Press Release Articles

The various scented candle waxes

A great variety of scented candle waxes are currently available. Of these, paraffin is the most widely used. Big brands such as Yankee Candles and Price’s Candles use paraffin in the majority of their products. Paraffin, however is bad news for your health. It is made as a by product of refining crude oil and belongs to the same family as petrol & Diesel. As a hydrocarbon, it is from a limited resource which is fast dwindling. It also releases toxic and carcinogenic substances when burnt. Not good for a scented candle which is meant to be burned!

Other more natural waxes are available. Soy wax is one such product. It is a natural plant based wax made by crushing soy beans and hydrogenating the soy oil by passing hydrogen through it. This forms a solid wax (at regular temperatures). The remains of the crushed soy beans are not wasted. They are fed to cattle who in turn return the goodness to their pasture. The process of making Soy wax is similar to that of making margarine. The finished product is not too dissimilar either. Soy wax is creamy and soft, burns very well and makes for a clean, non toxic fuel for a scented candle. The resultant gases from burning soy wax based waxes are clean in that they have been tested and found not to contain the toxins and carcinogens associated with paraffin.

Palm wax and other vegetable based natural waxes are available. These waxes are similar but do tend to have drawbacks. One of these is that these waxes are usually self scented (they emit their own fragrance). This is not a great quality for making scented candles as the candle maker must overcome this scent in reaching their desired fragrance. These other vegetable waxes also usually suffer from being too soft at room temperature. Other additives are sometimes required to stabilise them in order that they remain solid at room temperature. Beeswax is also a natural wax which can be used for making scented candles. However, beeswax is also self scented and is therefore unsuitable for the majority of uses. It is also expensive in comparison to the other waxes available.

Waxes From Crude Oil

Paraffin is undoubtedly a fine burning wax. It ignites well and produces a good strong flame. So it should given its origins as a derivative of crude oil. The major drawbacks to using this wax in scented candle manufacture are the sustainability of the resource from whence it came and also the toxicity of the products of combustion in its use. Who would knowingly burn something in their home that the scientific community recommends be used in a well ventilated space? Surely that defeats the point of a scented candle.

The reason that paraffin is used today as a fuel for scented candles is primarily its cost. It is far cheaper to manufacture a paraffin candle than one made from soy. The raw paraffin wax is approximately one third the cost of soy wax. Hey presto, large commercial organisations steer toward this as they can significantly increase profits on each unit manufactured.

The toxic and carcinogenic emissions from burning paraffin candles were recently put forward by numerous UK newspaper articles. The same articles indicated that burning soy wax candles did not emit unsafe substances. This is a clear reason for the use of soy wax in scented candles and discontinuing the use of paraffin.

Waxes From Soy Beans

The most appropriate wax for use in scented candle wax manufacture is in the author’s view, soy wax. This sustainable and natural product is environmentally sound and is carbon neutral. The analogy is similar to the use of wood to heat our homes. Plant to wax to candles as tree to wood to heat. Aside from the environmental aspect, soy wax is a soft and creamy product offering fabulous burn characteristics, great scent throw properties and is very pleasant and safe to handle in manufacturing scented candles.

Other Waxes

In the Authors experience, other waxes have intrinsic problems in manufacturing scented candles. This includes the self scent of the wax, cost, burn characteristics and stability at normal room temperature. For this reason, further descriptions etc have been curtailed in this fact sheet.

In Summary

Based on the authors experience and the articles mentioned in the review, soy wax has been clearly found to be the most suitable scented candle base wax. The green credentials, burn characteristics and safety in use all contribute to and support this conclusion.

Learn More

The background information upon which this review is based is available on the Author’s web site.

The Author is the owner of Busy Bee Candles, a premium handmade scented candle manufacturer. He has extensive experience and expertise in the manufacture of scented candles, wholesale distribution and retail sales. Go to Busy Bee Candles or go to the On line Shop. This and other unique content ‘candles’ articles are available with free reprint rights.