Have you ever wondered what wax melts are? New to the world of wax melts and wondering if they're a good fit for you? Let's explore everything wax melts together!
What are wax melts?
Wax melts are small solid pieces of fragranced wax. They are most often found in cube-form, but can be found in a variety of other shapes as well. Some are dyed different colors, and some even have glitter or other decorations incorporated to make them more visually appealing. They can be fragranced with essential oils, fragrance oils, or both!
How do wax melts work?
Unlike candles, wax melts do not have a wick. They release fragrance when an external heat source is applied and they melt, thus releasing the fragrance. Consistent heat will continue to release the fragrance from the wax.
How do you use wax melts?
You'll need a wax warmer! Wax warmers come in two general types: tealight and electric.
Tealight wax warmers use the warmth of a lit tealight candle to melt the wax melts. The wax melts sit in a small, heat safe dish a few inches above the lit tealight candle. These are NOT flame-free since you need to have a tealight candle burning to continually apply the heat needed to keep the wax melt melted and releasing fragrance.
Electric wax warmers, however, are a flame-free option. They plug into a standard outlet and use electricity as the heat source needed to melt the wax melt. Similar to a tealight warmer, the wax melts sit in a dish, though typically that dish is in direct contact with the heating element of an electric warmer. Electric warmers come in many different styles and types. You can find plug-in wall ones that are typically smaller and do not have a cord. The most common type, however, have a cord that connects the heating element to your outlet. This type comes in both smaller and larger sizes as well as dual-purpose warmers that can melt wickless candles in addition to wax melts.
Who should use wax melts?
While wax melts are a versatile home fragrance option suitable for most folks, there are some reasons why they can be preferred over traditional candles:
- They can be flame-free. If you use an electric warmer, this eliminates the need for an open flame in your home which is a desirable option for many folks particularly those who may forget to extinguish their candles, those with pets or small children, and those who live in rental housing who are not permitted to have open flames in their home.
- You can customize your own fragrance. Many wax warmers are large enough to fit multiple wax melts in them. Therefore, you can combine several different wax melt scents to get a whole new customized fragrance!
- You can control the amount of fragrance for your home. Just want a little bit of fragrance? Use one wax melt. Want more fragrance? Add more melts. Wax melts give you the power to better control the amount of fragrance output you will get!
- Wax melts can be much more affordable than candles. Wax melt wax and candle wax are different and therefore hold different amounts of fragrance and their longevity is different. For example, a Bo Po Candle Co tin candle burn time is 30+ hours. Just ONE Bo Po Candle Co wax melt, however, provides a minimum of 24 hours of fragrance when in use. With a tin candle costing $18 and an 8-pack of wax melts costing $15, the out-of-pocket cost is very similar but the per hour cost is staggeringly different! A tin candle has a maximum cost of $0.60 per hour while a wax melt pack costs about $0.08 per hour (depending on how many melts you use at once). You would have to use all 8 wax melts in a pack at the same time to get the same per hour cost as a tin candle!
- They take up less storage space. Wax melts are smaller and more compact than candles which typically makes them easier to store. This is ideal for those of us who like to keep a lot of different scent options available at any given time!
- You don't have to figure out what to do with an empty vessel once your wax melt reaches the end of it's life. You just scoop the old wax out of your warmer and reuse the warmer with a new scent! No more collecting empty candle vessels because you think you'll find a way to repurpose them someday.
What do you do with wax melts when they're used up?
Once your wax melts is no longer releasing fragrance in your warmer, it has reached the end of it's life. There are a few different ways to empty your wax warmer:
- If you use soy wax melts (like Bo Po Candle Co's!) the wax is often soft enough that you can use a spoon to gently scrape it out of your warmer when it's solidified.
- While the wax is melted, turn off your warmer and allow the wax to cool for a couple of minutes. Then carefully scoop out the slightly-solidified wax.
- You can also use cotton balls or paper towels to absorb your wax melt wax while it's melted. Just be careful because melted wax can be hot!
You can discard the old wax melt wax, or repurpose it for homemade fire starters. Please note that adding more fragrance to old wax melt wax is not very effective and typically not recommended as the fragrance will not be able to bond properly to the wax again.
So what do you think? Are you ready to try some wax melts?
ALL Bo Po Candle Co fragrances are available in wax melts! Explore our wax melts here.
Want to try a sampling of scents? Our variety packs contain six different scents in one convenient pack! Check out our wax melt variety packs here.
Want to be surprised? We have Mystery Melts too! Mystery Melts are the same great wax melts you know and love but in a mystery scent. Every pack is different, grab yours here.