• Beeswax candles burn significantly longer than petroleum based paraffin candles; beeswax has the highest melting point of any known wax.    

• Beeswax candles provide a pure and clean burning candle producing no smoke.

• Beeswax tapers burn virtually drip-less when placed away from drafts.

• Beeswax candles create a brighter flame than paraffin candles and produce a warm honey glow.

• Beeswax smell sweetly of honey without the addition of any fragrance.

• And...studies have shown that the burning of beeswax stimulates the pituitary gland, increasing intuition, creativity, and heightening dream activity!

• The spectrum of light emitted when burning a beeswax candle is identical to that of sunlight; a paraffin candle's flame is a chaotic light spectrum similar to an incandescent light bulb.

• Beeswax, unlike paraffin, is a renewable resource.

• No toxic petro-chemical by-products are released during the harvest, refining processes, OR burning of beeswax candles.

• We use only cotton wicks in our candles. Many commercial candle manufacturers are using metal-cored wicks; these wicks may contain lead contributing to very unhealthy indoor air quality.

• In addition, many candle manufacturers are increasing their use of synthetic fragrance oils to achieve the desired "smell appeal" in stores. As a result, "Black Soot deposition", a direct effect of burning overly scented candles, is becoming more and more widespread. The black soot being found in homes is on the walls and furniture, is damaging air and heating units and, your lungs! Soulshine candles emit a natural honey aroma without the use of any fragrance!
   

Interesting Tid-Bits

• The honeybee flies the equivalent of 7-10 trips around the world to produce just one pound of wax!

• Upwards of 160,000 honeybees consumes as much as 10 pounds of honey to produce a single pound of beeswax!

• Beeswax, when secreted by the honeybee, is odorless. It is during the storage of the beeswax within the comb, after mixing with honey, pollen, and propolis that it takes on its naturally sweet scent.

• Over the years many scientists have tried unsuccessfully to formulate an acceptable imitation for beeswax using cheaper mineral oils. There is nothing like the real thing!

• Beeswax does not deteriorate over time. Usable beeswax has been discovered in tombs of ancient Egyptians and on shipwrecks deep under water.  

• Honeybees provide other highly valued products such as honey, bee pollen, and propolis.

• Honeybees are also responsible for the pollination of over 1/3 of the food we eat.

Candle History

• Beeswax was found in the ancient tombs of Egyptian kings where, remarkably, it still retained its pliability even after thousands of years.

• The ancients thought the bees gathered beeswax from plants, and Aristotle recorded this as fact. He doubtless mistook pollen for beeswax, or perhaps he confused it with propolis, a resinous pitch that the bees do in fact gather from plants.

• Beeswax uses have been recorded in all of mans past history. The Bible refers to it frequently.

• Beeswax was compressed into molds and actually used in place of money for purchasing items.

• Beeswax was used in the casting of metal statues and figures and is still used this way in some parts of the world. First, the object to be cast in metal is carved and sculpted in beeswax. Next, the wax is covered with wet clay that is baked and hardened, then the wax is melted away and the day serves as a metal mold.

• The ancient Greek legend of the Athenian, Daedalus, is remembered because he and his son Icarus, on the island Crete, made themselves wings of bird feathers, which they fastened to their bodies with beeswax. Flying too high, Icarus had the wax witch held it's wings to his body, melt, and he plunged into the Aegean Sea, drowning. His father flew at a lower height and made it safely to Italy, where he built a temple to honor Apollo.

• The ancient god, Pan, guardian of bees, invented a musical instrument, Pan's Pipes, by joining reeds together with beeswax, and blowing through them to make music.

• The great Greek physician, Discorides, wrote of rolling beeswax into sheets which was then used to make artificial flowers.

• The ancient Greeks and Romans made toy dolls of wax for children and used tablets of wax for writing.

• In the fourth century, during Easter observances, a large column of wax resembling a candle, but lacking a wick, (phallus) was set up on the altar, and on it was inscribed the religious observances to come.

• The ancient Greeks knew of the solubility of wax in fats and oils, and used this technique for painting on wax.

• As far back as Roman times, beeswax was a major product in Europe, and taxes or tribute were commonly extracted in the form of beeswax. The records of huge quantities of wax indicate a higher level of beekeeping than is even present in modern times.

• Some of the most lifelike paintings are the encaustic paintings, using hot beeswax, made by artists in Egypt about 1,600 to 2,000 years ago. The painters used an iron plate, heated from underneath with charcoal, which melted the beeswax and kept it liquid. Powdered pigments were mixed with the liquid wax, then applied to a canvas. The finished painting was subjected to the sun's heat and the whole painting was "burned in" or blended, thus the word encaustic.