About Soy Wax
For thousands of years early civilisations have made candles primarily from bees wax. In the 19th century Paraffin became the Chandlers choice and more accessible Palm Oil had reached the market. Some Palm oil farming methods and their impact on the planet made us investigate both soy and coconut wax.
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Coconut wax tends to be blended with Soy to help increase the melt point and in a warm climate these candles can melt during the summer months.
At this point, we had decided to proceed with a natural Soy Wax.
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The oil from Soybeans is used to make a vegetable wax commonly known as Soy Wax. Soybeans are grown, harvested, cleaned, cracked, dehulled and rolled into flakes which allows the oil to be extracted and hydrogenated.
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Whilst this industry too has issues we have decided to continue monitoring the production processes for both Soy and Coconut Wax Industry and try to source the best solutions available to us.
Making our wax choice
Candles are generally made using one of or a blend of the following waxes:
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Paraffin Oil
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Coconut Oil
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Palm Oil
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Bees Wax
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Soy Wax
Paraffin Oil is basically a liquid candle wax. Paraffin oil is a by product that is formed in the process of petroleum distillation.
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Coconut Oil is popular but turns to liquid at a lower temperature than soy wax, making it difficult in the hotter parts of Australia. However this is often blended with Soy Wax.
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Palm Oil has a reputation of being responsible for deforestation as the crop is fast growing and has resulted in significant land clearing. Whilst this is a cheap option, sustainable practices are currently being developed but views on this are varied.
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