The Magical World Of Candles

I don’t know what it is about candles. Is it the soft gentle light they emit? Is it the beautiful fragrance they convey to the room? Or maybe it’s the reminder of a gentler, slower way of life.
Mind you there is a down side. Candle wax all over the side board or piano. Candle wax in your best table cloth that will never come out and not forgetting hot wax on your hand as you try to carry a candle. You could always buy beeswax candles but the price tag puts them a bit out of reach for everyday use.
Well there is an affordable alternative.

Natural Soy Candles:

In the 1980s and early 90s there was a demand for a natural non petroleum based candle. The only materials available at the time were beeswax and bayberry wax. Although these were being produced in America by the ‘Candleworks’ company they were very expensive. Nobody really wanted to go back to animal fats!

Michael Richards, the founder of the company, tried combining soy oil with beeswax to reduce the cost and produced the forerunner of the natural soy candle.
And so the all natural soy candle was born! By the mid-nineties, these and other products manufactured by Candleworks were available at The Body Shop.

Natural Soy Candles to eat:

In 1996, a further development occurred in the natural soy candles story when a group of students from The University of Purdue won a competition to produce an edible candle, which of course they made from soy. Now I’ve no idea why anyone would want to eat a candle, but they were such a success that they were later marketed by the Indiana Soybean board under the brand name ‘Harvest Lights’. And so the all natural soy candle had arrived.

All natural soy candles have many advantages

They burn more efficiently
They are less expensive that beeswax
You can clean up any residue with soap and water
They leave behind a beautiful fragrance when they burn
They produce no soot or nasty chemicals

It has to be said that in-spite of all the advantages of using all natural soy candles, they are still a bit hard to find. If you look around on line or in speciality shops I am sure you will find some. Persevere because it will be worth the effort to experience life with all natural soy candles.

Once upon a time all room lighting at night was courtesy of candles or oil burners. It was a way of life. Today candles are becoming more and more popular to provide soft and romantic lighting. Compare eating a fine dinner by candle light to eating by the light of a fluro! Candles are also used for religious or spiritual events

Take Care with Burning Candles

The light from a candle is produced by a burning flame. A burning flame is a source of ignition. If it comes into contact with flammable materials like clothing, curtains or paper, you’ve got big trouble. Animals, children and careless adults can all pose a threat. So be very careful when using burning candles.

The main area of concern is to prevent anything flammable from coming into contact with the naked flame. It’s obvious really.
Remember that substances like kerosene, petrol and diesel also give off a gas that is heavier than air and will ignite with disastrous consequences if allowed to come into contact with burning candles. As I’ve mentioned before curtains clothing and paper should be kept well away from burning candles. Another danger to be aware of is wooden uprights or architraves. Heat rises so anything that is above the candle could possibly be ignited.
Never leave burning candles unattended. If you can’t see them you have no idea when things go wrong. A candle can topple from careless placement or a sudden breeze could blow paper onto it.
A properly maintain fire extinguisher is always an asset in the home and if you intend using burning candles a lot, it could be a necessity.

When candles burn they produce molten wax. Get this molten wax on your hand and you could end up with a burn. Tall candles will usually have a pool of molten wax at the bottom and the little tea lights usually end up burning in a pool of molten wax. Also remember that if you put burning candles in containers that the containers will also get hot. Another potential source of pain!

When you have finished with them always make sure that you snuff out burning candles properly. If you are using paraffin wax candles be aware that, especially in an enclosed area, paraffin emits toxic fumes which are dangerous to inhale and not only that they also produce carcinogenic particles when burned.

It’s all commonsense really, just take sensible precautions and you can enjoy burning candles in complete safety.
If you are worried about some of the more unhealthy aspects of paraffin wax candles you can also buy beeswax or soy candles these days.