So what are the candles from?
Soy wax
Soy wax is a natural and effective alternative to paraffin wax, derived from soybean oil. Its many advantages include a lower tendency to “tunnelling” – that bit when you wind up with unburned wax up the sides of your candle container. They burn evenly and with less soot than a paraffin wax candle. The wax is sourced from soybeans which, after harvesting, are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled and rolled into flakes. The oil is exacted from the flakes and then hydrogenated which converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated. This alters the melting point of the oil, allowing soy candles to burn longer.
Bees wax
What about the fascinating production of beeswax – so much work by the Honey Bee in her heated hive.
Beeswax (cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. The wax is formed into “scales” by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, who discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers collect and use it to form cells for honey-storage and larval and pupal protection within the beehive.
The first lot of wax secreted from the bee is initially glass-clear and colourless, becoming opaque after the bee has chewed it a few times and it has become mixed with pollen by the hive worker bees, the wax then becomes progressively more yellow or brown by incorporation of pollen oils and propolis. The wax scales are about 3 mm on first production and look like contact lenses!.
Essential oils
Each oil that we have chosen to fragrance our candles has a unique property to enhance and support your well-being. The essential oils are typically obtained by distillation which helps retain the characteristic odour of the plant or other source from which it was extracted, we do not use any chemically produced fragrances.
Container Choice
Every candle is hand-poured to a glass, tin or mould. Candles with a good ratio of essential oils like ours will also fragrance your home when in a warm environment.
Candle Safety
A few tips to help you get more out of your candles:
Don’t be tempted to light your candle until you have some time to enjoy it, as you want to keep it lit and burning while the entire surface melts completely (from one side of your container to the other). If you blow out your candle before you reach this stage you’ll get something called a “memory ring”. Once you extinguish a memory ring and it cools and hardens, every time you light your candle in future it will only burn outwards as far as that ring – that will become the new “edge” of your candle, and this is what happens when you find a candle tends to burn downwards in a crater effect and constantly extinguish itself.
If this has already happened to candles you own, or if you have to blow out a candle earlier than you want to, there’s still hope. Rather than pouring out the wax pool or worse, throwing away your lovely candles, try very gently warming the surface with a hairdryer to melt the surface and get rid of the memory ring. Remember wax is flammable so pay attention when doing this.
You should also trim the wick every few hours – when you extinguish your candle, allow it to cool and trim the wick to about 1/4 inch.
If you choice to burn your beeswax candle rather than use purely for its natural beauty please remember to place it on a candle tray to avoid spillage.