Soy Candles

The basis of how essential oils works on our body through inhalation is as follows;

1. They have an immediate effect on our sense of smell or also know as olfaction. 
2. When we inhale essential oils our olfactory receptors are stimulated.
3. This is transmitted to the limbic system, which is the emotional center of our brain.
4. The limbic system is connected to the areas of our brain that operate the memory, respiratory or breathing, circulatory or blood, and the endocrine glands.
5. The endocrine glands regulate different hormone levels in our body.
6. The property of the essential oil that was inhaled, will determine what system is involved and what kind of stimulation occurs.

Essential oils are also effective when used topically or on the skin.  When used in massage oils the route of administration is two-fold.  One in the inhalation of the oil, thus working as explained above, and two in a topical application as the oil is massaged into the skin. 

1. Topically, they penetrate the skin tissues.
2. Next they find their way into the bloodstream or circulatory system.
3. Here they are transported to the organs and other systems of the body.

How many of you have been to the spa and had a terrific massage with a wonderful smelling massage oil?  Now you can have that massage right in the comfort of your own home with a gourmet body massage soy candle.  Share the experience with your loved one and spread the love around!

There are many forms of aromatherapy.  Take for example the application of scented body lotion or body spray or perfume.  Then there is taking a warm fragrant bath, burning potpourri, or even just walking through a scented garden.  Last but not least is the burning of a scented candle.  How many of these have you done and not realized it was a form of aromatherapy?  Even better yet is the lighting of a scented soy candle.  You get added benefits in the use of a scented soy candle; less soot, renewable resource, non-toxic, longer burn time.  In fact a soy candle will burn 50% longer than a paraffin candle.

Aromatherapists have known for a long time that odors have a huge impact on how we feel, our mood.  Medical research has also stumbled upon this significant fact.  The sense of smell is strongly linked to our brain and our emotions.  Scents can take us for a walk on memory lane, pleasant or unpleasant.  Alan Hirsch M.D., a neurologist and psychiatrist, states that “smells act directly on the brain, like a drug.  We know that from brain wave frequency studies that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the head, which are associated with relaxation.  An odor such as jasmine increases brain waves in the front of the head, which are associated with a more alert state of consciousness.”  As you can see the medical profession has also begun to recognize the value of aromatherapy in medicine.  But they have only begun!

Aromatherapy uses the essences of aromatic plants.  These essences are the essential oils that are in high concentration from the plants.  Aromatherapy then is the art of using these essential oils to promote healing of the body and mind.  The oils are found in various parts of the plants like the flowers, leaves, twigs, bark or rinds of the fruits.  They can be used in combinations or alone.  There are different methods of extracting the oils which can be time consuming and expensive.  The essential oils themselves can be expensive, but a small drop goes a long way and is very effective.  You can purchase essential oils from catalogs, websites, and in health food stores.  You can also purchase scented soy candles from the same places.  Why not try one today and get in the aromatherapy groove!

We all have our favorite fragrances in perfumes, soaps, shampoos and even candles.  Fragrance is a major part of our lives today.  Over 75% of the candles sold on the market are scented.  Candle manufacturers and fragrance companies have begun to work together to create pleasing scents for our homes and our lives.  They want to also increase our quality of life by increasing our comfort levels with scented candles. 

To really increase your quality of life and keep your health optimum, soy candles are the way to go.  They are non-toxic to your health, a renewable resource, affordable since they last 50% longer than paraffin candles, and Eco-friendly.  They come in all sizes and shapes, and various containers. 

Here are some popular scents to think about as you decide on what fragrance you might like to try.  They rank from the most popular as number 1 and on down the list.

1. Scents for the kitchen: vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, gingerbread, pumpkin, apple pie, and brown sugar.
2. Scents from fruits: citrus and apple have a wide range from the light and airy scents to the warm comforting scents, also found are melon, peach and black cherry.
3. Scents of floral: lavender, lilac, rose, jasmine and gardenia are soft and light scents.
4. Scents for the spa: mint, eucalyptus, sandalwood, green tea and ylang ylang were created for relaxation and mood elevation.
5. Scents for real life: rain, fresh linen, ocean mist, baby powder and many more that remind us of familiar day to day scents.

Whatever your favorite scent might be, there is probably a fragrant scented soy candle just waiting to find a place in your home.  Won’t you give a homeless soy candle a place to throw back and let their scent go for the holidays.  Enjoy, as it permenates you with its essence of pure bliss.

When candles were first used the wick was made from braided cotton dipped into the candle wax to help stiffen it and keep it from burning down to rapidly.  Along the way the cotton wick became obsolete.  People decided they wanted a really stiff wick and added lead to it. 

In 1973 research conducted by the Health Research Group stated that lead-wick candles emitted toxic levels of lead.  This was similar to that of lead based paints being a potential risk of lead poisoning to children, if ingested.  The wick had to be burnt to emit the toxins.  Unfortunately, the petition made by this group was not recognized and granted until the year 2000.

Health risks to lead exposure include involvement with the nervous system and the cardiovascular and blood systems.  The risks affect both the adult and child, with children being more at risk since their bodies systems are still in developmental stages.

Lead-wick candles are still being sold in places like bargain and discount type stores and are being imported from overseas.  To assure your candle does not have a lead-wick, look at the label.  If this doesn’t show what kind of wick it is, then look at the wick itself.  If you notice a very thin metal core in the center of the wick, it is a lead-wick candle.  Lead-wicks will burn with more smoke and when extinguished continue to smoke for several minutes after.

Our soy candles are made with lead-free, natural cotton wicks.  They are safe for the environment and for your health.  Our wood wick soy candles have a unique wooden wick that crackles when it burns.  Help promote wick safety by choosing to burn cotton or wooden wicks.  Your health and children will thank-you.

Odors can be an instant mood lifter or bring you down.  Being aware of the smells around you and the effect they have on you will help you to handle your given response.  You can take charge of your moods by learning the powerful principle of fragrance as an instant mood lifter.  Here are some more fragrances and the effects they have on your mood.

1. Need more energy.  Try these three fragrances: peppermint, rosemary, and basil.  A cotton ball with peppermint essential oil applied to it and sniffed can help with the slumps.  Make a spray out of distilled water,  two teaspoons of almond oil, two drops each of the peppermint, rosemary, basil essential oils and mix by shaking.  Then simply spray as needed for your energy boost. 
2. Need to reduce your stress level.  Try these three fragrances: fennel, lavender, and cedar wood.  You can make a calming spray by following the above recipe, only substituting these three essential oils instead.  Again for a quick stress reliever, use a cotton ball and apply a mixture of these oils and take a deep sniff. 
3. Need to add some passion in your life.  Try a mixture of bergamot, orange, and ginger essential oils.  Just a few whiffs will enhance passionate feelings.  You can use scented soy candles with these fragrances mixed together or separate and burn them at the same time. 

With winter coming and the cold weather keeping us indoors more and more, why not boost your mood with the power of fragrance in the form of your favorite scented soy candle.

Fragrance is all around us.  Some elicit a pleasing response on us and others not so enjoyable a memory or response.  They trigger a response in our brain that is communicated to it by our sense of smell.  Here are some fragrances and the response they can have on us.

1. peppermint / positive impact on athletic performance, also increases your state of alertness and job performance and job attitude.
2. vanilla / reduces anxiety and stress.
3. burning white sage will help to lighten your sadness.
4. lavender, hint of coconut with the vanilla, or cinnamon with citrus can help reduce stress.
5. mandarin orange and jasmine, citrus and lemongrass, pine, grapefruit ginerge and verbena, or orange and patchouli can give that worn down feeling a pick me upper.
6. burning lavender, chamomile and Bulgarian rose fragranced candles can help with a better night of sleep.
7. sandlewood and Indian Masala, juniper berry and citrus, sandlewood, frankincense and patchouli, or jasmine and minosa are known for their love enhancing properties.

Scented soy candles come in a variety of fragrances.  Not only are they Eco-friendly, non-toxic, burn 50% longer than a paraffin candle and burn at a lower temp, they can help to elevate your mood.  Choose the fragrance you desire for the change in mood you are looking for.  Happy fragrance hunting with scented soy candles.

These days it seems that the population is becoming much more heath and environmentally conscious.  This is called going green.  The traditional candles that most people burn are made with paraffin wax.  As we now know, paraffin wax has many dangers associated with them.  They are made from petroleum by-products and emit several know toxins that are dangerous to your health.  They become so by contaminating the air you breath in your home, as well as leaving their remains in what is called soot, on your home’s interior structure and furnishings.

Soy wax, made from soybeans, has become a favorite alternative to the paraffin wax candles.  It is safe to breath, is safe for the environment, doesn’t leave the soot build up, and melts at a lower temperature.  It is a renewable resource as well.  You can put your finger into the heated soy wax from your candle and it will only feel warm to touch.  It won’t burn like paraffin candles.  Some have found it to be a good source as a hand lotion, having the benefit of the scent of the candle you were burning. 

As we become more environmentally aware and health conscious and more of us are going green, we give up our old ways and with that make sacrifices.  Choosing to use soy candles is a plus, because you don’t have to sacrifice anything.  It is a win win situation.  They burn at a lower temp, burn up to 50% longer than paraffin candles, cost about the same, and are good for the environment and you.  Why not try gourmet soy wax candles today and get involved with the green scene.

My wicks are smoking!  How dare them.  You have a special event happening and everything is elegantly laid out, and then the candles start to smoke.  Now what do you do?  Don’t panic, here are some ideas.

1. What kind is your candle?  Paraffin wax candles are more likely to smoke.  Instead try using a soy wax candle, as they put off much less smoke if any.
2. Ah, the wick.  Cotton wicks tend to burn cleaner than zinc core wicks.  When a wick gets those black balls on the top when burning it is called shroom.  Zinc core wicks shroom more and can create more smoke.  Burn only candles with cotton or natural products wicks.
3. Do you blow out your candles?  This creates more black smoke.  Try using a wick dipper.  This is a metal tool used to push the wick down into the melt pool to  extinguish it and then use it to pull the wick back up straight for the next time.  Wick dipper use means less smoke!
4. Has your candle had the proper care?  Be sure and let it burn all the way across the first time that you burn it, before putting out the wick.  Is the wick being trimmed like it should?  It should be trimmed to 1/8 inch each time before burning. 
5. Drafts can cause a candle to put off more smoke.  Check the placement of your candles before lighting them for sudden hidden winds. 

The factors most involved in the smoking wicks has to do with the type of candle wax being burnt and the product in the wicks.  Using gourmet soy candles with cotton wicks is the answer to reducing the amount of second hand inhalation of wick smoke in your home.

With the weather beginning to turn cold and wet, you find yourself indoors more.  Some of you may turn to doing fun things that you normally would not do, now that there is more time on your hands.  A fun project with your children might be to make soy candles.  What a neat idea for Christmas gifts!  Here are some safety tips to keep in mind when making your soy candles.

1. Be sure and never let the art of candle making become routine.  Don’t become careless just because you think you are an expert now.
2. Don’t handle hot pots or cans with your bare hands.  Use a hot pad or some pliers.
3. Don’t leave hot wax unattended, even in a double boiler.
4. Keep wax away from open flames.
5. Be sure and not overheat wax.  It will spontaneously com-bust when reaching flash point which is 375 degrees F for paraffin wax.  Don’t heat wax over 212 degrees F.
6. Overheated wax may cause severe illness from the fumes.  Remove yourself from the area and be sure to well ventilate it before returning.
7. Use a thermometer.  Always know and be aware of the wax temperature.  This way you will have good results as well as being safe.
8. Use a double boiler or wax melter.  The double boiler will help to control the heat.  An old pot filled with water and a coffee can set down inside the pot to melt the wax in will also work.  The typical melting temperatures can reach 200 degrees F.
9. If you have a wax fire, don’t put water on it.  Always keep a pot lid, baking soda, and a dry chemical fire extinguisher close when heating wax.  If the fire is in the melting container put the lid on it.  Use the baking soda to smother small fires outside the pot.  For a major wax fire use the fire extinguisher.  Remember don’t leave the melting wax unattended.
10. Never pour wax down your drain.  It will harden and clog the drain.  Instead pour any waste wax into a can or milk carton and discard in the trash after it has cooled.

These tips will make your soy candle making safer and more enjoyable.  Enjoy the days spent inside this winter and try a new hobby with your kids, the art of soy candle making.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, the pumpkin is a common theme.  Did you know that you can eat pumpkin flowers, or that pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A?  Pumpkin was once used as an ingredient for the crust of the pie, not the filling, in colonial times.  The largest one grown weighed 1,140 pounds.  Pumpkins once were used for its medicinal purposes in removing freckles and for snake bites.  The traditional pumpkin in America is the Connecticut field variety.  90 percent of a pumpkin’s elements is water.  The name given pumpkins by The Native Americans was “isqoutm squash”, they used the seeds for food and medicine and they flattened strips of pumpkins and dried them to make mats.  October is the month to find 80 percent of the pumpkin supply available in the U.S.  And last but not least, the largest pumpkin pie made was astronomical in size.  It was over 5 feet in diameter, weighed over 350 pounds, used 60 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took 6 hours to bake.  Imagine the oven it took to bake that pumpkin pie! 

Well you don’t need an oven that big just to fill your home with the fresh scent of pumpkin pie cooking.  Instead try a simpler approach.  Just light your soy wax candle and sit back and enjoy the holiday season.  You can find just the right fragrance for the season and share it with your loved ones. If you want to entice more of your senses, besides your nose, go ahead and bake that pumpkin pie.  Happy Holidays!