Do you love votive candles but rarely have the same burn experience with each one you burn?
Here's Why: Votives are a Container Candle and Not a Mini Pillar
Have you ever burned a votive candle on a candle plate and have it melt down into a puddle of wax and get ruined? Or have you put a votive candle inside a very large candle holder and watched the votive tunnel down the middle or turn into a pool of wax at the bottom? If you did, it's probably because you saw pictures on the internet of votive candles sitting prettily on a candle plate or inside a large holder and thought that was the correct way to burn a votive. The reality of votives is that they are a container candle and need a very particular kind of glass holder for them to burn correctly.
Container Candles Vs Pure Beeswax Votives
If you love candles, you have probably burned your share of container candles and enjoyed their ease of use. You just had to light the wick of a container candle and watch as the candle wax melted across the top, creating a liquid pool of wax. Container candles burn so evenly because the wax was poured directly into the container when it was made. Pure Beeswax Votives, however, are made without a container and packaged all by their lonesome. It's the customer that selects the container for which the votive will burn inside. Selecting the right container for your votive is key to a great candle burning experience.
Votive Container Size is Very Important
Because votives ARE container candles, they need to melt across the top to eventually create a liquid melt pool (just like regular container candles do.) If the votive is in a glass container with a big gap between the votive and the glass, then the votive will burn out towards the edges, spill down the sides and eventually create a melt pool towards the bottom. The smaller the gap between the votive and the glass votive holder, the quicker the candle can create a melt pool more towards the top of the glass holder. The issue for all of us votive lovers is that no glass votive holder company uses the same width for their votive holders. One votive holder company may have wider dimensions than another. Here at Big Moon Beeswax, we only sell votive holders that can hug the votive as closely as possible to try to achieve that desired melt pool across the top.
So, What Should You Do?
When shopping for votive holders for your votives, look for ones that provide as snug a fit as you can. Every brand is different, so if you find votive holders that fit your favorite votives snuggly, then stock up because manufacturers are always changing their equipment and even where they make their holders. Just know, the bigger the gap between your votive and the glass holder will determine when that candle will form a liquid melt pool.
Know That All Votive Holders Vary in Width
Your votive will develop a melt pool sooner, if the votive holder side is close to the votive candle. The larger the gap between the votive and the glass, the longer it will take to develop a melt pool. This does not affect the quality of the burn, it just produces different looks while the votive burns.
The Truth About Votives that will Matter to You: what type of wax is your votive?
If you came here trying to figure out why your votive isn't burning the way you hoped, there's one more thing worth knowing: the type of candle wax matters as much as the holder does.
Most votives sold today are paraffin (refined petroleum) or a paraffin/soy blend (or other soft wax blends.) Soy, palm wax and coconut wax can't be votives on their own--that type of wax is too soft and wouldn't be able to hold their votive shape. They need to be blended with a harder wax like paraffin or beeswax. If you see a 'natural' votive sold at bargain pricing it almost always means paraffin is doing the structural work behind the scenes soy, palm, and coconut waxes can't hold a votive shape on their own. Beeswax is a premium wax (especially if it's not sourced from China) and costs more. Beeswax also burns longer because it's a harder wax.
So What Should You Look For?
Each person has their preference. If cost is your top priority when buying votives, paraffin or a paraffin-blended wax will be the most economical choice. If you'd rather avoid artificial fragrances or the chemicals that come from converting soy, palm or coconut into candle wax, 100% pure beeswax is the only votive made without the conversion process. Beeswax is made in nature, not in a factory. If you've noticed that some candles bother you - headaches, congestion, a tickle in your throat - pure beeswax is often the one people land on after trying everything else.
Thanks for taking a minute to read our blog, we hope you found it helpful.
Bee Cozy
