Why Bother With Soy Candles?
By Sara Patterson
When it comes time to pick which type of wax to use in your home candle making why should you bother with soy wax over the other types of waxes available to you? Here we will look at the pros and cons of using wax made from hydrogenated soybeans.
Probably the prime reason that people use soy wax is that they want to use a wax from a renewable resource. If this is what you are looking for than soy wax is one of your main choices. True, it’s not your only choice but because it is a vegetable based wax it can be cheaper than beeswax and bayberry.
And on a practical note, because of the recent bee blight, beeswax has been harder to find in greater quantities. This is not a problem with soybeans. The United States is now one of the world’s leading producers of soybeans so buying soy wax helps farmers from the midwest to the southeast.
Not only is it a nice thing to do for the environment to choose soy wax but you’ll be doing a nice thing for yourself, too. Paraffin wax is often the wax home candle makers begin with because it is less expensive but it is made from petroleum products, which is not a renewable resource. Also, some people are very sensitive to the chemicals that are emitted from paraffin wax when it is burned and find that switching to soy will alleviate these issues.
Another reason to bother using soy is that it holds more fragrance and produces a better scented candle than other waxes. Your scented soy candle will enjoy a good clean and strong burn and you will be able to enjoy the wonderful fragrance that you chose for your candle. Using a wax that can convey your fragrance in a healthy and strong manner is a good use of your money, too, since you wouldn’t want to have a scented candle that you couldn’t actually smell. Robust fragrances are important and soy wax delivers beautifully.
Soy wax is still versatile enough that, for the most part, your imagination is the only thing limiting your decisions about what types of candles to make. Although you’ll want to adhere to guidelines when making larger, unsupported candles since soy can be softer than other types of wax but once you have a handle on what soy is able to do you’re set.
Soy wax is easier to clean out of your containers and jars so if you want to recycle your containers for additional candle projects soy is definitely your friend.
The major downside to soy is that it is more expensive than paraffin wax which might make it less likely for some people to try it or to use it as much as they’d like. Mostly you will have to decide what is most important to you in your home candle making and how much money you can devote to it. You could always use soy wax as a reward or treat for yourself or, perhaps if you are moving toward selling your candles, you can price your candles such that a handful of candles out of each batch are for your private use and yet paid for by the sale of the rest that you’ve made. That way you can enjoy the soy wax candles at home and not have to pay anything additional.
The good news is that soy wax is very popular these days and can readily be found in craft stores and on the internet and while it is more expensive than paraffin wax it isn’t prohibitively expensive. In this case the pros definitely outweigh the cons and prove that soy wax is definitely worth the bother!
Sara Patterson is a soy candle making enthusiast. For more information on soy candle making supplies, visit http://www.homecandlemakingtips.com/.
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