not ideal!
I've used many brands over the last 12 years or so and what I know
for sure is, you get what you pay for. So I recommend buying the highest
quality essential oils you can afford.
Here's how I break it out...
doTerra for highest quality. You can shop retail by clicking the Shop button at the top. Or click Join & Save to become a wholesale customer and get 25% discount. |
Mountain Rose for quality on a budget.
Plus they have all the other ingredients you'll need for your
aromatherapy recipes, like the carrier oil and Vitamin E for this massage candle recipe. Here's helpful links to the supplies... |
And of course, Amazon for variety and selection. Please remember to buy the best oils you can afford - there's a lot of cheap oils in the marketplace, and they just won't give you the experience you're looking for. |
If that wasn't enough fun, check these out - more yummy, easy to make massage oils, soy candles and body butters...
Choosing the right oils is easy with an essential oil use chart like this one. |
Sugar & Spice Sensual Massage Oil Romance is in the air when your use this sensual aromatherapy body massage oil for a special night with your partner. |
Honey Kissed Body Butter Massage Cream This edible body butter recipe is lightly sweetened with honey and leaves you with sensational skin when you're done playing with it. |
Vanilla Cream Massage Lotion Bar An edible massage oil recipe that's also a lotion bar and a body butter. With vanilla, shea butter and honey for smooth, sweet skin. Mmmmmm! |
Making soy candles is amazingly rewarding. They look pretty, they smell wonderful, they're non-toxic. |
Aromatherapy Recipes Homepage from Massage Candle Recipe
Want to find more sensual recipes? Use the Search Box below.
For example, simply type in "sensual" (without the quotes) and hit Search. Every page on this website that includes the word Sensual will pop up. Poke through them and decide which recipe to try next. (This also works with any recipe ingredient, such as Jasmine or Lavender.)