teal and pink beeswax votive candles with a natural occurring bloom

What are the Spots on My Beeswax Candle?

Your beautiful beeswax candles arrived several months ago. You bought enough to last for some time so you wrapped them in tissue and put them in a safe place. Now you are ready to burn them. You carefully unwrap them and oh no! What are the spots on my beeswax candles? You can see those spots on the Glacier Teal and Paris Pink beeswax votives in the photo. Do not despair. Let me tell you what those spots are and what you can do about them. 

I am assuming that when you put your candles away they were stored carefully so the spots are not bruises or flaws in the candle. If it just appeared in the last few months it is most likely ‘bloom’.  If your beeswax candle ‘blooms’ over time, that means it is 100% pure beeswax.  If it doesn’t bloom after a couple months then you might suspect your beeswax candles are not pure beeswax. I’ve noticed that the spots or bloom film usually show up on beeswax Honey Candles® in a matter of weeks.

Bloomed beeswax candles have a beauty of their own. If left long enough the bloom becomes crystal -like and causes a frost to appear over the candle. You may like it that way especially at Christmas. Bloom always shows up more on colored beeswax. A bloomed, frosty burgundy colored beeswax candle is beautiful for Christmas. If you touch it however, the bloom will come off and finger prints will be left instead. If you prefer your beeswax candles shiny and fresh looking there are a few things you can do.

  • you can take a soft cloth and just rub the bloom off
  • bloom will also come off by warming them in your hand and rubbing the candles with your fingers
  • you can run warm water over the candle (avoid getting the wick wet) and then dry it
  • use warm air from a blow hair dryer by blowing it gently over the candle to take the bloom off

You will be left with shiny beeswax candles like the photo after the votives were polished. Which look do you prefer for your beeswax candles ‘bloomed’ or polished?

Another article to read:

Bloom on Beeswax Candles is a Good Thing.

Published By Pat Cattermole

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