The Best Wax Melts
A very common question amongst us wax melt lovers is, 'what are the best wax melts?'
At Callan Candles, we put a lot of time and effort into creating the very best wax melts we can. And that involves paying close attention to every step of the process.
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The Wax
The first part of any wax melt, and something crucial to making the very best wax melt possible, is the raw material that is used. For wax melts, that is, of course, wax.
But how do you decide? There are so many options on the market!
Wax blends.
Paraffin wax.
Beeswax.
Soy wax.
This is something that we researched, tested, and researched some more. We ordered every wax we could get our hands on.
We found that paraffin based wax tends to give a slightly better throw than the others, but when doing our research, we quickly discarded it as an option.
Why?
There were too many health and environmental concerns. You can find out more about why we chose not to use paraffin wax (yes, even the 'food grade' stuff) in our short blog. Simply click here.
When looking at beeswax, we considered that a lot of people don't consider it vegan. One of the great things about wax melts is that they are relatively simple to make and they also fulfil a simple job - making our homes smell amazing.
So, we reasoned, why would we an animal based product for that if we don't need to? To make the best wax melts, we decided that they had to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. In fact, we decided to make our entire company sustainable.
We also looked at wax blends, but decided that we preferred to use a pure, sustainable wax, made by a responsible supplier. That way, we could trace where the wax is coming from and the environmental impact of it.
The wax option we decided that would offer the best wax melts possible was, therefore, soy wax. Callan Candles uses sustainably sourced soy wax from North America.
The Scent
We all buy wax melts for one main reason - to make our house, office, holiday home, or any other space, smell divine.
The great thing about scent, is that there are so many wonderful varieties. And because everyone is different and has different tastes, discovering your new favourite scents becomes part of the charm of buying and exploring wax melts.
To ensure the best wax melts, the ingredients used in the scent need to be non-toxic. Seems fairly simple, right?
Well, you'd be surprised at some of the nasties we've seen in big brand wax melts.
At Callan Candles, we use paraffin free, pure soy wax. And all of our scents are non-toxic, contain no parabens, are vegan and cruelty free.
We ensure our permanent range is always topped up with a new scent each month, chosen by the customers on our monthly subscription box. They pick their favourite scent out of the four they receive each month and the vote winner is added to our site.
Testing
Once you have your wax and your scent, then comes the testing phase. Because even though you may have mixed up something that smells wonderful, there's no guarantee that it will give off a good scent once it's added into your wax melt and then melted by a customer.
And a weak smelling wax melt most certainly couldn't be considered as the best wax melt. No way. And at Callan Candles, we pride ourselves on our strong, long lasting wax melts.
This part is a lot of fun. When we first started out as a company, we would send our new tester wax melts out to our friends and family and get ratings from them all. Only the very best would then be included in our range.
We always use the same two burners - one electric and one tealight - so that we can guarantee the wax melts are being tested under similar circumstances.
We usually let them burn for 45 minutes and then we expect to be wowed by the smell!
Scent Throw
One of the things we are looking for when we walk back into the room after the 45 minute testing period, is the scent throw of the wax melt.
That may sound a little complicated, but it is very simple. All it means is how well the wax melt fills the whole room with scent.
Some melts can smell amazing, but only when you're very close to the melter. The scent for some reason just doesn't disperse and fill the room. In that instance, you would say the wax melt doesn't have a very good throw.
So... you may as well throw them in the bin!
The Beauty
Yes, we buy wax melts because of the fantastic scent they give to our homes. However, at Callan Candles, we like wax melts to be a full experience. After all, if you want the best wax melts, you have to enjoy looking at the things!
Our main wax melts are gemstone shaped. We use them for two reasons:
1) They look adorable. As we like to say, they're a girl's TRUE best friend.
2) It allows for easy use. You can simply pop one or two gemstones in your melter and you're good to go. No snap. No spooning. No mess whatsoever.
However, it doesn't stop there. We like to go a step further.
When you think about wax melts, you probably imagine something strong. And we think strength deserves a vibrant colour.
That's why we use a natural colouring in our melts, meaning that when you open your delivery from us, you are not only met by the most gorgeous smell, but you also have something very pretty to look at.
The Packaging
Remember when we said that we didn't think a wax melt should be damaging to the environment?
Well, we go one step further. We don't think our packaging should be, either.
How can you call something the best wax melt if it comes at the expense of the planet we live on?
The best wax melts have to come in plastic free packaging, and be made using sustainable practices.
And we're prepared to put our money where our wax melts are on this one. We don't use plastic (even though it makes it more expensive for us). Our company is sustainable. Even our Sellotape is recycled.
On top of that, we look to use local suppliers wherever possible and support other small companies.
It's important to us because we believe a company should make a real effort to improve the area where they are located. And we like dealing with real people with small businesses, rather than paying money to a company looking to enrich shareholders.
The People Making Them
We like to say that our wax melts are made with wax, and love.
The team behind the process plays a crucial role in making sure that we produce the best wax melts possible.
We are a small, family run business located in Dolphinton, Scotland. We do not have big machines that pour wax into plastic containers and we do not get our products made by cheap labour in China and then shipped in.
Our little corner of bliss supports local people and we all have an interest and passion for making the best product possible.
Kirsty started Callan Candles after discovering that scent can help with mental health issues. Because members of her close family suffer with mental health, she became determined to help, even if only in a little way.
If you want to learn more about how we started, click here.
We hear from customers every day letting us know that our products have brightened up their day and made them feel better when they were having a tough time.
We like to think that the best wax melts come alongside the best team, with a strong reason for doing the best work that they can.
That's probably why we have thousands of verified five star reviews.
Ongoing Improvement and Feedback
At Callan Candles, we like to keep an eye on our customers and our feedback. They guide us and help us to improve.
Our customers who are on our monthly subscription vote each month for their favourite scent and the winner is then added to our permanent range.
Because even the best wax melts can get better.
On top of that, we have a private Facebook group where lots of our customers hang out, chat and make suggestions. You can join the group by clicking here.
