Top 5 Reasons Why Hand-Poured Soy Candles are Better for You

All of Lily Ladou's candles are hand-poured - which means carefully and completely assembled by hand in our little outfit here in Midwestern USA. Did you know that hand-poured candles are actually better for you, your home, and your environment?

That's because the creation of hand poured soy candles involves so much more care and attention, as opposed to your average mass-produced scented candle.

Check out our top 5 reasons why hand poured candles are better for you, your home, and Mother Earth!

Reason 1: The Artisanal Craftsmanship Behind Hand-Poured Soy Candles

Love, care, and time go into inspecting and preparing the candles at every stage.

Discover how we create our candles at Lily Ladue, and the careful artisanal quality behind how our candles are made:

First, we assemble the vessels, which are either created on-site, or sourced from vetted suppliers as far away as India. We believe that each vessel should also double as beautiful home decor, so we're very picky!

Next, we choose and curate different scents to communicate a message for every candle. Whether it's the firepit, with that masculine mahogany teakwood scent, or one of our wood dough bowls with homey, rustic fragrances, we make sure that the essential oils we compile make the perfect blend for the kind of candle we want to create.

We're all about creating the mood! The fragrance oils combine with the wood, glass, or metal to release a summer scent that's fresh and fun, or a winter feeling to make Thanksgiving or Christmas so much more festive.

The next step is to melt down 100% soy wax to the right temperature. We pour in the fragrance carefully by hand, and make sure to integrate the scent carefully into the wax.

We take the wax and fragrance mixture, and pour this into the vessel, arranging the wood wick or cotton wicks carefully. The wax is then left to cool and solidify, forming the final candle - but we make sure to keep an eye on the candle every step of the way to ensure quality.

So, there you have it - you'll note that each candle is custom made, which means every single one of Lily Ladue's candles gets individual attention. That artisanal, handcrafted quality isn't something you'll get from mass-produced candles. Hand-poured soy candles go through such a rigorous and loving process to make sure that 100 % quality is upheld every step of the way.

Essentially, hand-poured soy candles aren't manufactured. A hand-poured candle is an art form. Because the candles are made by hand, each batch can vary slightly, giving each candle its own unique characteristics.

Variations in color, scent intensity, or finish aren't flaws, but rather hallmarks of a genuinely handmade product. If you're the type of person that enjoys products that reflect individual artisanal effort, hand-poured soy candles are the best bet for you.

Furthermore, since our candles are hand-poured, we have lots of creative freedom. We can experiment with a wide range of designs, vessels, scents, and wax blends. We can adjust the wax type, fragrance load, and even the color based on the season, the preferences of our customers, or current trends. Take a look at our pretty heart candles, which have beautiful wax embellishments on the top - a romantic touch that is bound to inspire all throughout the year.

Reason 2: The Quality and Composition of Hand Poured Soy Candles

Did you know that many mass-produced candles are made of paraffin wax? It's a type of wax that's made of petroleum as a by-product of making gasoline. That's gross. Although the European Candle Association released a study in 2007 that says no candle releases chemicals that would cause human health problems, the idea of burning something that comes from gasoline is kind of disgusting.

Soy candles produce less soot. Also, they don't release the same chemicals that paraffin candles release. Other natural wax options include coconut wax, beeswax, palm wax, and vegetable wax.

Soy wax tends to be more expensive than paraffin wax, but that's because it's developed using renewable methods. Soy beans are usually grown on a farm that's dedicated to the bean.

First, soy beans are cleaned. Then, they're de-hulled, or the protective layer from the soybeans is removed. The beans are then rolled into flakes and hydrogenated, and then finally they undergo filtration and purification to remove any impurities. The oil is usually extracted using solvents or a mechanical press.

Did you know that soy wax was invented in 1991? In 1995, the Body Shop was the first store to offer soy candles to the general public.

Soy wax candles usually have a lower burn time than paraffin candles, and they absorb scent a little less potently than paraffin candles, but they do have a cleaner and longer burn. Furthermore, they release less toxins and chemicals vs. paraffin and synthetic waxes. Last but not least, soy bean wax can absorb more dye, so generally speaking they can be a lot cuter than regular store-bought candles!

Yes, we make those cute floral wax embellishments, too!

Reason 3: The Environmental Impact of Hand Poured Candles

Since soy beans are readily available and a sustainable crop, soy wax is a more environmentally friendly option.

Also, soy wax is biodegradable, because soy beans are a vegetable.

Moreover, soy beans are grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides, and they're vegan-friendly, since they contain no animal products or by-products.

Furthermore, since soy candles emit less soot than their paraffin counterparts, they make less of a mess and cause fewer respiratory problems. Have you ever burned a mass-produced candle only to see an ugly black trim around nearby furniture? Now you'll just have to use cleaning products to fix the mess - cleaning products that probably aren't eco-friendly.

Now, here's what's super unique about Lily Ladou's hand-poured soy candles - when you've depleted 75% of the wax, melt the rest out, and clean out the vessel. You now have a container you can repurpose however you like. Bedazzle a heart, or use the metal boats to house hand towels and decorative soaps in the bathroom, or mount the cross on the wall to serve as a lovely crucifix!

You can pursue your DIY dreams with comfort, knowing the left over candle wax you're throwing out is environmentally friendly.

Note: soy wax is NOT organic. That's because of the chemical change that liquid soybean oil has to undergo in order to turn into a solid. Because of this chemical change, it's not considered an organic substance. It is, however, sustainable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly!

Reason 4: Supporting Local Artisans Behind Hand Poured Soy Candles

Buy local and support local artisans and businesses!

When you buy hand-poured soy candles, you buy candles that are produced in small batches, as opposed to large manufacturing outfits that churn out mass-produced items.

Here's why that's important:

Vital Community Role: Small-business owners enhance their localities by fostering a hometown feel and building strong community ties.
- Lily Ladue is based in a small locale just outside of St. Louis, Missouri...in fact, we pay homage to Missouri's beautiful Ladue suburb through our name!

Personalized Customer Service:
- Owners value each customer, influencing their high-quality, personal service. Staff in small businesses are often more accessible and willing to cater to specific customer requests. Positive customer experiences are crucial, encouraging return visits and word-of-mouth advertising.
  - That's not just lip service, either. We pride ourselves in understanding our customers' wants and needs, and we're able to attend to each customer with lots more attention.
Innovation and Competition:
- Small businesses continually update and innovate their product offerings to stay relevant and competitive. They offer unique, niche products not typically available in larger stores, catering to specific customer needs.
  - In fact, a lot of our product development ideas come from you! We read all your comments and take these into consideration when we create our products.
Community Support:
- Spending at local businesses supports the local economy, helping to keep the community vibrant and sustainable. Small businesses contribute to local employment and are often involved in community activities like fundraisers and events. The mutual support between small businesses and their customers helps maintain a robust local economy and vibrant community life.
  - Little known fact about the family behind Lily Ladue: we foster animals! Our home isn't just a place where we hand pour soy candles and create beautiful wooden dough bowls; it's also a mini zoo, with a variable number of dogs, cats, and other little animals. We love to take care of the non-hooman members of Lily Ladue, and they in turn provide us much inspiration - check out our paw print odor eliminator candle, dedicated to our animal team!

Reason 5: Hand-Poured Means a Candle for Every Occasion

We've got a candle for every moment. Every friend. Every hour.

Whether it's a dough bowl to thank your kid's teacher for a great school year, or a Christmas Tree shaped wooden vessel that's the perfect gift for Christmas-lovers, or even a cross-shaped candle for Easter, we've got a candle for you.

Because our soy candles are hand-poured, we've got the flexibility to play with vessels, shapes, fragrances, and stories.

Whether it's a trio of 3 inch candles to stick into small corners in your home, or massive heart shaped candles almost a foot high, we pride ourselves in coming up with new and different candles for every occasion.

You could light up the candle for a special occasion, like an anniversary dinner or a Thanksgiving feast.

Or you might get a candle to celebrate your Me Time, so the aromatherapy helps you relax and unwind.

Whatever the purpose, these small batch hand-poured soy candles give us the flexibility to reach any person, any time of the year.

Mass-produced candles often have a minimum order quantity that dictates how many items they produce. You'll find that hand-poured soy candles are much more bespoke and special, because we've - almost literally - poured our heart and soul into the creation of every one of our products.

In Summary, Support Hand Poured Soy Candles!

In doing so, not only do you support a local business that loves its animals.

You also support your health, by choosing a non-synthetic option.

Soy bean wax is biodegradable, and soy beans are a sustainable crop, so hand-poured soy candles are an aesthetic way to reduce your ecological foot print.

They're vegan friendly, which ties in to our love for our non-hooman team here at Lily Ladue.

They're also clean-burning and non-toxic.

Not to mention, because we produce these in small batches, we've got the freedom and creativity to customize a candle for every occasion, every personality, and every type of home!

So, let us know...

Which of the Lily Ladue candles do you like best, and would you like us to customize another type you don't see on our website? We'd love to hear from you!