Question 1

What is your candle wax made of and why?

Accepted Answer

We use two types of wax for our candles

Our new signature wax is used in our core and dýr range and is made in the UK from a blend of rapeseed and coconut oil, with a high proportion of British grown rapeseed and certified organic coconut oil. There's also a small amount of sustainable castor oil in there to aid performance.

This is highly sustainable, and certified vegan

We wanted to steer clear of polluting petrochemicals and shady soy products that contribute to deforestation

Rapeseed oil production emits the least carbon of any common vegetable oil. The flowers are also bee-friendly, and contribute to pollination and biodiversity

Coconut wax comes from coconut flesh. Coconut trees require very little in the way of pesticides and have a low requirement for artificial irrigation- plus they're not associated with deforestation

While it's possible to obtain organic European soy traced from farm to fork, this isn't the same for candle wax. The consumer demand for transparency isn't big enough when it comes to candles. Most soy worldwide comes from genetically modified monoculture megafarms, where biodiversity is low and forests often destroyed to make space for more agriculture. That's not what we're about

And paraffin wax? Well, I'm sure we don't have to say any more there...

Our previous core range candles used a 100% coconut and rapeseed blend, and are paraffin and soy free as well as being vegan

Our organic wax is blended for us in the UK, and is certified organic by the soil association. It uses a blend of European rapeseed oil and organic beeswax, along with coconut, carnauba and palm oil. The palm oil used can be traced back to a single plantation in Colombia, which was converted from cattle grazing land over 100 years ago, so we are confident that our palm oil is sustainably sourced.

This pollinator-positive blend is great for the environment, with farming practices encouraging biodiversity. As this wax contains bee products, it isn't vegan. However, the bees are very well looked after, adhering the stringent Soil Association organic standard.

Question 2

What are the wicks made of?

Accepted Answer

Our new core and dýr range wicks are made a high tech patented construction natural fibre dipped in 100% sunflower wax. These meet our stringent quality and performance standards, which are difficult to achieve in candles with a high proportion of essential oils.

We are phasing out out previous cotton and linen blend wicks, which had a very thin paraffin coating. We are pleased to now be able to offer candles that are 100% natural from start to finish, though during the transition period you may still receive a candle with these wicks. Please do contact us if this is an issue and we will do our best to accommodate your needs

Our organic range uses cotton wicks with a vegetable wax (paraffin-free) coating. These work perfectly with the organic wax blend we use for these candles. Unfortunately there are currently no "certified organic" wicks on the market, but these are the most natural and sustainable option we could source

Question 3

What if my candle looks a bit cracked/rough on the surface?

Accepted Answer

Due to the use of entirely natural wax and oils, our candles can be a bit sensitive to temperature and show surface cracks and blemishes if they have been exposed to cold conditions

These are usually entirely cosmetic and will melt away (literally) as you burn your candle. They do not affect performance

We're grateful of your acceptance of these artefacts as part of the experience of our highly sustainable candles

If you do feel you are experiencing issues affecting the performance/enjoyment of your candle please do get in touch and we'd love to discuss and make any problems right

Question 4

How can I recycle my candle jar?

Accepted Answer

Our candle jars are purposely kept simple but attractive, so they look great in your home and are easy to repurpose or recycle afterwards

Of course, the most sustainable option is to repurpose your jar as a plant pot, pencil pot or anything else you can think of around the home (please do send us your ideas and inspiration!)

You can't repurpose or recycle a candle jar that's dirty or still has wick remnants inside, so please do clean out the jar before reusing or popping in the recycling bin

You can do this in a number of ways- please be careful when handling hot glass or wax though!

Our natural wax melts at a low temperature (between 40 and 50 degrees C) so you don't have to get them super-hot to clean out

You can try resting the used candle in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes, popping in the oven for 10 minutes at 50 degrees, or putting them in the freezer for a couple of hours and scraping out the wax.

If you're using a warm method, simply pour the residual melted wax into the bin (never down the sink!), then detach the wick remnant along with its sticky pad and pop these in the bin too before wiping out the jar with a piece of scrap paper or kitchen roll.

You can then rinse out the jar with a bit of soapy water and leave it to dry off

Question 5

What are all the chemical warnings on the bottom of my candle? Aren't these candles natural?

Accepted Answer

Our candles are made only from 100% natural wax and essential oils

All essential oils contain a combination of molecules that gives them their unique scents and characteristics. Even natural products can cause allergies, irritation or damage to the environment if not used in their intended way- that's why there are strict laws governing the use and labelling of these products.

Don't worry, our candles are perfectly safe when used as intended, and all essential oils are within the levels permitted for their product class.

However, please note- residual candle contents should be disposed of in the bin and never down the drain. Please don't pour melted wax down the sink, or try washing out used candle jars in the dishwasher. Not only is this likely to cause clogging of your drains or break the dishwasher, but many essential oils are harmful to aquatic life and it's important to avoid discharging them into the waterways.

Question 6

How can I get the most out of my candle?

Accepted Answer

We test all of our candles and fragrance combinations to ensure that they give a consistently good burn and great scent when used as intended

However, you'll get the most out of your candle if you follow a few rules:

-Burn your candle away from any drafts or breezes. Not only does this help the wax to melt evenly, it also helps to prevent the flame or wax blowing and coming into contact with anything else in your house- reducing the risk of fire

- Burn your candle until the wax pool has completely melted across the top of the candle. Repeatedly burning for shorter periods will cause "tunneling" of the wax, making it impossible to burn it all and meaning that some of that lovely fragranced wax will be wasted

-Trim the wick to 1cm between burns. It's tempting just to relight your candle between burns without doing this, but trimming the wick helps to improve the consistency of your candle burning, and reduces the risk of large flames which might cause injury- or simply cause your candle to burn down more quickly than you'd like

-Use a coaster or suitable heat resistant surface. Candles do get hot at the bottom, particularly later on in life. Using a coaster can help to protect your precious furniture from burns or heat marks. If you need some inspiration, our dýr range of candles come with a beautiful reclaimed wood coaster included in the box.

-As our candles are all natural, we've found that the wax can often settle a little lumpy or with small holes in when set after a burn. Don't worry- this won't affect the quality of the next burn or your ability to relight the candle.

-Don't burn a candle for less than 2 hours or more than 4 hours

-You may notice that our wicks "mushroom" a bit. This can be fixed by blowing the candle out, trimming the wick and relighting. For more explanation of why our candles do this, please read the "why is my wick mushrooming?" FAQ

Question 7

Why aren't all your candles organic?

Accepted Answer

There are two main reasons we can't make all of our candles organic

Firstly, there are only a limited number of essential oils available as "certified organic" on the market, and their availability and price can fluctuate significantly. This limits the choices for our fragrance blends.

Secondly, the cost of raw materials for our organic candles is much higher, which has to be reflected in our retail prices. Although our candles are luxury products, we are also committed to offering sustainable products across a range of price points.

We are committed to expanding our core and organic ranges as well as improving sustainability in both wherever possible. We'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions you might have too!

We've recently started using a wax blend that incorporates organic coconut oil as standard and are also incorporating some certified organic essential oils across our core fragrance line to ensure all of our products give the maximum environmental and social benefit possible

Question 8

Why aren't your organic candles certified organic by an independent organisation?

Accepted Answer

We know it's nice to see a logo from an independent certifier on your product. As a small business, the costs of certification are prohibitively expensive, along with the difficulty of adhering to (or at least proving adherence to) certain parts of the standards that you may not even be aware of. The standards also limit flexibility in changing suppliers for certain things without recertification, causing further difficulties

We may look at this further as the business grows, but in the meantime we are committed to making transparent and honest claims about our products (and to improving sustainability wherever we can, which is why we exist in the first place)

The ingredients in our organic candles (wax and essential oils) are all independently certified by the relevant certification bodies, and are purchased from the certificate-holding manufacturers directly, then blended in-house

We adhere to general principles to avoid contamination, such as using a completely separate wax-melting machine and equipment for our organic products and non-organic ones

The wicks in our organic candles are natural but not organic certified- there is currently no organic wick available for sale on the wholesale market and we do not have the facility to manufacture our own wicks.

We are happy to provide organic certification details for any of our ingredients or to answer any specific questions you might have about our manufacturing or production process

We hate "greenwashing" as much as you do, and are committed to transparency and sustainability in all aspects of our business

Question 9

Can I buy refills for my candle?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can! We're super excited to announce that most Kyrra candles are now refillable

Even better, refills are interchangeable across most of our candles- so if you've used up one and fancy a different fragrance in the same vessel you can

All of our "core" candle range are interchangeable, as well as our super-premium "Eventyr" candle

Our organic candles use a different shape of vessel so aren't interchangeable with the others, but refills are available for those too

We also offer refills for our mini candles, but unfortunately not for our travel candles due to the vessel shape (we did try making one but it didn't work out very well!)

Our travel candle vessel is completely recyclable but also designed to be reused, with a leakproof lid suitable for carrying creams and pastes as well as solid objects

Question 10

Why is my Wick Mushrooming?

Accepted Answer

Great question!

Kyrra candles are different to most, if not all candles you might have seen in the past

Because our candles are made with only pure essential oils, not synthetic or synthetic/natural blends (and because we use a higher amount of fragrance than most candle brands), our candles need a bit more "wicking power", as the oils are a little more viscous and don't absorb into the wick as easily

When we started out, we tried every sort of completely natural wick we could to get our candles to burn properly- but could only find a cotton and linen blend with a thin paraffin coating that worked. We used these wicks for a while as we searched for a better alternative with zero paraffin (you may still buy a candle with one of these wicks- the paraffin is just a very thin coating on the wick, and we have never used any paraffin in our candle wax blend)

We have almost finished introducing a new all-natural sunflower oil coated wick across the entire range

This manages to achieve the performance we need by a special high-tech 3D weaving process

Essentially, as it burns, the tight cotton fibre uncoils and creates 3 little wicks, which increase the surface area for wax absorption, as well as spreading the heat further and making the wax pool wider so your candle melts to the edge better. After a longer burn (usually when exceeding the recommended maximum 4 hours), this effect can sometimes become exaggerated.

You can easily remedy this by snuffing the candle, trimming the wick to between 5 and 10mm, and relighting

Question 11

You use Palm Oil in your Organic Candles -Isn't Palm Oil Bad?

Accepted Answer

Short answer: No. Not inherently anyway

Palm oil is a natural pressed oil taken from the oil palm tree. It's great in candles as it burns cleanly and without toxic chemicals, and holds scent well.

The main problem with palm oil is that it has been a victim of its own success- because it's so useful for a wide range of purposes, and is mainly grown in the developing world, temptation to deforest and plant it unsustainably means that palm oil (a bit like soy) is now mainly harvested in an unsustainable way.

The palm oil we use is different. It comes from a smallholder farm that is sustainably managed and was converted from pastureland over 100 years ago. Not only does this meet the highest standards of sustainability, but it's certified by both the Soil Association and the RSPO's highest certification grade "identity preserved".

For those interested in the fine detail- there are 4 levels of RSPO "sustainability" accreditation. The palm oil supply chain is complex, and in most cases oil of various origins is mixed together somewhere along the line. Using a "mass balance" certification means that a certain amount of sustainable oil has been purchased, but the actual oil used may come from a number of plantations- some of which haven't been sustainably planted.

Our palm oil is exclusively certified using the much more expensive yet much more transparent "identity preserved" level. This means that the palm oil in our candles is traceable down to the exact plantation we use, and is completely separated from any other palm oil on the way to us. So we know exactly what we're getting (and so do you)

Question 12

What do you mean by "fertility and pregnancy safe"?

Accepted Answer

In people trying to conceive or in pregnancy, a number of synthetic fragrances and natural essential oils are known to cause hormone disruption which can affect fertility or fetal development. For this reason, it is recommended that people in this stage of their lives avoid these substances.

Our Astín fragrance has been specifically designed not to contain any ingredients recommended to be avoided in fertility or pregnancy

It's also a sensual and relaxing scent with proven aromatherapy ingredients that's perfect for setting the mood when you have the chance to enjoy time together- though it can be enjoyed any way you like

Please note that, as a responsible company, we make no claims that this or any of our fragrances would have any positive impact on your fertility or pregnancy. No fragranced products on the market are proven to do so, and any that make a claim to the contrary should not be trusted.

Please also note that it is recommended to avoid excessive use of any fragranced products in the first trimester of pregnancy

You can read more about fragrances and conception/pregnancy in our blog post on the subject

We'd love to hear from you! hello@kyrra.co.uk

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