Comprehensive Guide to Aromatic Candles for a Cozy Home
When close friends and family step into your home, the delightful fragrance enveloping them makes them feel truly welcome. While redecorating your home isn’t always easy, there’s a secret weapon that can instantly elevate the ambiance – aromatic candles.
As your loved ones enter your home, the refreshing aroma lingering in the air will undoubtedly make them feel that your home is sophisticated and tasteful. However, if you’ve ever purchased aromatic candles, you’ve likely encountered a common issue – candles not burning evenly, emitting black smoke, etc. Why does this happen?
Today, we’ll address all your concerns regarding aromatic candles, guiding you from novice to expert.
$20 vs. $2000: What Sets Aromatic Candles Apart?
Many brands in the market offer aromatic candles with vastly different prices, and the difference lies significantly in their composition.
Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax is the most common in the vast family of aromatic candles. Due to its relatively low cost, many candles still use paraffin wax as a primary ingredient. However, paraffin wax has a high melting point, making it prone to producing black smoke. It also demands a higher level of usage expertise.
Of course, this doesn’t imply that paraffin wax is inferior. Advancements in processing and refining methods have elevated the quality of paraffin wax.
Soy Wax
Soy wax is another mainstream ingredient in aromatic candles. Compared to paraffin wax, soy wax is more resistant to burning, has a lower melting point, and provides a superior burning effect. Even if soy wax accidentally drips onto the skin during combustion, it won’t cause burns.
Moreover, many candles mix soy wax and paraffin wax to enhance the longevity of the fragrance. If the dripping wax is too hot, the proportion of paraffin wax will be higher.
Beeswax
As the name suggests, beeswax is related to bees. It is extracted from the substance bees secrete when building hives and carries a subtle honey fragrance. Due to its meticulous craftsmanship, beeswax is more resistant to burning, virtually producing no black smoke. However, the cost of beeswax is higher, making it a common choice for high-quality candles.
Plant-based Wax
Even more top-tier than beeswax is plant-based wax, such as Brazil palm wax and sugarcane wax. With low melting points, candles using plant-based wax generally cost over a thousand yuan.
3 Tips to Become a Candle Expert
Burn Candles for 1-3 Hours
If you want the candle to maintain a smooth and attractive appearance after burning, pay attention to the burning time. Candles have memory; only when you ensure the surface wax completely melts during the first burn, forming a complete candle pool, will your candle not develop a deep hole.
However, burning for too long each time is not ideal, as it affects the diffusion of the candle’s fragrance and may lead to issues like black smoke and overheating. Therefore, it’s best to burn the candle for 1-3 hours each time.
Use Aluminum Foil to Save Candle Pits
If a pit has already formed, you can try using aluminum foil to salvage it. One method is to wrap the candle with aluminum foil 3-5 cm higher than the candle holder, leaving a small opening for the flame to burn. The candle surface will gradually become smooth during regular burning.
Purchase a Set of Special Candle Tools
Lighting aromatic candles shouldn’t be done with a regular lighter, as it easily causes uneven burning of the candle surface. Moreover, as the candle burns to the bottom, it’s challenging for a regular lighter’s flame to reach the wick, and it may even cause burns. Therefore, lighting candles requires a special long-handled match or lighter.
Extinguishing candles also has special tools. One is a candle extinguisher, where you need to tilt the wick into the melted candle solution and lift the wick during the moment of flame extinction. Another is a candle snuffer, which directly covers the wick to isolate oxygen. It can cover the emerging black smoke, avoiding the burnt smell from affecting the fragrance inside the house.
Lastly, remember to trim the wick before each candle lighting, leaving a length of 3-5mm. Prolonged burning exposes more wick, leading to a larger flame surface. When the candle surface is unevenly heated, it causes issues like black smoke and unpleasant odors, accelerating the burning life of the candle.
Nowadays, there are sets of candle tools available on the market, including a lighting tool, extinguishing tool, snuffer, wick trimmer, and a small tray. It’s very convenient and reasonably priced.
Highly Cost-effective Aromatic Candles are All Here
In addition to well-known fragrance brands like Jo Malone and Diptyque, there is a growing number of niche brands that have launched their own aromatic candles. They are more affordable, yet maintain high quality with unique fragrances and designs. If you want to quickly dive into the world of aromatic candles, you can choose from the following options.
Cosmic Speculation Cosmic Series Aromatic Candles
Inspired by ancient Western gods, this series is already a exquisite home decoration. We recommend the Mars, the ancient Greek god of war. It uses 100% imported soy wax and has a passionate and lively fragrance with notes of fennel, juniper, and black cedar. Suitable for reviving you from drowsiness. Price: ¥158
Woodwick
A well-known brand from the United States, Woodwick uses all-natural materials. It not only employs soy wax and natural essential oils but also features an organic wooden wick. Lighting Woodwick candles is like putting a crackling fireplace into a jar. In addition to visual and olfactory experiences, it also provides a wonderful auditory experience. Price: ¥128
Voluspa
Another brand from the United States, Voluspa, may have a small capacity, but it burns for a long time, achieving up to 25 hours of burning time. Voluspa’s candles are renowned for their essential oils. Each candle uses natural coconut wax and is formulated by an experienced essential oil development laboratory. The fragrances are fresh, natural, and long-lasting. Price: ¥13
Kama Sutra
This brand focuses on massage oil-scented candles. The stress-relieving essential oil aroma, combined with the soft and ambiguous candlelight, can instantly relieve tense muscles and moods. After the candle core melts
