Gel Candles: Creative and Beautiful Candles to Make [Paperback]

One has to wonder how much practice the author has in making gel candles since most of the wicks in the pictures are VERY lopsided and way off centered ( I guess she didn't heed her own words under the heading "Taming Rebellious Wicks.") In many of the candles, only a partial wick is used (about 2" or so) for, according to the author, "safety and aesthetic reasons." HA! The wicks that are pictured all the way to the bottom of the container are not even anchored, which, when dealing with gel is VERY unsafe. Firstly, an anchored wick is less likely to fall over, and secondly, a high-collared, tabbed and anchored wick will extinguish the candle BEFORE it reaches the bottom of the jar and thusly not allow the container bottom to get too heated and possibly ruin the surface it is sitting on, or worse.

It gets more ridiculous AND more dangerous. In the martini example, a REAL olive is used, in the "Sweet Dreams Scented Candle" plastic letter beads are suspended in the candle, in the "Insect-Repellent" candle, very large plastic bugs are used (I think their plastic since they look like it and on the material list "colorful, plastic or ceramic bugs" are called for) and a disgusting variation for this candle even suggests using a "large, interesting bug" ("already dead, of course") as an embed. And in the "Tubular Gel" candles, the author has poured the candle into long (possibly 12" or more) extremely narrow tubes of glass, using an unanchored, short wick, of course! There's more, embedded Christmas ornaments, silk flowers and even a wooden toothpick!

Okay, enough about the dangers of the candles in this book, now I will focus on the LACK of instructions.

Wicks. Although a whole page is devoted to this topic, the information is very vague. Sizes, available coring (or coreless alternatives), and surfaces are not covered other than to mention that zinc wicks are available and not to use paper wicks. No discussion on wick size relevant to the containers diameter, the hazards of using lead wicks (if one can still get their hands on them) and why, or the pros and cons of using a waxed or unwaxed wick. I suppose this most important component of candle making is left to chance for the beginner.

Fragrance. Discussion under this heading is left to a minimum. The author does state that fragrance can cause your candle to ignite. She does mention the words "flash point" but does not explain what this means nor does she explain to the reader what the fragrance oils should and should not contain (so as not to be readily flammable) or what is the minimum degree flash point that a fragrance can have before it is considered dangerous for gel. Additionally, the author does state that the wrong fragrance can cloud your gel or the wrong amount of fragrance can be dangerous, however, she never tells the reader what is the right amount or, at the very least, what percent (according to weight) one might consider using. Nor does she speak of the virtues of fragrance when used sensibly, or of the types that can or can't be used (i.e., perfumes, essential oils, etcetera).

Embeds. Been there!

Dyes. This section is OK, except that the author neglects to mention NOT to use embeds that may have been dyed with toxic paints.

Containers. Ok, but does not warn against containers that are too narrow or containers that are somehow damaged.

Additionally, this book lack in other areas such as: no mention of warning labels and no mention of resources and suppliers, save for The Chemistry Store in the acknowledgements.

I cannot help but to think that because of the sudden popularity in making gel candles and because of the lack of written material on the subject that this book was put out in thoughtless haste so that the author and publisher could cash in on the publics eagerness to be creative. And, because of the fact that (to the best of my knowledge) this is the first "commercially" issued book on this subject, the publisher (and writer) should have exercised foresight and assumed that many beginners would, because of a scarcity of published information on the subject, purchase this title, and as such, they should have given heavy thought to the scope of the book concerning both safety and directions.

As with all books (and to be fair), there is some favorable contents within the pages of this title. It is laid out well and has very nice photographs. And, if you are EXPERIENCED in making gel candles and know to disregard the potentially dangerous examples, it does offer some unique ideas.

Finally, to all you newcomers, safe & enjoyable gelling is possible, with the right directions; therefore, I recommend the book "How To Make & Market Gel Candles That Sell Like Wildfire" by Lynn A. Thomas. This "plain Jane" looking book is bursting with both common sense and ideas and the author also maintains a website with tons of resources.

Suggestion: purchase both books. The latter for the know-how, and the former for a bit of visual inspiration.