Soy Candle Wax – What Is It?
Candles have been used for hundreds of years. They’re old technology, but that doesn’t mean they can’t continue to improve. One of the recent changes in the world of candle making has been the development of soy candle wax.
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.
These days, however, some people object to using paraffin because it is a petroleum product. Because of this, there’s been so much interest in developing a “green” alternative to paraffin. Soy candle wax is the result.
Soy beans have a high fat content and soybean oil is derived from them. However, soybean oil isn’t solid so won’t work 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 various soy wax manufacturers treat the soybean oil in different ways, 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 some other sorts of candles. Candle makers can adjust the rigidity of the soil wax by blending in paraffin and additives. If you do that, the resultant wax can be used for making freestanding candles such as taper candles and pillar candles.
But many people want to use 100% soy wax, in which case they will probably get the best results if they stick to container candles. I’m sure you’ve seen and probably even have used 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.
Of course there is a lot more to know about best ways to use soy candle wax. One the best places I’ve found to get more information is:
And of course if you’re looking into soy candle wax you’ll probably be interested in how to use it. 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 make you an expert candle maker in the shortest possible time.
Candle making is a wonderful hobby. Get Home Candle Making Made Easy today and get started.
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