The complete guide
Buying Guide
What ear candling is, and what it is not
An ear candle is a hollow cone of unbleached cotton stiffened with natural beeswax. It is about 25cm long. The narrow end rests at the opening of the ear, the far end is lit, and it burns down to a printed safety line in something like eight to ten minutes. Then it goes out in a glass of water.
People have been doing this for a very long time, and the reason they keep doing it is the experience. Lying still with your head on a towel. The warmth. The soft crackling. Ten quiet minutes where nobody wants anything from you. That is what we sell these for, and it is all we say they do.
What they do not do is take wax out of your ear. The residue you find inside a burnt cone afterwards is wax and ash from the candle itself, which is worth knowing before you judge a session by what is in the cone. If you want wax cleared, that is a job for a clinician.
We have said other things on this page in the past. We used to tell you candling relieved sinus pressure, reduced ringing in the ears, drew out toxins and rebalanced your mental state. None of that is supported, so none of it is here any more.
Doing it safely
There is an open flame beside somebody's head, so this section matters more than the rest of the page.
You need two people. One lies down, one holds the candle, lights it, and watches it the whole time. Nobody does this on their own.
Before you start: hair tied back, a towel over the shoulder, a protective disc on the candle, a bowl or glass of water within reach, and scissors for trimming. Rest the tapered end lightly at the opening of the ear. Do not push it in.
Stop at the printed line. Not near it, at it. Put the candle straight into the water. If at any point there is heat on the skin, a sharp feeling, or the person lying down says they want to stop, take it away immediately and put it out.
Ear candling is for adults. It is not for children, and not for anyone with grommets, a perforated eardrum, a current ear infection, discharge, ear pain, an ear injury, hearing loss or recent ear surgery. Audiology bodies generally advise against ear candling. We would rather you heard that from us before you buy than from somebody else afterwards.
What comes in the kit
Every kit ships with the candles, bonus candles on top of the count, protective ear discs and cotton buds, all included in the price you see. The buds are for tidying the outer ear only, and nothing at all should go into the canal.
Candles come in an assortment: sky blue, green, brown, orange, yellow, purple, rosy and white, with mixed fragrances from vanilla through to rose. Colours and scents vary a little between batches, so a pack is a mixture rather than one colour.
Storing them
Cool, dry, out of direct sunlight, in the packaging they came in. Stored like that they keep for a long time. Replace any candle that has cracked, discoloured, gone soft or brittle, or smells off, rather than burning it.