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How to Make a Natural Orange Peel Candle with Only 2 Ingredients

Romantic dinner or holiday, but you are out of candles? The easiest way is to use the citrus peel to make a candle in old fashion way with only natural ingredients – orange and olive oil. Just add olive oil and the no-drip candle is ready to use for hours. I used the candle from the orange skin for 9 hours by adding twice the oil, but it can be longer for sure! The homemade 100% natural candles will be great decor for your outdoor party or a private, small dinner with your family and friends. For Christmas, we can make the base where we place candles out of coarse salt, so it looks like snow because salt is not flammable. For summer, we can place candles floating in the water or place them on small stones. Ideas are endless for safe ways to decorate candles. The orange or mandarin candle is odorless and to make this natural citrus candle aromatic, we need to add to the olive oil a few drops of your favorite aromatic oil. Aromatic oil makes your home smell amazing. Really, we don’t need much to make this simple and romantic table decor for your next party! Check this easy DIY orange peel candle technique!

On the page:

Step-by-step with photos of how to make orange peel candles.
How long does the burn time for an orange candle last.
Can we use another citrus to make a candle? The reasons are that some citrus we can’t use to make candles.

Learn How Easy To Make Orange Peel Candle

In a few easy steps and just two food ingredients, we can make a candle from an orange, a mandarin, or a tangerine. It is an old-fashioned, natural way to decorate your table for the Holidays! I always make sure my candle is stable in a candle holder. We can place a citrus candle in a martini glass, a dessert dish, a vase, or whatever you have in the kitchen to hold the candle, and it will be a safe way to use it.

How Long Does Burn Time For Orange Peel Candle?

I tried for 9 hours ( you can see in my video at the bottom of the page), and it can be longer. I added a couple of times oil. The orange peel was dry out. On the bottom of the glass under the orange, I noticed some oil. However, the light was the same as I started.

How Long Does Burn Time For Mandarin Peel Candle?

Time depends on the mandarin size and the amount of oil. The smallest mandarin I tried was burned for over 5 hours without adding any oil.

We need:

Orange or Mandarin
Olive oil
Knife
Spoon

Technique:

Make the cut around the orange center as I show in the photo but make sure you don’t cut the center of the fruit. It is important because we use the center core as the wick.

2. Twist sides in opposite directions. By twisting we separate the flash of the halves but the central core of mandarin will be intact in place. It is important because the mandarin central core will be the wick for our candle.

Then thicker the central core than a brighter candle will be. Of course, then brighter light than faster oil burns out.

3. The orange segments remove from the peel with a spoon.

4. Add olive oil in the orange half but leave 1 inch of the tip central core on top of the surface of the oil. Use your fingers to cover with oil the tip of the citrus wick, so it will be easy to light up.

*I tried grape oil and it didn’t work for me. However, any olive oil I used worked great.

5. Light up the candle and enjoy! On the bottom of the dish in the photo coarse salt and fresh rosemary.

*Lighting the orange candle can take may longer than an industrial candle wick but after it lights up well works great. I learned the best to use a candle lighter.

The technique how to make the orange peel candle is also a great camping hack or when we are out of electric power and don’t have much on our hands.

Can We Use Other Citrus Fruits To Make Candles Out Of?

I tried lemon and grapefruit to make candles. The lemon didn’t work for me because I was not able to light up the wick as I did with the orange and mandarin. The grapefruit was working fine, but the downside is that the rind is like a sponge and oil is absorbing fast into the rind. I don’t recommend using this technique to make candles from lemon or grapefruit. The best natural candles for your party table are made from orange or tangerine.