Candle Making Wax – What the Experts Use

People starting out in candle making are often surprised, if not outright bewildered, by the many types of candle making wax available today.  Here’s a quick run down on the different types of candle making wax available.

Paraffin Candle Wax

Paraffin is the most commonly used wax, both in commercial production and by the home hobbyist.

Paraffin is a byproduct of petroleum refinement. It’s the residual of the waxy coating from the plants that decomposed to form crude oil. When crude oil is refined, solid wax remains as a byproduct.

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 affordable and quite versatile – it works in any number of different candles – and it’s performance can be enhanced with additives.

Soy Candle Wax

Soy candle wax is a recent invention. It was developed in the 1990’s as part of the search for a natural candle wax.  Soybean oil is liquid at room temperature. With the addition of hydrogen, it becomes solid and suitable for making candles. The main drawback is that most formulations are fairly soft and don’t always work well in applications such as making tapers.

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. Bees produce the wax to build honeycombs to hold the honey. When a beekeeper empties the honeycomb, the wax can be used to make candles.

Beeswax has a long burn time and burns even more cleanly than paraffin. 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 fragrance of its own.

Unfortunately, beeswax is relatively expensive. This has always been the case. Historically, beeswax candles were the candles of the rich. It’s more accessible today, but it’s still somewhat of a luxury item.

Where to Learn More

The waxes I’ve mentioned here 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 I suggest at least becoming aware of some of the other choices available. One place to start is the page: Candle Making Wax. As you’ll see, there’s a lot more to discover that I’ve mentioned here.

Of course wax alone does not a candle make. You can learn about the necessary equipment at: Candle Making Equipment

I want to recommend an excellent site for you to find out everything you need to know to start making 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 craft and I hope this information inspires you to give it a try yourself.