How to make a natural, herbal candle & wick to avoid toxic additives!!

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It is well known how perfumes and smells affect our psychology... And it's medically proven that the sense of smell is directly linked to emotional memory! Babies recognize mummy, we unconsciously get attracted to the physical smell of certain people, because of their natural smell that comes from their hormones, or even when we are unable to remember an event, the smells that were prevalent during the event will evoke the same emotions we experienced then, once we encounter them again, since they are recorded in our subconscious. And the examples don't stop here.

"Episodic memories, or memories of specific events from a first-person point of view, are where the sense of smell is best connected to memories."

— Theresa L. White, PHD

I remember...once I went for a walk in the nature. It was lovely in spring, relaxing...and I came across some flowers that I wanted to enjoy. After a while, I felt an inexplicable anxiety...to my surprise! I really couldn't pinpoint the reason... Approaching a Acacia tree I felt strange...! Long story short...after a long time, and a lot of digging in distant memories, I managed to recall that my mother loved this tree and its fragrance. So, when I was little, mother had decorated the vase on our table with some blossomed Acacia branches, and the smell of it filled the house. *In the meantime, I didn't even know what the name of this tree. I found it after what you're about to read :)

Unfortunately, an ugly scene, with tensions, stress and anxiety happened in the same place, while the vase with the Acacia was present...and as traumatic, this experience was recorded in my subconscious! I generally have a lot of memory lapses from childhood. It's the body's natural defence against traumatic situations... So it was only when I found the Acacia on that walk that I remembered the story which I'd forgotten for so many years...

That's to understand how truly powerful the cense of smell is, and the direct connection it has with our inner world. Here is some more information about emotional memory and smell.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322579

Many, of course, will know that the art of aromatherapy is based on such data.

Since ancient times, until today, people have been burning candles, aromatic herbs, and resins, either in a very simple way, or using elaborate handmade and natural vessels (seashells), in rituals of self-concentration, meditation, spirituality, purification and respect... something we find from old shamanic rituals of cleansing our energy, and the surrounding atmosphere from disease and negative energies.

Apart from the symbolism given to candles and herbal smoke by each culture, candles create a sense of warmth in the room, they're relaxing and calming.

Fortunately, modern western science, instead of invalidating, as usual, everything natural (to sell oil derivatives, such as drugs/Big Pharma), has explored, understood, and explained the therapeutical properties of essences to our psychology and well-being, how they can protect the atmosphere from bacteria, viruses...and for those who understand, they correct negative energy ;) And me...as a person who despises anything artificial, mass-produced, lifeless, synthetic...a person with a sensitive psychology...I couldn't help but to study and do research on the subject of smell, energy cleansing, and how to create the feeling of inner catharsis, relaxation and meditation...using the power of Nature that I adore!

It is very important that we are all aware of the bad effect that paraffin candles, which are widely available in the market, have on our health and the atmosphere. These are blended with synthetic toxic and carcinogenic fragrances & additives such as formaldehyde, acrolein, and pigments such as carmine, HIGHLY ALLERGENIC, causes asthma, and I will soon write a separate article on insects carmine and chitin, as they now want to feed us those toxins...!! Paraffin is a derivative of petroleum. By burning it in our home (wax) the soot that is released is carcinogenic, very toxic, uses a lot of oxygen to burn, and ends up in our lungs in the form of nano-ash, where it is stored until our body can manage to eliminate some of it. Something similar applies to the synthetic wicks used in the mass production of candles. Unfortunately, some positive people who are engaged in candle making, do have the right direction regarding waxes selection...BUT, they use synthetic oils and fragrances in their candles,, and synthetic wicks, infused with paraffin, resulting in an impressive fragrant product, but without beneficial properties, and with harmful characteristics. I guess because they're not informed properly...

Now that the World Economic Forum decided that we have to be fed with cockroaches....to save the planet...and our g0v3rnments follow the order...sorry...we have to be extra careful with the additives carmine, NF(mealworm), and chitin, which are dried-powdered bugs, and they put them in everuthig!!. Highly toxic, can cause asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases, can not be properly digested by the human system, can cause CANCER....and please do some research on that!!!

Read my research about the diseases caused by carmine and chitin, how to spot bugs in foods & avoid them!!!

We can avoid all this. That's why I always say how important it is to do proper research and understand for ourselves what we choose in our lives, and why. Let me cut to the chase, and take you to the result that this little journey of research and experimentation has brought home to me, and show you ways in which you too can create what you crave, doing good for yourself and our nature.

The natural soy wax is what will see at in this article, and in this one you'll find how to make natural incense cones, from herbs and resins. Soy wax, a very easy to handle, soft and clean wax, almost odourless, slow burning, it lasts for many hours compared to harmful paraffins, and it 's absolutely smokeless combined with the natural wicks I make from cotton. You can easily find it in stores, and is not expensive.

For my candle I chose a beautiful, warm, relaxing scent, highly purifying and healing, due to the resins and herbs I used. Natural frankincense with its lemony - earthy and resinous nature, dried spicy sage that I gathered from the mountains of Mani in Southern Greece, warm and sweet healing clove and cinnamon, rosemary with its relaxing, antibacterial and antidepressant properties (I use it in my kitchen and in my cosmetics) and red cedar, which I consider the king of aromatic woods (also use in my cosmetics!). All of these natural ingredients have relaxing, antibacterial and healing properties, of great power!!! Especially for frankincense resin is worth doing a lot of research!!! I suggest you do not skip it.

And that's why I found a way to incorporate natural-raw frankincense into my candles, but also incorporate it into olive oil, which is the basis of my cosmetics! Anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, relaxing, anti-ageing, with tightening and scar repair properties, it helps in the treatment of acne, stomach ulcers, psoriasis and other skin diseases...but also in psychology it works therapeutically, creating calmness, and a pleasant atmosphere of meditation and spirituality...something that modern man is losing, unfortunately...! Look it up ;)

Here you can read the pharmacological paper about frankincense properties in health.

Here is the paper bout frankincense properties on Photo and Age-Damaged Skin

As for sage...known for its healing properties, since the antiquity of Hippocrates and Dioscurides, but also for its purifying properties in the form of tobacco. The Chinese, who have very strong medicine, also from antiquity, say that Greeks are not at risk of health problems...they have sage!!! Look it up too!!!

read about sage properties here

and here too

Take a look at my sage that I burn with frankincense and rosemary to fix the energies, especially when everything feels wrong....it gives me a lift of spirit.

I burn it in a anatural seashell filled with sand, standing an African handmade wooden base.

You can also read this article of mine where I explain how I create my creams, from the beeswax filtering and the herbal extracts, to the final product with vitamins, enzymes and all the beneficial ingredients I use.

Let's move on to the wax creation, and I owe you the cones for the course :)

The process is so simple, I chose to make an example for you, on my desk. My kitchen is deadly cold! And the photos are from my phone, plain and simple ;)

What we need:

1. 1. Natural wax of our choice, that is suitable for burning, such as beeswax, soy wax, etc. Do your research to see the properties of each, the costs, and decide. Of course we exclude palm oil !!! They are deforesting huge areas of natural vegetation and biodiversity replacing them with palm trees for their derivatives!!!

2. A container to heat the wax at a low temperature. It can be either a glass or metal container.

3. A heat source that will allow you to control the temperature to melt your wax, without over heating or burning it.

4. If there's no controlled heat source available, you can use a thermometer, like I did, or a bain-marie. I use a vintage style thermometer. You may have a digital one. What ever works for you. And I bought a small coffee stove, to take to my office when it's cold in the rest of the house :P Important: be aware that ignition can occur if you do not control the temperature, so be careful! And if you want to do this process to have a fun and creative time with your kiddos, please don't leave them alone with hot waxes and heat...! Your supplier and the internet will give you every information about the melting point of your wax, and you should not exceed it. For example, I heat the beeswax for my cosmetics at 60-70 degrees, and the soy wax for my candles at a maximum of 50. It is soft and melts very easily.

5. A heatproof jar, glass, or mould where you pour your wax once it melts, and that will be your final product.

6. To scent it you can only use essential oils of your choice, and you can choose them either based on their healing properties, or based on preference. Keep in mind that essential oils are delicate, and each can be incorporated into our wax at relatively specific temperatures. These are easy to find online. Along with the oils, or without them, you can infuse your candle with your favourite healing herbs, resins and seeds...nature itself...the Earth!!!

7. For the wick, we will need natural cotton twine. Simply dip the twine into the melted wax to soak for a few minutes, and it is ready to use. *Don't be tortured by the information on the internet that suggests borax, salt, etc. A simple soaking is totally fine. What you'll need to research a little is the thickness of the wick, in order to get a proper combustion in your container. A very thin wick will not have the power to heat the wax over the entire surface of your container, while a very thick one will burn the wax too quickly and it will smoke. Suppliers usually give information on which wick fits each container's diameter, but the internet has it all, too. Experimentation is all we needed to make a proper wick for our container, so that our candle melts all the way to the bottom, and we don't have unburnt wax on the walls of our container. Even during experimentation, we don't throw anything away! If we need to fix something, we melt our wax again and make our improvements ;) No stress, instead enjoy the satisfaction of creationtion :) It always takes experimentation to achieve something that will satisfy our own senses... Isn't it the same in interpersonal relationships...in our jobs and hobbies...?

The steps one by one: 1. Prepare my wick. For my container (6x6 cm) I need a wick about 4mm thick, so I weave the cotton string to make it solid.

In the fireproof container, I heat some wax to melt, in a quantity that I can dip the wick. I let the wick soak well, for about 5 minutes.

I carefully remove the wick from the pan with tongs, and hang it to dry.

In a few minutes it is ready, and can be cut to the desired length with scissors. We usually calculate the height of the container in which we will pour our wax, plus 1 cm.

2. I prepare my aromatics. After weighing the amount I need, I use a stone mortar and pestle to pulverize resins and herbs. If you will only use essential/scented oils, skip this step.

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3. I weigh the amount of wax I will need. 4.I heat the wax with the aromatics, carefully, until it melts, controlling the temperature.

5. I remove from the stove and weigh the essential oils I will use. I add them and stir well.

6. I pour the wax into the jar, carefully as it is hot.

7. Stir my aromatics, if necessary, so that they don't settle in the base, until the wax thickens and solidifies. 8. I dip the wick I prepared, once the wax is starting to set, but it's still soft enough.

9. I allow my candle to fully set. 10. I enjoy the result :)

*Tips:

As we said, to make our favourite consistency, it takes experimentation. Always remember to take notes, so we can make improvements. Also, don't forget that even if something goes wrong, we can always reheat the wax and make improvements to our recipe. For example, we can change the wick to a thinner or thicker one, add fragrances, or even make the fragrance lighter by adding unscented wax. If you want to colour your candle, you can, but you have to be very careful about which pigments you use. I recommend mineral mica paints, derived from natural-non-toxic raw materials, but if you choose commercial paint, study the composition carefully to make sure that it's not toxic!!! Always supervise a burning candle, especially when there are little kids around, don't put it near heat sources, and don't put flammable objects near it. The container gets hot when the candle is lit. Always make sure to keep it on a firm and flat surface! In case there is an ignition in our candle while handing it, DO NOT ADD WATER!!! Turn off the hearth immediately, and cover it with a fireproof lid, or a wet towel, to deprive it of oxygen and dampen the flame. If we have fireproof gloves, we can carefully carry it to another spot, if necessary.

As I loved "playing" with candles since I was a kid, it happened to me once to overheat the wax and it caught fire. Out of ignorance, I poured water in to extinguish it, and the candle exploded 1m high!!! Be very careful! I learned the hard way.

If you prefer to burn incense cones or sticks, i remind you to read this article, and learn how to make them.

I hope you enjoy this creative and relaxing process, and remember, to always create with love! Everything is charged by our energy...and love is the best therapy...!

Now I'd like to dedicate to you a spiritual song of mine, to ceep you company and inspire you during your creativity time :)

...We are all Part of The Whole...!

In case you need anything, please feel free to contact me, offering is always a pleasure to me.

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Loads of Love,

Thomais de Fois

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