Clean, nontoxic candles

[Indigo Blue]

Do you have a favorite non-toxic candle scented with only essential oils? Or unscented? Bonus if it’s even-burning!

I love beeswax. They seem to tunnel so badly, though. I bought one from Fontana that is even burning. It’s nice. Just wondering if there are others. These candles seem harder to find than in years before. 

This candle is a yucky, tunneling,  mooshy mess. It’s soy.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Indigo Blue

[Faith-manor]

My daughter made beeswax candles once and put peppermint oil in them once. We burned them at Christmas and it was very nice.

[ArteHaus]

Absolutely beeswax is the best, non-toxic candle. When I make beeswax candles, I don’t really put essential oils in them as I find their natural scent pleasing enough. Besides, I would think the the actual burning of essential oils is toxic (correct me if I am wrong). I know you can buy scents especially for candles, but if toxicity is a concern, I wouldn’t bother:)

As far as tunneling is concerned, make sure that you let your candles cure for a couple of days (at least). This has been the best tunneling preventative for me. I also like to use wooden wicks (couldn’t say that makes a difference in tunneling). The longer your cure time, the better your candles should perform. You could always dip them…but that is a whole process.

IMO, no candle compares to the humble beeswax candle, the light is phenomenal:)

[Kareni]

We like unscented candles. Our favorite brand is Root candles. Their tapers and Collenettes burn very evenly. Their pillar candles I cut down every so often with a knife. (I have yet to find a thick pillar candle that burns in its entirety.) 

Regards,

Kareni

[ScoutTN]

We only use beeswax. Mostly from Big Dipper Waxworks.

[Corraleno]

The best trick to keep candles from tunneling is to make a tent out of aluminum foil with a hole cut in the center and put that loosely over the top of the jar when you first light it. The foil reflects a lot of heat back into the jar so that the wax melts evenly all the way to the edges. Once the entire surface is evenly melted, you can remove the foil.

If you have old candles that are badly tunneled, you can buy a candle warmer or wax melt thingy that heats from the bottom (as opposed to the kind that use light bulbs). I have one like this, and I just set the candle directly on the warming plate without the little dish that comes with it. That will melt all the wax and continue to diffuse the scent, or you can buy some wicks and make new candles once all the wax is melted.

Also, if you're mostly after the scent vs the ambience of candlelight, you can just put essential oils in a reed diffuser or a misting diffuser. 

ETA: here's a photo of what a foil tent looks like:

Edited May 29, 2023 by Corraleno

[Indigo Blue]

3 hours ago, Corraleno said:

The best trick to keep candles from tunneling is to make a tent out of aluminum foil with a hole cut in the center and put that loosely over the top of the jar when you first light it. The foil reflects a lot of heat back into the jar so that the wax melts evenly all the way to the edges. Once the entire surface is evenly melted, you can remove the foil.

If you have old candles that are badly tunneled, you can buy a candle warmer or wax melt thingy that heats from the bottom (as opposed to the kind that use light bulbs). I have one like this, and I just set the candle directly on the warming plate without the little dish that comes with it. That will melt all the wax and continue to diffuse the scent, or you can buy some wicks and make new candles once all the wax is melted.

Also, if you're mostly after the scent vs the ambience of candlelight, you can just put essential oils in a reed diffuser or a misting diffuser. 

ETA: here's a photo of what a foil tent looks like:

Thanks! Those are good ideas!!

[Rosie_0801]

Tunnelling happens when the wick is the wrong thickness, or there aren't enough wicks.

[Indigo Blue]

22 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Tunnelling happens when the wick is the wrong thickness, or there aren't enough wicks.

Thanks!

[TechWife]

I read somewhere, where I do not know, that tunneling happens when the candle isn’t burned long enough for the entire top to liquify. I started doing this and it has proven accurate for us for a couple of years now.