FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS

Beeswax is a time-tested and a natural by-product of the hive, rather than a manufactured alternative. Beeswax is the hardest natural candle waxes, therefore outperforms other candle by burning both brighter and longer.

If you’re looking for a chemical-free candle, our everyday candles are about as non-toxic as it gets: 100% pure beeswax, unscented and fragrance-free, with a pure cotton wick.

When people search for chemical-free candles, they’re usually looking for candles without paraffin, synthetic fragrances, artificial scents and unnecessary additives.

When you buy directly from a beekeeper, you can be assured that you’re getting 100% pure beeswax and a pure cotton wick.

The only exception is our red and green Christmas candles. These are still made from 100% pure beeswax, but contain a small amount of candle-certified, candle-safe dye to create their festive colours. They remain unscented and fragrance-free.

You may have seen claims that beeswax candles clean or purify the air by releasing negative ions. We have not found sufficiently robust scientific evidence to use this as a selling claim. Beeswax is already a remarkable material, valued for its natural colour, gentle aroma, lovely burn qualities and ability to capture beautifully intricate details.

It is incredibly scarce and labour intensive to produce.

The Bees' Effort: To make just 1lb of beeswax, a colony must visit over 30 million flowers and consume roughly 8 to 10lbs of honey.

Natural Scarcity: A single beehive only yields a very small amount of wax each year.

Beekeeper time and Craftsmanship: Hand-rendering raw honeycomb into pure candle wax is a slow, multi-stage process. We patiently filter all of our wax by hand through muslin to ensure purity and to get rid of debris.

All candles, not just beeswax candles benefit from a trimmed wick. Keep the candle trimmed to about ¼ inch before burning, and re-trim if the flame or wick gets too large. This helps candles burn more evenly and last longer. A pair of scissors works fine, if you don't have a specialist wick trimmer.

Our candles are made from pure beeswax without added fragrance. Just 100% Natural Beeswax. We choose not to add scent because fragrances can be a trigger for some people with asthma or scent sensitivities.

However, no burning candle can be described as completely asthma or allergy-safe. One member of the Joy from the Hive team lives with asthma and scent sensitivities and personally tolerates our unscented beeswax candles well, but this may not be everyone’s experience.

We believe beeswax is an excellent natural candle wax, but we do not support exaggerated or misleading environmental and health claims. If you have asthma, allergies or another respiratory condition, follow the advice of your healthcare professional, burn candles in a well-ventilated room and discontinue use if irritation occurs

Over time, beeswax candles, as well as other candles can develop a white frosting on the surface. Very similar to how chocolate can develop a white chalky blooms, as its oils rise to the surface. If a beeswax bloom develops in can enhance the candle. However, if you'd prefer to remove it. Gently rub it off with your fingers or a soft cloth, or use a hairdryer on a low setting for a few seconds (don't overheat). The bloom goes within seconds. We personally love the natural bloom.

A beekeeper can pretty much tell is a candle is 100% or a good quality beeswax, as there are a few clues. Knowledge comes from crafting and working with beeswax. After years of handling, cleaning and crafting with beeswax, a beekeeper will often recognise its characteristic scent, texture and appearance and can frequently tell when something does not seem quite right.

Pure beeswax generally feels firm at normal room temperature and may have a delicate natural aroma when held close to the nose. Its colour can vary considerably, from pale cream and golden yellow to a deeper amber, depending on the wax’s age, origin and what the honeybees have foraged upon.

On a very hot day, beeswax can soften slightly or feel a little tacky. However, scent, colour, firmness and appearance are only useful clues. They cannot prove purity on their own. A candle’s finish can also be affected by the mould, cooling conditions, photography and the natural variation between batches.

The best assurance of purity. Buy from a reputable beekeeper who knows where the wax came from and is willing to state clearly that no paraffin, soy wax, artificial fragrance, colouring or other wax has been added. At Joy from the Hive, we sell 100% pure beeswax because we don’t want to un-do the honeybees work.

Beeswax is a natural by-product of honey extraction, thereby making it a renewable choice. It burns slower than other waxes, so beeswax candles tend to last longer. The reason is beeswax is the hardest of all candle waxes. The candle lame gives off a warm, golden light. Many people prefer their natural colour and texture over synthetic alternatives. Beeswax candles link us to our ancestors, traditions, and early history.

You can buy our beeswax candles directly from our shop or see our events page for [where we are] next.

If there’s a candle you would like, but it is not listed in the shop. Please get in contact.

Beeswax rolled candles are hugely popular, as they look fun. But, at the present time we have decided they are not for us. Rolled candles are made via rolling a flat manufactured beeswax sheet on a wick. Rolled candles do not burn for long, when compared to dipped or poured candles. Candle making is a science and we feel that the fact that rolled candles trap air, make them a less predictable burn.

Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honeybees. Young worker bees secrete tiny scales of wax from special glands on the underside of their abdomens. They use their legs to transfer these scales to their mandibles (jaws), where the wax is softened and shaped to build the familiar hexagonal honeycomb cells. These cells are used to store honey and pollen and to raise their young. Bees also use beeswax, often alongside propolis, to seal small gaps and help draughtproof the hive.

Beeswax is made up of more than 300 naturally occurring compounds, including fatty acid esters, hydrocarbons and free fatty acids. These give beeswax its distinctive properties, including its firmness, flexibility and relatively high melting point.

As beekeepers, we collect beeswax during the honey harvest, particularly the fresh wax cappings that bees use to seal their honey-filled cells. We carefully clean and filter the wax before using it to make our 100% pure beeswax candles.

Unlike paraffin wax, which comes from petroleum, beeswax is produced naturally by honeybees to build their honeycomb, where they store honey and pollen and raise their young. Our everyday candles contain just two ingredients: pure beeswax and a pure cotton wick, with no added fragrance or dyes.

Source: ScienceDirect — Beeswax, including research published in Nutraceuticals (Second Edition, 2021) and Encyclopedia of Insects (Second Edition, 2009).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/beeswax