Candle Performance

I created Cass Candle Co. on the concept that many standard retail candles are not well engineered. After burning hundreds of candles, I found that there were only a few that performed well. Many of them tunneled down the center, leaving lots of unmelted wax on the sides. Others would smell nice when unlit, but would have very little scent throw while burning. Others would soot like crazy, staining the jar and the surrounding walls/ceiling.

Not all candles are created equally. Many retail candle varieties are mass produced, which makes them cheaper to the consumer, but lacking in quality. The lack of quality may come in several forms, affecting its overall performance. Unfortunately, many handcrafted candles are also poorly formulated, leading to a more expensive, underperforming candle. 

How Does a Candle Perform?

Scented candle performance can be summarized by the following characteristics:

Cold Throw: The subjective aromaticity of the unlit candle. It is often assumed that a candle with a good cold throw must also smell great when burning. Sometimes this is true, sometimes it is not. A poorly formulated candle may liberate undesirable odors during burning, especially if low-quality fragrance oils or additives are used. 

Hot Throw: The subjective aromaticity of the burning candle. Different waxes and  fragrances have different hot throw intensities, so it is critical that the hot throw is maximized, but balanced relative to the wax type, fragrance concentration and the combustion rate of the wick. 

Melt Characteristics: There are many types of candle waxes available on the market, and many types of candle wicks to pair them with. Different waxes have different melting points, and larger wicks (or multiple wicks) will melt wax faster than smaller wicks. If the wax melts too slow, tunneling is likely over time. If it melts too fast, sooting is likely. A well designed container candle will develop a full melt pool across the diameter of the container after 2-3 hours, and should be no more than 0.5" deep after about 4 hours. These rules of thumb also help to maximize the burn time of the candle. 

Sooting Characteristics: Soot is a black powdery substance formed from incomplete combustion often found around the top of container candles after burning. It is commonly believed that 100% pure soy candles do not soot. In fact, all candles made from all waxes release soot emissions from the combustion process. In the old days of low grade petroleum waxes, sooting was common. Modern wax blends available to candlemakers today are significantly improved, and most consumer waxes have similar emissions content upon combustion. In fact, the sooting potential of a candle is mostly dependent on the quality and quantity of the fragrance oils and additives used (dyes, binders etc.), and the wick selection. A well designed candle will balance the wick performance to the wax type, as well as the overall fragrance and additive load.  

Mushrooming: Mushrooming (AKA carbon cap) is a term that refers to the build up of excessive carbon on the tip of the candle wick. Mushrooming usually occurs because the wick is drawing up too much wax and the flame cannot sustain efficient combustion. A well designed candle will resist mushrooming during the recommended burn time, typically 4 hours, and will have lower soot emissions. 


Cass Candles are engineered to optimize the characteristics of each key component of the candle:


Container: Our containers are sleek & attractive, made of thermally durable materials that are reusable and recyclable

Wax: We use a premium food-grade wax blend formulated to maximize scent throw and minimize soot and emissions for a clean burn 

Fragrances: We use only the finest perfumers grade fragrance oils at balanced concentrations to provide a powerful scent throw

Wick: Our wicks are carefully selected to optimize scent throw, minimize sooting and mushrooming, and maximize burn time


With many unique fragrance profiles in our portfolio, we have a scent for everyone. Custom blending is available upon request. 


Our goal is to provide handcrafted, high performance candles without the premium price tag. 


Edward Cass
Founder
Cass Candle Co.