Beeswax is a useful and fragant gift from nature.
About 150,000 bees are required to consume ten pounds of honey, from
which only a single pound of beeswax is produced. Beeswax is created in
the form of microscopic scales exuded from the underside of a bee's
abdomen. Beeswax is produced with no colour or scent, nevertheless they
are accumulated both from absorption while in the hive. Beeswax
therefore, varies in colour and scent.
Beeswax is an amazing material.
Beeswax
is a renewable all natural product with no additives or fillers. It is
safe enough to eat, use in cosmetics, and is most recognizable as a
clean burning & bright fuel source in beeswax candles. Unlike most
of the manufactured paraffin candles, beeswax is hypo-allergenic, great
for people with allergies or other sensitivities and for those of us
who want a safe, clean burning candle in our homes.
Long burning times.
Beeswax melts at 64C (About 147F), the highest melting temperature of any known natural wax, that characteristic means that beeswax candles have longer burning times than other types of candles. It also means that beeswax candles and ornaments may be displayed and enjoyed in almost any area of the home. Compared by burn time, beeswax candles are usually a better value than
paraffin, even when beeswax appears to cost more.
Smoke & soot free.
No
one wants their home to be covered in candle soot, which is a common
result of burning paraffin candles. An excellent way to prevent this
from occurring but still enjoy the beauty of a candle is to use beeswax
candles. When burned in a draft free environment with a wick trimmed to
1/4" a beeswax candle will burn bright and clean without smoke or soot.
Naturally dripless.
While
there are not any candles that should be allowed to burn unattended,
beeswax candles burn safer than others with minimal maintenance.
Beeswax candles are naturally drip free and do not require chemicals to
make them dripless like paraffin candles. The molecular structure and
higher melting point of beeswax makes beeswax candles much better at
holding their wax pool. This fact combined with a properly maintained
wick and draft free environment will prevent drips from occurring.
100% Natural Beeswax.
Beeswax is a
renewable all natural product with no additives or fillers. Unlike most of the
manufactured paraffin candles, beeswax is hypo-allergenic, great for
people with allergies or other sensitivities and those of us who want a
safe, clean burning candle in our homes.
100% Cotton Wick.
We use only 100% cotton wick in every candle we make. Our wicks are square braided
cotton and have been selected for each candle to provide a bright flame
and optimum wax pool to prevent tunneling.
Types of Beeswax
Raw beeswax.
Raw
beeswax is beeswax in it's most natural form, straight from the
honeycomb before any refining processes are used; this raw beeswax
often contains small bits and pieces of debris and other impurities.
Raw beeswax comes in many different colors and strengths of the
characteristic honey scent. The color and scent of beeswax are
determined by the type of pollen taken from the flowers the bees
pollinated. The color can range from a very light yellow to dark brown,
while the fragrance can be barely noticeable to in some cases very
overpowering.
Filtered beeswax.
The
filtering of beeswax happens in several different ways, from light to
heavy filtering, with a handful of other in-between filtering
processes. Lightly filtering beeswax will simply remove the small
pieces of wick clogging contaminants while retaining all of the natural
beauty and scent of the beeswax. Heavy filtering of beeswax occurs with
multiple filtering processes, often times removing some or all of the
natural scents (the honey) and colors (the pollen) that are contained
within the beeswax.
We
always lightly filter our beeswax using natural and safe materials such
as cotton or nylon, this helps to remove any tiny particles in the
beeswax that may clog the wick, while still retaining all of the
natural beauty found in the beeswax.
Bleached beeswax.
Bleached
beeswax, commonly known as white or ivory beeswax, refers to the
process of removing the natural yellow color from the beeswax. This can
be achieved with chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, naturally via the
sun, or with special filtering processes. The filtering of the beeswax
tends remove the pollen, while bleaching the beeswax simply takes the
color out of the pollen without removing it. These processes remove
most of the delicate honey scent and natural coloring of the beeswax,
rendering it white and nearly odorless. Bleached beeswax is commonly
used in cosmetic products where a highly refined beeswax is necessary;
it's also sometimes used to make scented or colored beeswax candles as
it's easier to add color or fragrance in this form.
It's
debatable if the bleaching process ruins the natural beauty of the
beeswax, regardless of method used, though we tend to believe it's best
to leave beeswax in it's most natural, non-bleached form.
Blended beeswax.
Due
to the robustness of beeswax it is sometimes blended with other waxes
to make candles that last longer and burn brighter than their
counterparts alone, or as bases for natural products such as soaps,
lotions, and cosmetics. Candles that are at least 51% beeswax are still
used in some churches, particularly the Catholic Church.
All of our beeswax candles are 100% pure beeswax.