Why beeswax? They say that the candle cleans the air rather than emitting chemicals. It produces a more beautiful flame with an effervescent center. It feels great in the hand and clings to the candle holder in a way that other substances do not. When the wax drips on the cotton or linen tablecloth, or just the plain wood, it easily lifts off once cool. Yes, they drip more easily but the cleanup is much easier.
There is no question that the switch to beeswax requires other changes. You have to be thoughtful about how you use them. You have to keep them away from fans and air conditioner breezes. They are easily disturbed by doors that are opening and closing.
They cannot be blown out in the normal way because that disturbs the patterns of melting wax or portends a mess the next time that you light them. Nor can they be handled roughly or carried wantonly from room to room because that too disturbs the wax.
The main reason for switching is a bit inchoate. It has to do with authenticity. Once you become aware of the difference, you cannot go back. It’s like the difference between cotton and polyester or leather and pleather. They might look the same at a distance but up close, those in the know absolutely do know.
Real vs imitation. That’s the core of the issue. At least for me. It generates greater overall satisfaction.
But with real comes other factors. For example, I mentioned how one cannot blow out a beeswax candle lest you create a mess for the next lighting. You can of course use the “Lawrence of Arabia” approach and use one’s fingers but that’s a bit performative and even unseemly in the presence of company.
What you really need is a candle snuffer. They are actually beautiful and fun to have around. You can go antique or you can buy new. I recently even received a lovely gift of a candle snuffer created by a known artist. If you have several spots in the house with candles, you will likely need a snuffer at each spot.
Don’t worry. They are pretty, perhaps even curious. Maybe they come with a bit of cache to them even.
After each time you light a beeswax candle and snuff it, you absolutely must trim the wick before you light it again. I wish I could explain the physics of this. Perhaps a full and high wick on the cold candle causes it to melt too quickly. Not sure. Regardless, the wick you light must be only a quarter-inch high or less.
You know what this means? It’s another chance to acquire yet another candle accoutrement! In this case, you will need a wick trimmer. Now this part is fun because it turns out that eBay has loads of wick trimmers left over from the Victorian period in which they were in every home by every candle.
There is an absolute surplus of these things out there. You might as well participate in the sopping up of this bounty and get a few for yourself.
Wick trimming is also an elegant enterprise and the tool looks great next to the snuffer and the candle.
To be sure, I did run into a problem with this approach. At some point, I was trying to use my wick trimmer on a larger candle but the wax formed a rim around the candle that forbade access
What to do? I put my finger on the cold burned wick and, to my astonishment, it easily broke off to exactly the right height. It just takes a small twist. No fuss. To be sure, this was a bit embarrassing because I already had my wick trimmers so I pretended like this did not happen.
Now I use the wick trimmer when possible and my fingers when necessary.
Let’s also talk about the lighting of the candle. I had some sense that if we are going to go to all this trouble of being authentic, using a convenience store butane lighter should not be a thing. I needed small wooden matches.
I searched online and found 100 small matchboxes in a fantastic Victorian-style design. Thrilled, I jumped on this deal.
When they arrived, I got a shock. I had literally purchased matchboxes. There were no matches in them! I was now the proud owner of 100 useless boxes. I laughed uproariously at my new predicament.
What to do now? Of course I had to shop for matches. They finally arrived and so I spent a few hours and created a logistical mess transferring little matches from the plain boxes to the Victorian-style boxes just to have the right matches with which to light the candles.
To be sure, the absurdity of this situation struck me at some point. But I was already knee deep in this search for an authentic experience so I might as well go all the way.
Now my candle areas have: a candle holder, a candle, a fancy box of matches, a snuffer, and a wick trimmer. It’s all we need around here. This is quite the apparatus indeed, preposterously so, one might say, as one reaches for the paraffin or sow candle from the drug store.
I kept telling myself not to give up. We’ll get there eventually. Now I feel like something of a master of the beeswax candle, with mad skills and crazy contraptions along with it and even the best-looking matchboxes you have ever seen.
Such is our lives. If the machines are taking over, throwing ourselves into doing things by hand, if only to remind ourselves of the old values, it seems like a solid way to use all the extra time and mental energy we supposedly have.
