Wax play is a form of sensual play involving warm or hot wax usually dripped from candles or ladled onto a person's naked skin. Wax play may be combined with other BDSM

BDSM

BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...

 or sexual activity.

Pure paraffin

Paraffin

In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...

 wax melts at around 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...

 (54 to 57 Celsius

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

). Adding stearine makes the wax harder and melt at a higher temperature. Adding mineral oil

Mineral oil

A mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of alkanes in the C15 to C40 range from a non-vegetable source, particularly a distillate of petroleum....

 makes the wax softer and melt at a lower temperature.

Soft candles in glass jars usually have mineral oil in their blend and burn cooler at around 120 degrees Fahrenheit, Pillar candles are mostly paraffin and burn warmer at around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Taper candles have lots of stearine and burn hotter still at around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Beeswax

Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. It is mainly esters of fatty acids and various long chain alcohols...

 candles burn about 10 Fahrenheit degrees hotter than equivalent paraffin candles. Although there are many web sites that repeat the same advice that color additives make candles burn hotter, actual experiments performed by two different researchers show that this is usually not the case. Increasing the distance the wax falls by 1 meter will drop the temperature about 5 degrees at the risk of splatter.

If ordinary candles are too hot, a special wax blend with a high concentration of mineral oil can be heated to lower temperatures in a crock pot or double boiler

Double boiler

A double boiler, also known as a bain Marie, is a stove top apparatus used to cook delicate sauces such as beurre blanc, to melt chocolate without burning or seizing, or cook any other thick liquid or porridge that would normally burn if not stirred constantly. It consists of an upper vessel...

.

Safety notes

Different types of candles and different crock pot temperatures produce different temperatures of wax that can range from warm and soothing to dangerously hot wax. There is significant difference between individuals' tolerance for heat, which can vary depending on exactly where the wax is applied.

Wax can splatter into the eyes. Wax that is too hot can cause serious burns. Crock pots and wax therapy spas almost always have heat controls, not temperature controls; temperature will vary over time. Wax may be difficult to remove, particularly from areas with hair. A flea comb or a sharp knife may be necessary for wax removal; use of a knife for this purpose requires special skills, though a plastic card can work as well. Applying mineral oil or lotion before play can make wax removal easier.

Wax may pool and concentrate heat. Temperatures listed above only apply when wax is in equilibrium. Wax heated in any sort of pot must be stirred vigorously or there can be dangerous temperature variations. Some people may be allergic to perfumes and dyes. Whatever is above a burning candle can get very hot, even at distances that may be surprising. Candles may break and set fire to objects underneath or nearby. Wax is difficult to wash out of clothes and bed linens. People with certain diseases, skin conditions, or taking certain medications may require additional precautions. The page on waxing

Waxing

Waxing is a method of semi-permanent hair removal which removes the hair from the root. New hair will not grow back in the previously waxed area for two to eight weeks, although some people will start to see regrowth in only a week. Almost any area of the body can be waxed, including eyebrows,...

for hair removal has additional safety considerations.