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Soy Candle Wax Is This the Best Wax Yet?

Candles have been around for a while. They’re nothing new, but even technology as old as this can continue to evolve. Just to prove that there’s always something new under the sun, there’s a new candle wax on the scene.

In the past, tallow (rendered from various animal fats) was used to make candles, but candles made from tallow are pretty poor candles. They create a lot of smoke when they burn and they smell badly. For these reasons, paraffin rapidly became much more popular than tallow once it was developed.

However, paraffin is a residual of the petroleum refining process. That’s why people have been interested and coming up with a good alternative to paraffin. Soy candle wax is the result.

Soy beans are a good source of oil. However, soybean oil isn’t solid so it’s not suitable for making candles. But if you change the chemistry of an oil you can change its consistency.

Hydrogen atoms are part of oil molecules. How many hydrogen atoms an oil contains determines when it becomes a liquid or solid. If you add hydrogen to a liquid oil, it becomes solid.

Of course I’m not a chemist so I can’t really explain how it’s done, and the soybean oil is treated in different ways buy different manufactures, but the end result is a candle wax from a renewable resource.

Pure soy wax is soft. It works great in container candles, but isn’t very good for making tapers or pillar candles. Candle makers can compensate for that problem by blending soy wax with paraffin and hardening additives. If you do that, the resultant wax can be used for many more types of candles.

However, if you are going to use 100% soy wax you will probably get the best results if you use it to make container candles. You are probably familiar with container candles. These are candles in which the melted wax is poured into a nonflammable container with the wick positioned in the center. The candles never remove from the container, but rather is burned within it.

There’s a lot more to know about soy candle wax. One the best places I’ve found to get more information is:

Soy Candle Wax

And of course if you’re looking into soy candle wax you’ll probably be interested in how to make a candle with. You can learn about the insiders techniques at: How to Make Soy Candles.

Better yet, I suggest you take a look at the e-book Home Candle Making Made Easy.

That book covers all aspects of candle making from selecting what type of wax to use for specific situations, what additives to use and when, the best way to scent candles, and so much more… Getting the information this book will guarantee your success.

Candle making is a wonderful hobby. Get Home Candle Making Made Easy today and get started.

Candle Making Wax - A Beginners Guide

If you’re going to make candles, obviously you’re going to need wax. But that isn’t as simple as many beginners think – there are a lot of choices to choose from.  This article is a short list of the different types of candle making wax on the market.

Paraffin Candle Wax

Paraffin is the workhorse of waxes. Most commercially made candles are made from paraffin wax.

Paraffin is a residual of the process of refining crude oil.

Different grades of paraffin candle wax are available. Most suppliers indicate which is their “general purpose” candle wax and that’s usually a good one for beginners to start with. The wax is widely available, relatively inexpensive, very stiff at room temperature, holds dyes and fragrant oils well and burns relatively cleanly.

Soy Candle Wax

Soy candle wax is a recent invention. Researchers developed it by hydrogenating (adding hydrogen molecules to) soybean oil. With the addition of hydrogen, it becomes solid and suitable for making candles. However, unless the candle maker uses additives, most soy candle wax is too soft to use reliably to make taper candles or pillar candles.

Soy candle wax really shines when it comes to making container candles. It has a long burn time, burns cleanly and does well with added fragrance and color.

Beeswax

Beeswax is a great, albeit expensive, candle making wax. The wax comes from bee hives. Bees make the wax to form honeycombs to store honey. Beekeepers can harvest both the wax and the honey.

Beeswax produces very little soot and burns smoothly and evenly. It is a firmer wax than soy candle wax so you can use it for tapers. You can add scent to beeswax, but I prefer not to – it has a very subtle scent of its own.

Unfortunately, beeswax costs more than other waxes. It has always been a premium wax. In the past, only the wealthy could afford beeswax. It’s less costly these days, but it’s still somewhat of a splurge.

Where to Learn More

These waxes are the ones most candle makers use most of the time. You’d do just fine if these were the only ones you knew about.

However it’s well worth at least becoming aware of some of the other choices available. One place to start is the page: Candle Making Wax. You’ll discover some interesting waxes I haven’t mentioned here, as well as some more details about paraffin and soy wax.

Of course wax alone does not a candle make. You can learn what equipment and supplies you’ll need at: Candle Making Equipment

I want to recommend an excellent site for you to find out everything you need to know to produce candles every bit as beautiful as those you buy: The Candle Making Connection. I’ve learned the hard way that you can save a lot of time and frustration if you visit sites like that and get some insider tips and advice before you start experimenting on your own.

Making candles is a wonderful hobby and I hope this article helps you get started with.