Beginners Guide to Luxury Handcrafted Candles | Clarri Hill

May 14, 2021

If you’re new to the world of handcrafted candle making, or if you’re just looking for a little more insight into the world of candle care. We’re here for you, we absolutely don’t expect you to just know everything! So we’ve put together this little info-centred blog post to help you on your candle experiencing journey. And hopefully make the transition from candle curious to candle enthusiast easier. Let’s begin!

First things first, let’s start with understanding the difference between luxury candles, luxury handcrafted candles and the everyday mass-produced ones. Sure… they may seem similar, and we know you’ve probably fallen victim to lacklustre candles of the convenience store variety. But we’re here to help you make more informed decisions for your future candle enjoying endeavours.

Things to consider in the making of a luxury candle:

Candle Wax Quality

Going back to bare basics, we need to carefully examine the wax used and/or you will be using to either create or purchase your desired candle. Paraffin wax is the most common and cheapest of the options, it contains no additives and can easily be used to create many types of candles – it is also available in granulated form which requires no melting. Gel wax which is offered in varying densities that affect the gel candle’s viscosity and scent aptitude, making gels great for creating artistic touches that are aesthetically pleasing. These wax types are considerably less expensive than the 100% all-natural wax types.

Soy wax and/or Soy wax flakes is an example of 100% all-natural wax, it is made from hydrogenated soy-bean oil and is available in an assortment of forms. This is the preferred wax used in our candles due to its high scent retention compared to other natural waxes, although it is difficult to colour artificially. They are great for creating jarred or container candles, and you can read more about the benefits of Soy Candles here. 

We also have Palm Wax, another 100% all-natural wax variant made from hydrogenated palm oil and is excellent for use in texture creation of votives, pillars and tarts due to its unique crystallization properties.
Beeswax falls in this category as well and is a high-quality wax that can be used to make any candle type. These are the natural-based products used to create non-toxic candles.

Burn Quality

Ah yes, here we are, the whole reason for buying or creating a candle in the first place. The burn, the light, the gorgeous ambience. Okay what does burn quality refer to? And how are you supposed to know how to identify a candle’s burn quality before purchasing it? Simple! Burn quality is directly linked to wax quality. Just like choosing the right candle, with a 100%-natural wax, that does not emit the same indoor air pollution as their mineral counterparts, it also affects how long and how evenly the candle burns.

Soy wax candles have the longest lasting burn, allowing you to enjoy your candle and its ambient scent and glowing stillness for much longer than candles made with other wax varieties.

Wick Effectiveness

Last but certainly not least, considering that without the little ol’ wick we’d be left with a jar of just hardened wax? Completely sans its room revitalizing qualities! Alright, let’s give the wick the respect and attention needed to launch us to candle connoisseur status.
With natural waxes, it is important to choose wicks that have had the proper treatment. The RRD wicks and HTP wicks will work in any of the natural waxes, but the correct wick will depend on which type of natural wax and candle diameter you have.

Wicking isn’t a pure science, it’s a little magic on our part. Using a larger wick diameter for natural-based candles has proven a good rudder. For those enjoying these luxury 100% natural candles it is a question of wick maintenance. What’s that you ask? It is the careful caring for the candle’s wick to ensure that the candle burns evenly, doesn’t produce soot or emit any toxins due to mushrooming (when the wick tip becomes bulbous).

If you’d like to know more about candle maintenance, subscribe to our mailing list and get our blog updates as they happen.

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