A halogen lamp is simply a flame-free substitute for a candle, and is used similarly to a candle or an oil lamp. This method was discovered by a friend of mine who had a halogen lamp on her work table that she kept burning her hand on.  She reckoned that if the lamp was hot enough to burn her, it might be hot enough to remove wax.....and it was.  The lamp she uses has a 100W halogen bulb.

PREPARATION:  Turn on the halogen lamp.  Make sure the pysanka is dry and ready for wax removal.

PROCEDURE: Take a dry, waxed egg, and hold it in front of the lamp, near the bulb. Wait until the wax looks wet (only a few seconds, usually) and wipe the wax off with a clean, folded piece of paper towel. Try to always use a fresh section of the towel (or a new towel) for each wipe, or else you'll just be rubbing wax all over the egg, and it will take a lot longer to finish your egg.

Repeat section by section, until all of the wax has been removed. Patti notes that it usually takes her a minute per egg to get the wax off. If there are any small smudges of wax remaining, you can choose to remove them with Mineral Spirits or Goo Gone.

The advantages of using a halogen lamp are many.  Most importantly, there is no open flame involved, so you avoid the risk of soot or scorching (although, if you are not careful, you can still burn your hands).

The disadvantages are few.  Halogen lamps use a lot of electricity, which is why they aren’t the green choice for lighting.  Since the wax can be so quickly removed, however, the actual energy use is small.

The nice thing about this method is that you get all the pleasure of removing wax in a traditional fashion–the slow unveiling of the design, as the colors come forth from under their coat of wax–without the risks of soot or scorching. It’s a “Win-win,” as the young folks say.

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