Candle Wax Burns

[ratsandwich]

Hi there, I've been racking my brain for how to set up one of my characters as I see him, without making his premise too ridiculous. I need some information about burns.

Comments

[akiko]

I don't believe candle wax is capable of causing first-degree burns, unless he's got his hands stuck in a vat of it, heated to 159 degrees. Because air temperature is much lower than the melting point of paraffin, as soon as heat is taken away (ie, it's poured off the candle) it begins to cool. Dripping candle wax on your fingers hurts, because it's hot, but unless you get a heap of it, it cools quickly enough that you may just get a red spot.

Keep in mind, though, that in the Victorian era, they were more likely to use tallow (animal fat) and beeswax (for the rich) for candles. Paraffin wasn't widely available until after 1850 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_candle_making). The various types of wax had different melting points. though still near the 140-150 degree range.

First-degree burns are caused by, for example, fire, boiling water, and hot frying oil.

[rons_pigwidgeon]

I beg to differ. It is entirely possible to get first- and second-degree burns from candle wax. I have first-hand experience of skin blistering (which is a sign of second-degree burns) from candle wax without having my "hands stuck in a vat of it". An amount the size of a quarter was enough to cause blistering. Yes, wax begins to cool as soon as it is removed from heat and meets with air, but if the glob of wax is particularly thick, it can take long enough time for the center to cool to harm the skin it has come in contact with.

[akiko]

Yes, that's why I said, and I quote, unless you get a heap of it. 9_9

Another thing the OP should really take into consideration is that burns of this magnitude, especially if you're talking third-degree on a large surface area, are subject to particularly nasty skin and skin structure infections (SSSI), like S. aureus or Pseudomonas, which are difficult to treat NOW, and could have resulted in gangrene, amputation, or death in Victorian times, without antibiotics.

(And, dammit, the nomenclature is backwards from what I learned 20 years ago. So, yeah, first degree is possible, third not so much. Second and third are the degree of burns the OP wants to cause the scarring s/he's looking for.)

[jtucktattoo]

It is plasusible to have a series of 1st and 2nd degree burns from candlewax. The burns would look like discolored skin, probably not raised.

Perfumed and/or colored candles burn hotter than plain wax or tallow.

They can burn the skin quite quickly, especially since the wax sticks to the skin as it cools, trapping heat in one location on the skin. Blisters and burns occur frequently. It takes a lot of practice to be able to get the distance right for the wax to cool as it passes thru the air falling on the recipient.

[maroon_ed]

Occasional wax player here, and I'll disagree with one point. I wouldn't say it takes a lot of practice to get the distance correct, causing pain/sensation without lasting burns. My sadist picked it up quite quickly--just over a meter with common, cheap paraffin candles. A little closer you'll get mild burns on, ahem, sensitive areas. A lot closer and it isn't fun anymore.

Masochists vary of course, but if nerve endings are lost then you can't feel pain on that area. And that isn't fun anymore either.

It sounds like this is someone who deliberately wants to cause injuries as opposed to carefully avoiding them. Look at Self destructive behavior, Self-injury (SI) or self-harm (SH) for the psychological profile of someone like that.

[clio75]

You need to be googling wax play and then add burns. You'll find a lot of info on the different types of candles that are safe or not so safe to play with and how burns happen and how to avoid them.
Then I think you need to decide what the candle is made of--that will determine the temperature of the wax and how likely your burn is.

[corvideye]

Anecdata... I accidentally splashed molten beeswax on the inside/ underside of my upper arm, in a patch about 2 x 4 inches. (I was melting several pounds of beeswax in a can, and dropped the can.) It hurt somewhat, but not excruciatingly; the worst part was (sorry about gross detail) peeling off the wax, which took the top layer of skin with it. I dealt with it myself because I didn't want my mom to totally freak out! From that I had a big raw area, rather than blistering, which took several weeks to heal

[verie]

I'm not very experienced in this area, but I've vaguely looked up the same sort of thing, and one of the details I got from it was that if the candle is darker in color, the wax will stay hot for slightly longer (darker colors absorbing heat better and all, I guess?). So black wax would probably burn worse than white wax, for instance.

If possible, I might suggest having your character use the candles that are in jars... then you'd have a larger pool of melted wax to work with than if you just used a regular candle that you'd put in a stand.

Not certain if those are of any help. ^^;