Candles are non-perishable goods and you can keep them for years without lighting them. Yet, there are certain good practices that will help you get the most of your beeswax and rapeseed candles.
The reason why I’m talking about storing your candles in the summer is twofold. First, you are not likely to light as many candles now that the days are quite long. It’s the same for me! But more importantly, it can get really hot during summer and early autumn days, and I wanted to remind you to keep this in mind if you have candles sitting around, making your home look beautiful.
Heat and direct sun
Do not let your candles sit in direct sun, or at a place that can potentially become very hot. Your candle could melt, leak out onto your furniture, and become ruined. This applies especially to softer waxes (soy, rapeseed, coconut), and even more so to free-standing candles made of these waxes. (Like our new set of free-standing rapeseed wax candles, which I will talk about in the upcoming newsletter.) Free-standing soft-wax candles do not have a container that would hold the wax if it did melt, so there could be even more potential damage done. Of course, try and always store your container candles in an upright position, so that wax does not leak out if it melts.
Our rapeseed candles, for example, if left in direct sun, will start to form little wax droplets on the surface. Usually, these will harden again and nothing more will happen, but they can leave visible marks on the wax surface. The same can happen with our sample tealights that are added to orders. Please know that these are only visual imperfections that do not affect the candle’s performance.
All in all, just use common sense, store your candles in a cool safe place, and you will be able to enjoy them after many months of sitting around.
Protection from dust
Your candles should ideally be protected from dust, too. Dust particles adhere to wax very easily, they cause sputter, and generally can disrupt the candle's optimal burn. That is why all Heart of Europe Candles come to you wrapped in silk paper, or safely put away into boxes.
Discolouration
When we’re talking about storing and not using candles for longer periods of time, I’d like to mention potential discolouration. This can happen due to light exposure and oxidation of ingredients used in the candle (fragrances containing vanillin, for example, or coloured embeds mixing with white wax around).
These are natural processes that do not harm the performance of the candle. As mentioned above, store your candles in a cool place that is not exposed to too much direct light and/or heat. If your candle changes colour after being lit, just know that that too is part of natural chemical reactions in the candle. It is only an aesthetic issue and should not have any impact on how the candle burns.
Beeswax bloom
Beeswax candles are more resistant to heat than rapeseed (but do not expose them to direct sun unnecessarily). They will be more forgiving during long-term storage. The only “issue” that is likely to occur is that they will form so called “beeswax bloom”. This is a thin whitish sheen on the candle's surface which can be rubbed off with your fingers. This again is a natural phenomenon, and a sign that the candle is made of 100% pure beeswax. Read more about beeswax bloom in this blog post.
As always, please let me know what topics you’d be interested in! You can send me an email at info@heartofeuropecandles.com, or send me a message via our Facebook page or Instagram. And share with your friends and family!
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Enjoy your candles, and until next time!
Emma
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