[Note: For more information abour ear candlin you may want to read the Wikipedia Ear Candlin page]
A lot of folks wonder if it's possible to to make your own ear candles. Well let me tell you you definitely can, and it's fairly easy as well! I make my ear candles myself as well and use them for ear candling on a weekly basis.
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| How to make your own ear candles? |
Like the name suggests, ear candles are long, special paper based cones. You place one side in your ear and burn the ear candle from top to about 5 centimeter down to the bottom. Doing this allows your ears to be cleaned out of grease, dirt and other things that prevent clean, proper working ears. Ear candling is good to do at least twice a month, I do it once a week myself. As long as you don't burn the candle to the utmost bottom down, ear candling is safe.
When you make your own ear candles you should keep in mind that you are taking your safety into your own hands. The risk of burning is somewhat increased when using homemade ear candles due to the increased thickness of the candles. But if you're careful, you should be alright Making your own ear candles is fun and after a few completed homemade ear candles you actually start to get a real appreciation of the skill going into a well crafted ear candle.
When you make your own ear candles you should keep in mind that you are taking your safety into your own hands. The risk of burning is somewhat increased when using homemade ear candles due to the increased thickness of the candles. But if you're careful, you should be alright Making your own ear candles is fun and after a few completed homemade ear candles you actually start to get a real appreciation of the skill going into a well crafted ear candle.
Homemade ear candles - What you need...
To start making your own DIY ear candles you will need:
For the dowel, be certain it is tapered at one end but not necessarily pointy. We're going to make the end of the ear candle into a shape that will fit quite comfortably into your outer ear canal, the ear candle will actually adapt the shape of your dowel. Use the sandpaper to smoothen the wooden dowel. Use a thick knitting needle tfor the opening because they are about the same thickness as we want the opening to be.
As for the wax you need about 3 ounces per ear candle, heat the wax in a pan on low fire (don't let it get too hot!). Put the olive oil in a bowl.
Instructions for how to make your own ear candles
Let's start to make your ear candles!
Put the wax to heat and stir until melted. Thin out the wax you may add with little amounts olive oil. Don’t use too much. Plut a piece of cotton into the wax and let it soak. Coat the dowel with some of the oil as well. Take the soaked cotton out and let the excess wax drip off.
Once the cotton is coated with wax, you will need to wrap it around the dowel. Start at the bottom / narrow end and work your way up. You should overlap the cotton round on round, overlapping it by about a third each round. Wrap enough cotton strips to cover the entire dowel, usually around three pieces. Wrap it nice tightly to make sure there are no gaps in the ear candle.
Upon hardening of the wax, gently slide if off the rdowel. Now, use the scissors to trim the ends a little.
All done! We just created our own ear candle. It may take you a few times before you really get the hang of it but once you got it in your fingers, it's really easy and fun! Enjoy the ear candling!
To start making your own DIY ear candles you will need:
- Bee-wax, soy, or paraffin
- Olive oil
- Unbleached cotton strips
About 2 centimeter wide
About 20 centimeters long - A wooden dowel
- A piece of sandpaper
- A knitting needle
- A small pan
- Plastic wrap
- Scissors
- Some ice water
For the dowel, be certain it is tapered at one end but not necessarily pointy. We're going to make the end of the ear candle into a shape that will fit quite comfortably into your outer ear canal, the ear candle will actually adapt the shape of your dowel. Use the sandpaper to smoothen the wooden dowel. Use a thick knitting needle tfor the opening because they are about the same thickness as we want the opening to be.
As for the wax you need about 3 ounces per ear candle, heat the wax in a pan on low fire (don't let it get too hot!). Put the olive oil in a bowl.
Instructions for how to make your own ear candles
Let's start to make your ear candles!
Put the wax to heat and stir until melted. Thin out the wax you may add with little amounts olive oil. Don’t use too much. Plut a piece of cotton into the wax and let it soak. Coat the dowel with some of the oil as well. Take the soaked cotton out and let the excess wax drip off.
Once the cotton is coated with wax, you will need to wrap it around the dowel. Start at the bottom / narrow end and work your way up. You should overlap the cotton round on round, overlapping it by about a third each round. Wrap enough cotton strips to cover the entire dowel, usually around three pieces. Wrap it nice tightly to make sure there are no gaps in the ear candle.
Upon hardening of the wax, gently slide if off the rdowel. Now, use the scissors to trim the ends a little.
All done! We just created our own ear candle. It may take you a few times before you really get the hang of it but once you got it in your fingers, it's really easy and fun! Enjoy the ear candling!
How much oil do you use?
ReplyDeleteI've never had to use oil added to the wax to make candles. It may come in handy to soak or rub down the dowel with olive oil or linseed oil so that the candle releases easier, but then again, paraffin wax has a bit of oil already in it and after making a few candles it soaks into the dowel rod, not needing the extra step. If using beeswax or soy wax, you could possibly need it, but I've always used paraffin, so that's all I can comment on.
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