How to Make Beeswax Crayons

What Makes a Good Homemade Crayon?

A good homemade crayon should be firm enough to hold its shape while still being soft enough to leave plenty of color on the page. And, when you make your own, you get to choose exactly what goes into each one.

These more natural crayons are a bit different from commercial crayons, but that’s part of their charm. With the right blend of waxes and pigments, you can create colorful crayons that are fun to make and use.

As wonderful as commercial crayons are, they can contain some gnarly substances. With a growing concern over exposure to chemicals, many folks have opted to create their own homemade crayons. 

Ingredients You’ll Need

Though homemade crayon recipes vary a bit, you need more than beeswax to make a good crayon.

The right combination of waxes helps create a crayon that is firm enough to hold its shape while still transferring color to the page.

• For this recipe, you’ll need:
• 6 ounces beeswax
• 45 grams carnauba wax
• 19 grams cocoa butter

Beeswax

Beeswax forms the base of this recipe. You can use wax from your own hives or purchase clean beeswax for the project.

If you are using raw beeswax, be sure to clean your beeswax before using. Small bits of debris in the wax can affect the appearance and texture of your finished crayons.

Carnauba Wax

Carnauba wax is harder than beeswax and helps give homemade crayons a firmer texture. This is important because crayons made with beeswax and butters alone would not have the right texture.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter helps soften the wax blend just enough to make the crayons easier to use. Combined with beeswax and carnauba wax, it helps create a better balance between hardness and color transfer.

Choosing Your Colors

Pigment gives your homemade crayons their color. You can make several colors from one batch by dividing the melted wax mixture into smaller containers before adding pigment.

The amount of pigment needed can vary by color, so start with a small amount and add more if needed. Keep in mind that homemade crayons may produce softer, less intense colors than commercial crayons.

Natural Materials for Coloring Crayons

If you want to dabble and experiment with natural color – try some of these.

• Red – alkanet root powder, Australian Red Clay
• Pink – beet root powder
• Yellow – turmeric powder
• Black – activated charcoal
• Brown – black walnut hulls, cocoa powder

Equipment

You don’t need a lot of special equipment for this project. Most of what you need may already be in your kitchen or craft supplies.

• Double boiler or melting pot – for safely melting the beeswax and other waxes.
• Kitchen scale – helps you measure the ingredients accurately.
• Small disposable cups – useful for dividing the melted wax into individual colors.
• Wooden craft sticks – for stirring pigment into each color.
• Crayon molds – silicone molds work well and make the finished crayons easy to remove.

Because beeswax can be difficult to clean from pots and utensils, I like to use equipment dedicated to my beeswax projects whenever possible.

Making Crayons: Step by Step

Once you have your ingredients and equipment ready, it’s time to make some crayons. The process is simple: melt and combine the ingredients, add your colors and pour the mixture into molds.

1. Melt the Beeswax

Begin by melting the beeswax in a double boiler. Beeswax takes the longest to melt, so give it a head start before adding the other ingredients.

Never leave melting beeswax unattended and avoid heating it directly over an open flame.

2. Combine Ingredients

Once the beeswax is melted, add the carnauba wax and cocoa butter. Continue heating gently until everything is completely melted. Stir the mixture well with a wooden skewer, craft stick or spoon.

3. Prepare the Molds

Prepare your molds with mold release spray if needed. It isn’t necessary for every type of mold, but it can make removing the finished crayons much easier.

The amount of mixture you need will depend on the size of your molds. My long stick mold required about 26 grams of mixture per section, while the star mold required about 42 grams.

4. Divide – Add Colors – Pour

Decide how many colors you want to make and divide the melted mixture into small cups. I chose four different colors for my batch.

Add your pigment to each cup and stir very well. I start with about ½ teaspoon of pigment and adjust as needed to get the shade I want.

Pour each color into the prepared molds. Repeat the process for each color you want to make.

Let the crayons cool for at least an hour before removing them from the molds. They will become stronger as they cool.

FAQs

Fun Ways to Use Extra Wax

After you experience the fun of making diy beeswax crayons, perhaps you have a bit of beeswax left over? Let’s not waste it – there are so many things to do!

Freshen up a stuffy room with these homemade beeswax wax melts – they are great in small rooms.

For other small spaces where a heat source is not allowed – scented beeswax sachets work perfectly.

You can use this natural wax as a major ingredient in these easy beeswax soap recipes.

Or maybe you would like to try a natural approach to unwanted insects with these beeswax bug bite sticks.