DIY Wax Crayons!
Juliette van der MeerAre Wax Crayons safe?
If you have very young children who tend to put everything in their mouths, these crayons are fine as the ingredients used are food grade and safe. Just don't use beeswax if anyone is allergic to bees or bee products, and keep in mind that the oxides are not for ingesting so use one of the other suggested colour alternatives.
Types of Waxes To Use
You can use either beeswax, vegan plant waxes such as carnauba, soy or candelilla or a blend of waxes for your crayons. Have a look here for what options we have.
Cleaning up tips: wax can be a pain to clean so heat up the bowl or pot you used to melt it in, then wipe off the liquid wax with a paper towel. You can then clean with dish soap.
Colour Pigments
For colour pigment ideas refer to our DIY Natural Colourants guide or simply use the following:
- Blue:
German chamomile essential oil or powdered blue cornflowers.
- Yellow:
Turmeric powder or yellow oxide.
- Green:
Try kaolin green clay or African green clay.
- Brown:
Cacao powder or coffee.
- Orange:
Try mixing turmeric with red clay and titanium dioxide to make an orange.
- Pink:
- Red:
- Purple:
Mix the red or pink colours with titanium dioxide plus a blue pigment such as finely powdered blue cornflowers.
- Black:
Activated charcoal. You can also use black iron oxide if your kids are older and won't try to eat the crayons.
- White:
Try blending your colours with titanium dioxide powder to make them more opaque or pastel. If you are going for a very clean shade, you may prefer to use white beeswax over the yellow beeswax as the colours may come out brighter.
Making Wax Crayons
Crayon ingredients are very simple - just wax, delicious cocoa butter and pigment. Once you have chosen a type of wax to use, it's time to start melting. You can also add essential oils to give the crayons interesting scents, or try using different shaped molds from the traditional oblong crayons - the kids will love it!
Essential oils can contribute an aromatherapy element that can be calming for young children. Try lavender, orange, geranium, chamomile or other child-friendly oils for specific aromatherapy actions. Our Guide to Child Friendly Essential Oils is a good resource to start with.
8 comments
Hi Ry, ah no the dreaded sinkhole! Sinkholes are a common occurrence when working with wax. They occur when the wax literally contracts/shrinks as it cools and sets and is usually affected by uneven cooling temperatures. Here are some tips:
Make sure your container is not cold, otherwise the hot wax will be affected by the temperature difference. Also don’t pour your wax too hot. Sometimes a slightly lower melting temperature will lead to more even cooling.
The easiest way to prevent sinkholes from happening is to do a second wax pour. So pour about 9/10ths of the wax, wait for it to cool about 2 hours, then pour a thin layer over the top to even out any sinkholes.
Hi,
I hope you are well. I was trying out your method. At first all the pigments went to the bottom so I tried again by mixing it till it’s abit more solid then pour. This result in a “sink hole” uneven top. Do you have any advise on how to avoid that? Thank youuuu
Hi Siza, you can use either refined or unrefined :)
Hi there. This sounds delicious, can’t wait to make them! Can I use any kind of cocoa butter, refined or not?
Hi Sneha, I’m so glad it worked well! :)