Is soy wax that much better?

[lauren8479]

I was looking at Ecosoya CB135 and Cargill C-3 at candlescience.com and the shipping is outrageous like I thought it would be! Is soy really that much better and does anyone use those brands. I was just wondering if it was really worth the money.

[Hope]

...soy really that much better.

Than, let's say,... a nap? Probably not. I absolutely love a good nap!

I'll assume that you meant paraffin. Everyone has a different opinion and priorities for their wax/candles. Myself, I use soy. I'm thinking of ordering some parasoy in the future. And eventually finding a nice paraffin candle from someone on the board to try out.

...shipping is outrageous like I thought it would be!

Have you tried closer suppliers?

[Grannyscandles]

There are great parrafin waxes out there too. I choose soy because I like the easy clean up with soap and water and I love the way they burn. Scent throw is comparable to regular waxes, better with some scents and not as good with others.

I committed to soy a long time ago because I am from the midwest and prefer to use a soy product in support of our farmers just as I use ethanol which is made from corn.

Try a couple samples of soy and see what you think. I don't use the 2 you mentioned. I use KY 125 from KY Candle Wax Supply. Vicky at KY will give you wicking suggestions to get you started. She is great.

[AngelaVA]

It's not better and it's not worse. It's really a personal preference as to which you use. I would try finding a supplier closer to you than CS. Maybe Bittercreek or JS. I am making the switch to soy and find that it throws as well as paraffin and costs about the same or less. It is more difficult to work with, as far as frosting etc . . . but it really does come down to personal preference. Try some paraffin, soy and a blend and see which you like better

[Crafty1_AJ]

I make both types of candles, because I have customers who prefer paraffin, and I have customers who prefer soy. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of wax. IMO, there's no such thing as perfection this side of heaven. LOL As the others said, it is a matter of personal preference, so you might want to try both to see which you like best! When a potential new customer asks me which of my candles they should try, I recommend they try one of each to see which suits their needs and wants best.

HTH!

[7Angela7]

It all depends on what you're going for, you just gotta try it out & see if that's what you want. Like the others have said, there are advantages & disadvantages.

Cajun Candles is located in Kaplan, LA, which looks to be about 2 hours away from you. Some people choose a wax that is closer to them because of those outrageous shipping charges. If they have a wax that would work for you, maybe you could pick up a couple cases at a time to save a lot of money from shipping. Just a thought.

[topofmurrayhill]

Just my perspective.

I mucked with soy as a side project for a long time, with the idea of maybe having a soy line in addition to paraffin. It wasn't compatible what I wanted to achieve in product quality. Soy is prone to some unsightly aesthetic flaws. Even if the candles are great in testing and production, it's hard to be confident you can keep a product in inventory or ship it under varied conditions and not have it deteriorate in some way. The burn can even change over time.

Having said that, it's interesting stuff to work with and a lot of people have a special interest in vegetable wax. The cleanup is great. It probably burns cleaner than a few of the more sooty paraffin container waxes, but I don't buy the notion that it's intrinsically cleaner burning than paraffin. Scent throw seems lower, but you can be choosy about fragrance oils and use a little more.

Right now I'm thinking that paraffin/vegetable blends are more interesting than straight vegetable wax. You can get the flat pour and the creamy look, good burning qualities, better aesthetics and stability, better scent throw on the average, and some bragging rights in marketing. I'm not surprised that a lot of people are taking an interest in things like the Green Leaf 70/30 blend.

I tested both the waxes you're looking at and liked the CB-135. I also like the CB-Advanced for its great aesthetics and wicking, but it has a lot of wet spots and not a very good reputation for scent throw.

[evilsprig]

Just my .02, but...

I gave up on trying to do anything with soy wax, primarily because of how hard it is to wick. It is really a bear, at least IME. Good luck if you decide to give it a go!

[lauren8479]

Thank you, everyone. Y'all have answered my question. I think i will stick with paraffin for now but I will definately try a 70/30 blend. I'm a beginner so I don't want anything being more difficult.

Angela, I forgot about Cajun Candles. I've seen their website before. I will definately consider ordering from them. I could probably got there one day...if it's not too far off the beaten path!