Timothy Han Candles, and how to look after them.

I love a good candle, and I'm always on the lookout for new ones (I can see about 20 candles from where I sit whilst I'm writing this!), so was delighted when I found out about Timothy Han.  Having grown up in Canada, and having spent time working with John Galliano, Han is a very interesting man, and his commitment to sustainable luxury is definitely to be applauded. 

Han's  candles are vegetable-based, made from soy wax entirely without petrochemicals, they have lead-free cotton wicks, and are fragranced with 100% essential oils.

They have a slightly creamy, rather than pure white, wax, and burn evenly and smoothly without leaving massive soot deposits.  The scent I have, Oakmoss and Vetiver is about as far away from a "traditional aromatherapy" fragrance as you can imagine, being deep, dark, and both earthy and grassy, it's definitely a world away from a lot of candle fragrances!  The candles have a burn time of 50 hours, and come housed in these gorgeous duck-egg blue glass holders.

The way to keep your candles lasting through the full burn time, is to look after them.  Here are a few hints:

When you first burn a candle always ensure that the top layer of wax melts entirely, this will take a couple of hours usually, so be prepared to make your first burn a long burn. 

Make sure you keep your wicks trimmed - they should be around 5mm high.  Too long a wick will lead to a very soot-y flame, and make your candle burn faster.   You can use a wick tripper for this (which will collect debris) but you can also use nail scissors.  Always trim your wicks when candles are cold.

Don't blow out your candles, this can dislodge the wick, spray wax and soot over your surfaces, it'll also cause smoke, which will take over the scent of the candle you were burning in the first place. Dip the burning wick into the pool of melted wax around the burning wick instead. You can buy what're called "wick dippers", but you can use anything (except fingers) to dip the wick into the wax.  I use a metal skewer I keep handy.

Keep your candles out of drafts, and always a few centimetres apart, otherwise they'll burn unevenly.  I don't need to mention the need to keep them on a heatproof surface, do I?

Finally, keep your candles CLEAN.  Dust them, and, if the containers get a bit sooty, then clean them!  The best candles don't produce a lot of soot, so if your containers are black around the rims (and worse - down the sides), it means that either you keep your wicks too long, or you've been burning your candles for too long in one go.  Take a look at your wicks, are they blooming out a bit like mushrooms? Then trim your wick down to half a centimetre, and try not to burn your candle for too long after the top layer of wax has melted.  Your candles will last longer if you do, and you won't have soot marks up your walls.

Timothy Han candles are available from the Timothy Han Website, and cost £38 for a candle that will last you for several months.

The Fine Print: PR Sample  - all tips, however, are my own, not from Timothy Han.
 
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