A Healthy Glow
Well…It’s that time of year again (at least here in Maine!). While the squirrels scurry about foraging for their winter stash, we’re all pulling on our wool sweaters and dreaming about which soup to make next. We just set the clocks back and it’s pretty dark out by 5 o’clock. This is the time of year when I love to light a candle or two in the evening. The glowing light of a candle adds warmth and light to these cold and darkened days.
When Darcy and I decided we wanted to learn how to make candles we did our research. Since our business philosophy rests on the use of organic, natural and raw ingredients that have ethically sound origins we knew we wanted to make candles that are environmentally friendly. We opted to make our candles with beeswax. Even though soy and palm waxes are environmentally friendly, we found that we could not be sure that these waxes had not been adulterated with paraffin wax (something the consumer would never know). Beeswax has strong and sacred roots. Bees are an invaluable part of our ecosystem, offering many essential gifts, and great care must be taken to protect bees from destructive viruses that threaten their vitality. Thankfully, many beekeepers are making great strides toward keeping bees out of harm’s way by using sustainable methods such as organic and biodynamic practices. All part of a crucial evolution toward a safer world for all of us.
I’d like to let you in on a few amazing secrets about beeswax and why burning a beeswax candle is actually good for you and the environment!
1. Beeswax candles burn longer and cleaner than any other candle wax.
2. Beeswax burns extremely slowly and has the brightest flame, giving off many more hours of glow than paraffin, soy, or palm wax candles.
3. Even though beeswax candles appear more expensive than others, they are actually a better bang for the buck! (refer to 2) Just pay attention to the number of hours posted on a candle label compared to it’s size. Our 3 oz candles burn for approximately 25 hours and our 7 oz candles burn for approximately 70 hours!
4. When you burn a beeswax candle the beeswax emits negative ions (a very positive thing!). Negative ions help to rid the air of toxins (positive ions) such as dust, allergens, odors, pollen, mold, dust mites, and viruses. Isn’t that amazing? Paraffin wax (what most candles are made with) is actually a petroleum by-product, and when you burn a paraffin candle carcinogens are released into the air. Burning one paraffin tea light is about the equivalent of smoking one cigarette!
Here at 2 Note we hand pour our candles. We do not use dyes – the amber glow that a beeswax candle casts when it’s lit is beautiful! We do scent our candles (we are botanical artists, afterall!). Our candles are truly unique in that we scent them with pure, therapeutic grade plant essences. This way of scenting candles is practically unheard of, as it’s much more expensive! We don’t worry about that, because what matters to us is that it’s the better, healthier way.
Here’s to a healthy glow!
Carolyn
