Learn Candle Making
Best Candle Making Books
Ranked on publisher, length and date, and honest that none of those tells you whether the writing is any good.
We have not burned these candles and we do not claim to have. Here is what we did instead. Links to Amazon earn us a commission at no extra cost to you — disclosure.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Candlemaker's Companion, Betty OppenheimerTop pickAn established craft publisher, a named author, 208 pages, and every one of them about candles rather than shared with soap. On the only axes a book's metadata can be checked on, nothing else here matches it. | One editorially published book, all of it about candles | |
| 2 |  Candle Making for Beginners: Soy, Beeswax, Coconut Wax, Bayden HarkerThe most recently published title in these picks, and the only one whose subtitle names coconut wax. Independently published, so there is no editorial filter behind it, but it is the only book here that covers the wax landscape as it stands. | The waxes people actually buy today, in a current book | |
| 3 |  Soy Candle Making Mastery, Grace WellnerA current, soy-specific title at a reasonable page count. It covers the wax this site's readers overwhelmingly use, and it is independently published, which is the trade you make for that focus. | Soy only, which is what most people here are pouring | |
| 4 |  Beeswax Alchemy, Petra AhnertThe only editorially published title here aimed at one wax. If you have settled on beeswax, a book written around it is worth more than a general guide that gives it a chapter. | Beeswax specifically, from a publisher rather than a platform | |
| 5 |  Making Candles and Soaps For Dummies, Kelly EwingThree hundred and forty-four pages from a major publisher, which is the largest page count here by a wide margin. Read the title carefully though: the length is shared between two crafts, so the candle half is smaller than the number suggests. | The most pages, if you also want to make soap | |
| 6 |  The Encyclopedia of Candlemaking Techniques, Sandie LeaThe only hardcover in these picks and the only one organized as a visual technique reference rather than a linear course. It is also the oldest and the least reliably in stock. | Technique breadth, in hardcover, if you can still get a copy | |
| 7 |  Candle Making for Beginners, Adrienne HawsFifty-seven pages, published through a self-publishing platform in 2016. At that length it is a pamphlet rather than a book, and what it covers is covered free and more currently on this site. | Nothing we would recommend it for over the free pages on this site |
This page was planned when the site was built, researched, and then abandoned. The reason is in our build log: the only honest way to rank a book from a product listing is on its publisher, and at the time we could only extract that field for two of six candidates. Ranking the other four on their titles would have been guesswork dressed as a recommendation.
That has changed. The catalog data now returns a publisher, a named author with their role, a page count, a publication date and a format for every book below. So the page is buildable, on exactly the axis that was missing. What has not changed is the limit of the method, and it is worth stating before the picks rather than after.
The one axis that separates these books
Candle making books fall into two groups, and the listing tells you which is which.
| Group | What it means | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| An editorial house: Storey, Wiley, Quarry, Running Press | Somebody other than the author decided it was worth printing, and an editor worked on it | That the content is current, or correct |
| Independently published or a self-publishing platform | The author published it directly; no external filter | That it is bad. Two of the most current books here are in this group |
The useful part is that the two groups split almost perfectly by date. Every editorially published candle book in these picks was printed between 1999 and 2015. Every independently published one was printed in the last few years. You are choosing between an editorial filter and current wax coverage, and no book here gives you both.
Every published figure, side by side
| Book | Publisher | Pages | Published | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Candlemaker's Companion | Storey Publishing | 208 | 2004 | Paperback |
| Candle Making for Beginners (Harker) | Independently published | 234 | 2026 | Paperback |
| Soy Candle Making Mastery | Independently published | 263 | 2026 | Paperback |
| Beeswax Alchemy | Quarry Books | 136 | 2015 | Paperback |
| Making Candles and Soaps For Dummies | For Dummies / Wiley | 344 | 2004 | Paperback |
| Encyclopedia of Candlemaking Techniques | Running Press | 160 | 1999 | Hardcover |
| Candle Making for Beginners (Haws) | CreateSpace platform | 57 | 2016 | Paperback |
Two numbers in that table deserve a second look. The 344-page book is the longest and shares its length with soap making, so its candle content is smaller than any other figure in the column suggests. The 57-page book is a quarter of the length of the next shortest and is sold as a complete beginner's guide.
Page count is not scope
The most useful thing we can do with published metadata is read the subtitle against the page count, because several of these books divide their length across more than candles.
- Making Candles and Soaps For Dummies splits 344 pages between two crafts, and the listing does not publish the ratio.
- Beeswax Alchemy splits 136 pages across soap, candles, balms, creams and salves, per its own subtitle. Candles are one fifth of the brief.
- Soy Candle Making Mastery puts 263 pages into one wax, which is the highest candle density in these picks.
- The Candlemaker's Companion puts 208 pages into candles across rolling, pouring, dipping and decorating.
So the honest ordering by candle content is not the ordering by page count, and that is the kind of thing only a subtitle plus a number will tell you.
Why the dates matter more than they should
A candle is a wick in wax and the physics has not moved. What has moved is the shelf.
- Coconut blends are a current product category. A book printed in 2004 cannot mention them, and our coconut wax roundup exists because the published melt points in that category surprise people.
- Wick series naming has settled into ECO, CD, HTP and LX, and the published charts we transcribe are written against those names.
- Published maximum fragrance loads are now printed on the wax you buy, such as the 10 percent on GW 464. A book cannot tell you the figure for a wax that did not exist when it went to press.
How we picked
- A published publisher. The axis this page was abandoned for lacking. Every pick now has one, and it is the first sort.
- A named author, with their role published. Every pick has one; several titles we found do not.
- Published page count, read against the subtitle, so a book that shares its length with soap is not credited with the whole of it.
- Publication date, because the wax market has changed even though the craft has not.
- Format, since a hardcover lies open on a bench and a paperback does not.
- Currently purchasable, checked on the buy-box listing rather than assumed.
What is deliberately absent from that list is any judgment of the writing. The full method is on how we pick.
Top pick · One editorially published book, all of it about candles
The Candlemaker's Companion, Betty Oppenheimer
Storey Publishing
An established craft publisher, a named author, 208 pages, and every one of them about candles rather than shared with soap. On the only axes a book's metadata can be checked on, nothing else here matches it.
$19.99 · 31% off
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Betty OppenheimerSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- Storey Publishing, LLCSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 208Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2004-03-01Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- Rolling, pouring, dipping and decorating, per the subtitleSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
Storey is a craft publisher with an editorial process behind it. That is not a guarantee the book is good, but it does mean somebody other than the author decided it was worth printing, which is the one quality filter a listing can actually evidence.
Two hundred and eight pages entirely on candles beats a longer book that splits its length with soap making. Scope matters more than raw page count.
Published in 2004. The physics of a wick has not moved since, but the wax and supplier landscape has, and nothing printed then covers coconut blends or the current wick series.
Good
- Editorially published by an established craft house
- Entirely about candles, including dipping and rolling that other books skip
- Named author, published page count and publication date all on the listing
Less good
- Published in 2004, so it predates coconut blends and today's wick series naming
- Paperback only in this listing
- Nothing on the listing says whether the instructions are any good, and we have not read it
Skip this one if
You want current wax and wick specifics. A book from 2004 will not name the waxes you can buy today, and the published figures on this site are more current than any book in this roundup.
Pick 2 · The waxes people actually buy today, in a current book
Candle Making for Beginners: Soy, Beeswax, Coconut Wax, Bayden Harker
Independently published
The most recently published title in these picks, and the only one whose subtitle names coconut wax. Independently published, so there is no editorial filter behind it, but it is the only book here that covers the wax landscape as it stands.
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Bayden HarkerSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- Independently publishedSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 234Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2026-07-25Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- Soy, beeswax, coconut wax and scented candles, per the subtitleSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
Recency is the one axis where the independently published titles beat the editorial ones outright. A 2004 book cannot mention coconut blends because they were not on the shelf; this one names them in its subtitle.
Independently published means no publisher's editor read it before you did. That is the trade for currency, and it is a real one.
Two hundred and thirty-four pages across four waxes is a reasonable allocation, and more candle-specific length than the For Dummies title gives.
Good
- Most recent publication date in these picks
- Names the wax families the current market actually sells
- Named author, published page count and date
Less good
- Independently published, so no editorial filter
- No track record: a 2026 title has no history behind it
- We have not read it, and nothing in the metadata speaks to quality
Skip this one if
You want a book somebody vetted before it was printed. The Storey title is the editorially published answer, at the cost of being twenty years older.
Pick 3 · Soy only, which is what most people here are pouring
Soy Candle Making Mastery, Grace Wellner
Independently published
A current, soy-specific title at a reasonable page count. It covers the wax this site's readers overwhelmingly use, and it is independently published, which is the trade you make for that focus.
$12.99 · 5% off
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Grace WellnerSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- Independently publishedSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 263Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2026-03-18Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- Soy candles and scent throw, per the subtitleSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
No editorially published book in this roundup is soy-specific. That is the gap this fills, and it is a real gap given that soy is the default container wax in the US.
Two hundred and sixty-three pages on one wax is the highest candle-page density in these picks.
Scent throw in the subtitle is a good sign of scope, since it is the thing beginners ask about most and the thing a general guide covers in a paragraph.
Good
- Soy-specific, which no editorially published title here is
- Recent publication date and a substantial page count
- Named author with full metadata published
Less good
- Independently published, so no editorial filter
- Nothing for beeswax, paraffin or coconut makers
- We have not read it; the metadata says nothing about accuracy
Skip this one if
You are still choosing a wax. A single-wax book locks you in before you have decided, and our wax pages compare the families for free.
Pick 4 · Beeswax specifically, from a publisher rather than a platform
Beeswax Alchemy, Petra Ahnert
Quarry Books
The only editorially published title here aimed at one wax. If you have settled on beeswax, a book written around it is worth more than a general guide that gives it a chapter.
$26.99 · 12% off
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Petra AhnertSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- Quarry BooksSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 136Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2015-04-01Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- Soap, candles, balms, creams and salves from beeswax, per the subtitleSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
The subtitle is doing the important work here. This is a beeswax book, not a candle book: candles are one of five things it covers, so 136 pages divides further than it looks.
It is the most recent of the editorially published titles here by eleven years, which matters less for beeswax than for soy because beeswax has not changed.
Pairs with the gap our own beeswax pages document: no beeswax listing publishes a melt point and no publisher prints a beeswax wick chart.
Good
- Editorially published and focused on one wax
- The most recent traditionally published book in these picks
- Named author with a published page count
Less good
- Candles share the book with four other product categories
- 136 pages is the shortest of the editorially published titles
- Nothing here for soy, paraffin or coconut makers
Skip this one if
You pour soy. This is a beeswax book and almost everything in it assumes a wax you are not using.
Pick 5 · The most pages, if you also want to make soap
Making Candles and Soaps For Dummies, Kelly Ewing
For Dummies (Wiley)
Three hundred and forty-four pages from a major publisher, which is the largest page count here by a wide margin. Read the title carefully though: the length is shared between two crafts, so the candle half is smaller than the number suggests.
$24.99 · 22% off
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Kelly EwingSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- For Dummies, brand listed as WileySource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 344Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2004-11-01Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- Candles and soaps, per the titleSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
The For Dummies series has a house format: numbered steps, boxed warnings, and a structure an editor imposed rather than an author chose. Whether that suits you is a matter of taste, and it is at least a known quantity.
The listing does not publish how the 344 pages divide between candles and soap, so treat the candle portion as unknown and smaller than the total.
Same publication year as the Storey book, with the same consequence: no coconut blends, no current wick series.
Good
- Largest published page count in this roundup
- Major publisher with a consistent, editor-imposed format
- Useful if soap making is genuinely on your list too
Less good
- Length is shared with soap making and the split is not published
- Published in 2004
- Fewer candle pages than 344 suggests, because soap shares the length
Skip this one if
You only want to make candles. You are paying for soap chapters, and the Storey book gives you more candle content for less.
Pick 6 · Technique breadth, in hardcover, if you can still get a copy
The Encyclopedia of Candlemaking Techniques, Sandie Lea
Running Press
The only hardcover in these picks and the only one organized as a visual technique reference rather than a linear course. It is also the oldest and the least reliably in stock.
#ad · how this is funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Published specifications
- Author
- Sandie LeaSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- Running PressSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 160Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 1999-07-15Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- HardcoverSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Availability
- Listed as limited stock when we read itSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
A step-by-step visual guide is a different kind of book from a course. You look techniques up rather than reading it through, which suits someone who already pours and wants to try carving, layering or dipping.
Hardcover is the practical format for a book that lives open on a bench next to hot wax.
Published in 1999, which makes it the oldest title here by five years. Everything about modern soy is absent.
Good
- The only hardcover here, which suits bench use
- Reference structure rather than a linear beginner course
- Editorially published with a named author
Less good
- Stock was limited when we read the listing, so availability is not guaranteed
- Published in 1999 and entirely predates the modern soy and coconut market
- A technique reference is the wrong shape for a complete beginner
Skip this one if
You have never poured a candle. An encyclopedia assumes you know what you are looking up, and a beginner needs a course instead.
Pick 7 · Nothing we would recommend it for over the free pages on this site
Candle Making for Beginners, Adrienne Haws
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Fifty-seven pages, published through a self-publishing platform in 2016. At that length it is a pamphlet rather than a book, and what it covers is covered free and more currently on this site.
Published specifications
- Author
- Adrienne Haws, with Madison Haws credited as editorSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Publisher
- CreateSpace Independent Publishing PlatformSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Pages
- 57Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Published
- 2016-12-01Source: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Format
- PaperbackSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
- Scope
- General beginner guideSource: Amazon Creators API item data, read 2026-09-19
What that means
Fifty-seven pages is roughly a quarter of the Storey book and a fifth of the longest title here. Whatever it costs, you are buying a quarter of a candle book.
CreateSpace was Amazon's self-publishing platform, so the publisher field here tells you there was no external editor, the same as the independently published titles.
It is in the picks because it is what a search for a cheap beginner candle book turns up first, and because the honest thing to do is say what you get.
Good
- Honest about being a short introduction rather than a manual
- An editor is at least credited on the listing
- Short enough to read in an evening
Less good
- 57 pages, a quarter of the length of the Storey title
- Self-published platform, so no editorial filter
- Published in 2016 and covers none of the current wax landscape
Skip this one if
You were going to buy it to learn the basics. The how-to guides on this site are free, longer and more current, and they name the temperatures their sources publish.
What we left out, and why
- Four titles sharing one brand field. Four independently published candle books in our search results carry the same brand, Majosta, under four different credited author names, with page counts from 110 to 300. We are stating the published fact and drawing no conclusion from it; we did not feature them because a shared brand across unrelated authors is something a buyer should notice for themselves.
- A 110-page title priced above every editorially published book here when we read it. Nothing disqualifying, but page count against price made it impossible to rank above the Storey book.
- Out-of-print and single-copy listings. One edition of a well-known title returned out of stock, and several Storey bulletins and older hardcovers came back as limited stock from third-party sellers. We do not feature a book you probably cannot buy.
- Candle making log books and journals. They turn up throughout these searches and they are stationery, not instruction.
Do you need a book at all
Honestly, probably not, and it would be strange for a site that publishes this material free to pretend otherwise.
Everything a first candle needs is on how to make candles, with the temperatures attributed to the suppliers who publish them. The wick sizing is on the wick size chart, cross-referenced across four published charts including where they disagree. The arithmetic is worked on the page rather than left to you.
What a book gives you that a website does not is one voice, in one order, offline, that you can put on the bench and follow without a screen. Some people learn far better that way, and that is a real reason to buy one. Buying a book because you think the free version is incomplete is not.
What we would buy
For the method, taught properly: The Candlemaker's Companion. An editorial house, a named author, 208 pages entirely on candles, and the widest technique range here. Read its 2004 date as meaning you take the numbers from your wax supplier rather than the book.
For a current book that names the waxes you can actually buy: the Harker beginner's guide, with clear eyes about it being independently published and untested by any editor.
And if you pour soy and nothing else, which describes most people reading this site: the soy-specific title, for the same reason and with the same caveat.
How these picks were made. Published specifications compiled from the sources listed below, the arithmetic shown on the page, and live Amazon prices. No product here has been burned by us. Read the method.
Common questions
What is the best candle making book?
The Candlemaker's Companion by Betty Oppenheimer, on published metadata: Storey Publishing, 208 pages, all of it candles, covering rolling, pouring, dipping and decorating. Its weakness is its 2004 publication date, which predates coconut blends and current wick series naming.
Are candle making books worth buying?
Only if you learn better from one voice in one order, offline. The method is free on this site with the temperatures attributed to the suppliers that publish them. A book is worth buying for the teaching, not because the free material is incomplete.
How can you rank books you have not read?
We cannot, and we do not claim to. This page ranks published metadata: publisher, author, page count, publication date, format and scope. That tells you whether a book was editorially published and how much of it is about candles. It says nothing about whether the writing is good.
What is the difference between a published and a self-published candle book?
An editorial house means someone other than the author decided it was worth printing and an editor worked on it. Independently published means the author published it directly. In this category the split is almost exactly by date: the editorial titles are from 1999 to 2015, the independent ones from the last few years.
Is there a good book for soy candles specifically?
Not from an editorial publisher, as far as our search found. The soy-specific titles here are independently published. If you want an editorially published book you will be reading general candle instruction and applying it to soy yourself.
Do old candle making books still work?
The method does; the product names do not. A wick in wax behaves the same as it did in 2004, but a book from then cannot name coconut blends, current wick series or the published fragrance loads printed on today's wax. Take the method from the book and the numbers from your wax supplier.
What should a beginner read first?
The free guide on this site, then decide. If you find you want it on paper and in one order, the Storey title is the pick. If you want the current wax landscape covered, an independently published 2026 title is the only way to get it.
Sources
- Cal Candle Supply - Golden Wax 464 published instructions (heat, fragrance and pour temperatures)
- CandleScience - Golden Brands 464 soy wax product specifications
- Lone Star Candle Supply - Guide to Wicking (ECO, CD, HTP, LX, zinc and wooden wick charts)
- FTC - Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
Read next
Learn Candle Making
Step-by-step candle making guides, the fixes for the common failures, and comparisons with wax melts and warmers.
How to Make Candles
The complete candle making walkthrough: equipment, wax and fragrance arithmetic, published temperatures, the pour, the cure and the fixes.
How to Make Soy Candles
Soy-specific candle making: the published GW 464 temperatures, why soy frosts and pulls away from glass, and its wick sizing.
Making Candles to Sell
What actually changes when candles go from gifts to product: repeatability, fire safety labeling, batch records and honest cost per candle.
Best Coconut Wax for Candle Making
Coconut, coconut soy and coconut apricot waxes compared on published melt point, pour temperature, fragrance load and wick guidance.
Top pick
American Soy Organics Freedom Coconut Soy Wax Beads, 5 lbs
Candle Wick Size Chart
ECO, CD, HTP, LX, zinc and wooden wick sizes from four published charts, cross-referenced by container diameter with every publisher named.