Which Wax Works Wonders for Making the Best Candles?
Posted by Lyschel Bersch on
Which Wax Works Wonders? Or which wax should I use; paraffin, soy, palm or something else. I get this question a lot. It is a hard question to answer without more information. There are pros and cons to every wax and it really comes down to personal preference and wax quality.
There are waxes out there that will not give a very good scent throw. There are some waxes out there that will frost and leave ugly tops. You need to figure out what is important to you as a candle maker. For me, when I am making scented candles it is all about the scent. The candle tops can be totally lumpy and bumping as long as the candle has great hot scent throw.
That being said, what are the questions you should ask yourself.
First - What types of candles would you like to make? Jars, pillars, votives, tealights and tapers have different properties and may require a different type of wax.
Second - Do you plan to use your candles for personal or professional use? If selling is in your future, deep research must be done to choose your wax. If you will be selling you will want to stay away from Hobby Store wax and materials. First off, it is generally more expensive (even with that 40% off coupon) and their candle making supplies are usually inferior quality or of unknown properties. Did you know that not all soy wax is the same? Even if says 100% soy? Some soy will not give you any scent throw or will morph the scent.
Third - Do you want to have scented candles? If so you will really need to concentrate on waxes that release the scent. Beeswax candles are not ideal for making scented candles. Beeswax generally has a scent of its own. Also, the properties of beeswax will bind the scent strongly to itself. Which means it will not vaporize so you can smell it. It will most likely stay bound and burn off (not vaporize to smell). Paraffin, soy, coconut, palm and many other waxes are much better contenders for scented candles.
Paraffin can be used to make any type of candle. Soy has it's limitations with regard to pillar making because the thicker the diameter the more likely they are to crack. And soy when it is burning as a pillar is much more likely to "blow" out the sides. In my opinion soy is harder to work with in votives and pillars. And paraffin is harder to work with in jars. Soy also suffers from more topical blemishes than paraffin. And while these blemishes do not affect the quality of the finished candle they are very distasteful to many candle makers. And I do say candle makers as I have sold both paraffin and soy candles in my store and while some may question why soy wax looks weird I have never missed a sale because of natural wax blemishes. Then there is beeswax, it cracks when too thick and has little or no scent throw if you add fragrance.
And while paraffin also gets sink holes they are often more visible as those in soy. Paraffin holes often occur around the wick in candles.
There are ways to address many of these issues with simple technique modifications. Of which I will not get into here.
There are also ethical questions surrounding each type of wax that I will not get into here. But these decisions should come into play when selecting your wax.
Once you decide on the type of wax you want to use you may then need to wade through many brands/products as each also have different properties. Not all soy, paraffin, palm wax is created equal. Scent throw varies greatly from brand to brand or even wax to wax within a brand. Take Golden Brands for instance-I test burned 3 of their container waxes using 4 of my fragrance oils in each type. I test burned 415, 464 and one other that is no longer on the market. One wax had no scent throw, one had great scent throw on some scents and terrible throw on others and then there was the GB464! It had terrific scent throw on almost everything! But it was a little strange and didn't throw one of my scents until almost 3 weeks later! I had not had them happen before with any other waxes. My scents generally need almost no cure time. But part of scent throw is the wax and 464 with my Bunchberry and Moss needed 3 weeks and then it was wonderful.
So if you are going professional you will really need to dedicate a good chunk of time to find the wax that works best for you. You can go with the wax that is closest and "just make it work." With this strategy you would just keep testing scents until you find ones that will throw with this wax. I suggest this for people that have very limited access to waxes or who don't want to spend a fortune on shipping. But generally I suggest that you test a bunch of different waxes in the genre of what you want to do before deciding on your one true wax.
So, while I would love it if everyone would test burn every wax on the market before making a decision I know that it simply is not feasible. But it is so important to test at least a few different brands especially if you will be selling your products. This way you can see some differences. If you are making for personal use I recommend getting what ever wax is closest to save on shipping and just making it work. What does making it work mean? It means that you may end of adding more scent, it may soot more, the wax may not fully consume or the candle may burn unevenly. Things that would drive the professional crazy but are not the end of the world for the personal user.
I have tested every wax on the commercial market (at least I think I have) and my favorite for containers and tea lights is either Enchanted Lites Classic Container or GB464. For votives hands down our Candle Cocoon Votive soy. (Of course it would be my favorite as it is made just for us and has undergone TONs of testing. My favorite pillar blend is 140 paraffin with additives. I take 7lbs of the 140 paraffin, add a heaping tablespoon of vybar 103, 2 teaspoons UV inhibitor, 7oz of palm stearic acid and 7 oz of beeswax. I get incredible pillars that have terrific scent throw, are durable and retain their color. Beeswax or paraffin works great for tapers. Soy can make very thin tapers otherwise it cracks.
***11/9/19 Our Candle Cocoon Votive Soy is no longer on the market :( Also, the Eco Pillar which we finally found to replace it is now no longer in business. We JUST got done with re-testing all of our votives for the past year and now it is gone. I have tired the other votive waxes on the market and do no like any of them. I am going to try the newer one from American Soy Organics. It is our last hope. Wish me luck :(
I hope that this has helped in some way. Please let me know if you have any questions,
Lyschel
There are waxes out there that will not give a very good scent throw. There are some waxes out there that will frost and leave ugly tops. You need to figure out what is important to you as a candle maker. For me, when I am making scented candles it is all about the scent. The candle tops can be totally lumpy and bumping as long as the candle has great hot scent throw.
That being said, what are the questions you should ask yourself.
First - What types of candles would you like to make? Jars, pillars, votives, tealights and tapers have different properties and may require a different type of wax.
Second - Do you plan to use your candles for personal or professional use? If selling is in your future, deep research must be done to choose your wax. If you will be selling you will want to stay away from Hobby Store wax and materials. First off, it is generally more expensive (even with that 40% off coupon) and their candle making supplies are usually inferior quality or of unknown properties. Did you know that not all soy wax is the same? Even if says 100% soy? Some soy will not give you any scent throw or will morph the scent.
Third - Do you want to have scented candles? If so you will really need to concentrate on waxes that release the scent. Beeswax candles are not ideal for making scented candles. Beeswax generally has a scent of its own. Also, the properties of beeswax will bind the scent strongly to itself. Which means it will not vaporize so you can smell it. It will most likely stay bound and burn off (not vaporize to smell). Paraffin, soy, coconut, palm and many other waxes are much better contenders for scented candles.
Paraffin can be used to make any type of candle. Soy has it's limitations with regard to pillar making because the thicker the diameter the more likely they are to crack. And soy when it is burning as a pillar is much more likely to "blow" out the sides. In my opinion soy is harder to work with in votives and pillars. And paraffin is harder to work with in jars. Soy also suffers from more topical blemishes than paraffin. And while these blemishes do not affect the quality of the finished candle they are very distasteful to many candle makers. And I do say candle makers as I have sold both paraffin and soy candles in my store and while some may question why soy wax looks weird I have never missed a sale because of natural wax blemishes. Then there is beeswax, it cracks when too thick and has little or no scent throw if you add fragrance.
 |
| Soy wax pillar wax cracking at 2.5" |
 |
| Sink hole in soy wax. Most soy holes are under the surface but they do exist. |
And while paraffin also gets sink holes they are often more visible as those in soy. Paraffin holes often occur around the wick in candles.
Paraffin wax cooled in a bowl without a wick. Sink hole is about 1.5" deep.
There are ways to address many of these issues with simple technique modifications. Of which I will not get into here.
There are also ethical questions surrounding each type of wax that I will not get into here. But these decisions should come into play when selecting your wax.
Once you decide on the type of wax you want to use you may then need to wade through many brands/products as each also have different properties. Not all soy, paraffin, palm wax is created equal. Scent throw varies greatly from brand to brand or even wax to wax within a brand. Take Golden Brands for instance-I test burned 3 of their container waxes using 4 of my fragrance oils in each type. I test burned 415, 464 and one other that is no longer on the market. One wax had no scent throw, one had great scent throw on some scents and terrible throw on others and then there was the GB464! It had terrific scent throw on almost everything! But it was a little strange and didn't throw one of my scents until almost 3 weeks later! I had not had them happen before with any other waxes. My scents generally need almost no cure time. But part of scent throw is the wax and 464 with my Bunchberry and Moss needed 3 weeks and then it was wonderful.
So if you are going professional you will really need to dedicate a good chunk of time to find the wax that works best for you. You can go with the wax that is closest and "just make it work." With this strategy you would just keep testing scents until you find ones that will throw with this wax. I suggest this for people that have very limited access to waxes or who don't want to spend a fortune on shipping. But generally I suggest that you test a bunch of different waxes in the genre of what you want to do before deciding on your one true wax.
So, while I would love it if everyone would test burn every wax on the market before making a decision I know that it simply is not feasible. But it is so important to test at least a few different brands especially if you will be selling your products. This way you can see some differences. If you are making for personal use I recommend getting what ever wax is closest to save on shipping and just making it work. What does making it work mean? It means that you may end of adding more scent, it may soot more, the wax may not fully consume or the candle may burn unevenly. Things that would drive the professional crazy but are not the end of the world for the personal user.
I have tested every wax on the commercial market (at least I think I have) and my favorite for containers and tea lights is either Enchanted Lites Classic Container or GB464. For votives hands down our Candle Cocoon Votive soy. (Of course it would be my favorite as it is made just for us and has undergone TONs of testing. My favorite pillar blend is 140 paraffin with additives. I take 7lbs of the 140 paraffin, add a heaping tablespoon of vybar 103, 2 teaspoons UV inhibitor, 7oz of palm stearic acid and 7 oz of beeswax. I get incredible pillars that have terrific scent throw, are durable and retain their color. Beeswax or paraffin works great for tapers. Soy can make very thin tapers otherwise it cracks.
***11/9/19 Our Candle Cocoon Votive Soy is no longer on the market :( Also, the Eco Pillar which we finally found to replace it is now no longer in business. We JUST got done with re-testing all of our votives for the past year and now it is gone. I have tired the other votive waxes on the market and do no like any of them. I am going to try the newer one from American Soy Organics. It is our last hope. Wish me luck :(
I hope that this has helped in some way. Please let me know if you have any questions,
Lyschel