We get many inquiries about our products so we have listed the most common questions and the answers to them for your convenience.
Honey Candles®
Question: Why choose 100% pure beeswax?
Answer:
Beeswax is a gift of nature. It is the purest and most natural of all waxes (including vegetable waxes), with the least processing and no additives. 100% beeswax is the only wax that is used essentially in its native state with only filtering for processing. Beeswax burns cleanly, producing negative ions while burning. With a properly trimmed wick beeswax burns without smoking or creating soot.
Air Purifying: Beeswax candles have long been known for their air purifying effects. Using 100% beeswax candles can greatly reduce dust and other allergens in your home and help improve indoor air quality.
Long Lasting: Beeswax naturally burns up to three times longer than paraffin. Many other candle waxes have additives to produce comparably longer burns similar to beeswax candles. Because it has a higher melt point than paraffin and vegetable waxes, beeswax burns brighter and produces a bright golden flame with a 'halo' of purity. It can be shipped in the summer when other wax candles wilt, warp and bend. This means there are no supply concerns for retailers.
Safer: Beeswax is naturally honey scented. It is non-allergenic and is the recommended choice of the American Lung Association.
A store that normally carries our Honey Candles® ran out. They then had to face an irate customer. The customer's husband is asthmatic and during a power outage (because the store was out of Honey Candles®) had to burn a paraffin candle. Within a few hours this resulted in a severe asthma attack. The store called us immediately and restocked.
Supporting the beekeeping industry: When you purchase 100% beeswax candles you are supporting the fragile beekeeping industry by encouraging beekeepers to continue establishing apiaries. Honey bees pollinate 1/3 of the food crops we eat and are a vital resource in our eco-system.
Question: Why would you not choose paraffin?
Answer:
Paraffin is cheaper which is its only redeeming quality. The adage that you get what you pay for applies here. Paraffin, which is a by-product of fossil fuels, is a non-renewable resource. It contains eleven known toxins, two of which are carcinogens (benzene & toluene).
It is sometimes texturized with acrolyn (a known irritant) and polymers are added to raise the melting point and improve burning quality. See this article for more on paraffin. Another great source is an article on beeswax from Alive Magazine.
Question: Why choose Honey Candles® instead of other beeswax candles?
Answer:
Trust the best, trust Honey Candles®
Beeswax candles do not have to be crude. Honey Candles® are carefully handcrafted from 100% beeswax.
Our beeswax comes from the Peace River area of Northern Alberta, the shorter season there produces the best beeswax we can find. The color is a rich yellow-amber and there is a richness and intensity to the color not found in lower grade beeswax. It is smooth and rich and very pleasant to touch. Our beeswax has the aroma of sweet, rich honey.
There is depth to the wax with no particles, cracks or visible impurities unlike some competitors candles. We use the best moulds and test and retest for burn quality.
Our beeswax candles are all solid hand-poured wax, not rolled honeycomb that burns quickly. All our beeswax candles are the same superior quality of high-grade beeswax throughout the entire candle. We do not compromise our quality by over dipping to cover a cheaper wax or impurities.
Beeswax candle brands are not all made the same, but rest assured, you can always trust Honey Candles®. We never use wicks containing lead or zinc. Remember, if the label doesn’t say 100% beeswax it may not be. Candles can contain as little as 10% beeswax and claim to be a beeswax candle.
Question: What are the burn times of Honey Candles®?
Answer:
The full burn time of each beeswax candle depends on whether you burn a candle continuously or intermittently. The temperature of the surrounding environment may also affect the burn time. If you wish to further extend the length of burn, chill candles before lighting.
When burning beeswax pillars or candles in tins with larger diameters, let wax melt to the edge of the candle and form a pool (at least 2 hours). This will help maximize wax consumption. Most wicks need to be trimmed to 1/4" and may need trimming throughout the length of the burn.The times we have listed below are ‘start to finish’ burn times and are not exaggerated. Most people burn candles intermittently and will achieve longer burn times.
| T-lites | 4 - 6 hours |
| Votives round | 15 - 16 hours |
| Hexagon | 12 - 15 hours |
| Tube 6" x 3/4" | 5 – 6 hours |
| Column 6" x 1 1/2" | 12 – 16 hours |
| Base 9" x 3/4" | 8 – 10 hours |
| Taper 12" x 7/8" | 12 – 13 hours |
| Pillars | |
| 3" x 3" | 35 – 45 hours |
| 5" x 3" | 55 – 65 hours |
| 7" x 3" | 85 – 95 hours |
| 3-wick 6"x 6" | 90–100 hours per wick |
| InCans | 30 – 40 hours |
Square pillars burn longer than round ones of similar dimensions.
Burn times may vary with colored candles.
Please see our “Candle Care” to become a candle connoisseur knowledgeable in burning all types of candles.
Question: Why do I sometimes have problems lighting my beeswax candles?
Answer:
In order for a beeswax candle to burn, the wick needs to draw melted wax through it. When lighting your candle, apply the flame at the base of the wick so the wax melts and is absorbed into the wick. This is particularly important on pillar beeswax candles with larger diameter wicks.
If you have made several failed attempts to light your candle, you may have burned up the wick until there is only char left. Trim this off and carve a bit of solid wax from the base of the wick. Now apply the flame to the base of the wick.
When extinguishing pillars it is best to push the wick into the wax pool and then straighten it with a fireproof object. This prevents the wick from smoking and also allows for an easier re-light.
Our section on “Candle Care” provides specific tips to improve your candle burning techniques.
Question: You have some colored beeswax candles. What kind of dye do you use?
Answer:
Many candles contain coloring agents that are harmful to our environment and to us. We did extensive research to find a dye that is environmentally friendly and is non-cancer causing.
None of the components in these dyes, or in our candles, are required to be listed on the California Proposition 65 list of cancer causing agents.
For more details please see our catalog for facts of the enviro-dyes used in our colored candles.
Jin Sticks®
Question: What are Jin Sticks®?
Answer:
Jin Sticks are premium quality incense made by Sunshine Bay Natural Products. We use high quality 11” sticks and dip them in our own blends of essential oils and/or top quality fragrance oils.
Atmosfera Tropico Palm Wax Candles
Question: Are your Tropico candles made from a natural wax?
Answer:
Yes. Our Tropico candles are made from palm wax, which is a 100% natural wax. Palm wax is formulated from palm oil.
Question: Where does palm wax come from?
Answer:
The oil palm has been grown as a commercial crop in well managed and regulated estates in Malaysia since 1917. The palm produces fruit in bunches which are harvested and sent to palm oil mills to undergo sterilization, bunch stripping, oil extraction, oil clarification and purification.
Palm wax is made from a 100% Natural Palm Oil Base raw material. The various blends of Palm Waxes are naturally made/formulated from the many fractions of palm oil and the many fractions of palm oil based oleochemicals (monounsaturated fatty acids). Some fractions are soft and some are hardened. The selections of the various fractions of palm oil and oleochemicals are made based on the requirements of making Natural Candles.
Question: Why did you choose palm wax for making your scented candles?
Answer:
Palm wax is an environmentally friendly product as it comes from a sustainable and renewable source and it burns cleanly.
It is an odorless wax that offers wide applications in Aromatherapy.
It has a crystalline formulation that produces a beautifully finished candle.
Question: Why do you use essential oils for scenting your palm wax candles?
Answer:
Most scented candles are made with low quality fragrance oils that are chemically produced to keep the price low. Unfortunately when these oils are burned, they cause black soot and irritation to sinuses and lungs.
We chose to use only essential oils (naturally derived from plants) in our palm wax candles. They produce a more subtle scent but one that is unlikely to cause allergic or asthmatic reactions.
*All written material on this website is Copyright© 2008 Sunshine Bay Natural Products. All Rights Reserved.