Primitive and Country Candles, Melts and More!

Soy vs. Paraffin

I have read many articles about the great debate between soy and paraffin. I have come to the conclusion that neither is better than the other. As a manufacturer, I have found a great ratio of both that I use to make my candles. I believe it brings out the best of both wax types.

However, the aggressive marketing campaign by proponents of soybean wax seem to feel they have to discredit or devalue paraffin in order to build up soywax. This is a very underhanded form of advertising.

Paraffin and soywax are both derived from natural sources. Paraffin from petroleum, which is a fossil fuel. And soywax which is derived from soybeans. Paraffin is actually the final product to come from petroleum after a distillation process involving steam that separates the different components, or chains of hydrocarbons from the raw petroleum. This is a process of distillation, separating, filtering and cleaning. Soybean wax is derived from soybeans fields where oftentime Roundup or other pesticides are used, then the beans are crushed and ground before being treated with solvents such as Hexane to get the oil out of the soybeans. Then the vegetable crude is treated with an acid wash to get rid of the solvents, and hydrogenated to turn it into a solid. The resulting compounds are not natural, but artificially created to obtain a wax that is used for candle wax. There is also strong findings that plant based soy wax is an allergen, while paraffin being food grade has no known allergens. In perspective, soy wax is not 100% natural as many claim, especially once dye and fragrance oils are added.

The most important thing to gain from this is that both paraffin and soywax begin as natural hydrocarbon chains. The hydrocarbons are what burn. A properly constructed candle, no matter what the beginning wax material is, will produce only water and hydrogen dioxide when burned (the same as we exhale when breathing.

A properly constructed candle is a careful balance of highly refined wax product, proper wick size and material, and fragrance oils that are specifically designed for use in candles. And each of these materials must be in the proper proportions, or all bets are off. You can have a beautifully burning paraffin candle that burns cleaner than a poorly made soywax candle using poor quality soywax. And you can have a beautiful burning soy candle that burns much better and cleaner than a substandard paraffin candle. In all candles it is important to keep your wick trimmed to 1/4 inch! This virtually eliminates any soot whichever candle wax it may be.

You should make your candle buying decision on what you like, the overall product quality of the candle, and the skill of the candlemaker. NOT on what kind of wax is used. All waxes are only as good as the manufacturer.

You can find more facts and info at The National Candle Associaton and the EPV. Check out the information of Soot. It is very interesting!