Soja Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 My Wife wants to know what the benefits and bad points are to using Soy Wax as opposed to 'regular' wax?Thanks.Soja Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaybee23 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 IMO, for what it is worth.Each wax has good things and bad things about it. To me soy is harder to work with to acheive a nice looking candle that burns well and sets up nice. Since I am just diving into parasoy blends and paraffin, my experience is limited. But I can say, that the parasoy I am testing leaves my straight soy in the dust as far as scent throw. It sets up nicely, burns nicely. These are all in containers too I might add. I have not had experience in straight paraffin in containers, so I can't comment on that. But I have heard a lot of people say that paraffin is much easier to work with than soy. Soy makes some nice candles, once you get a wax you like, that you can work with. Soy, since it is a made from a renewable source can also be a very unpredictable wax too. I didn't do it this way, but if it were me, I would start with a paraffin or paraffin blend wax. I started with soy last year and that is all I have been doing for the past year and I like it ok, but I have had my share of headaches with it. The parasoy I am testing now is really growing on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 As you've noticed, there are a lot of materials available for the aspiring candlemaker, including paraffin and vegetable waxes and even combinations of the two. A lot of candlemakers around here use a variety of materials. Whatever interests you is worth exploring, not the least of which would be the soy-type waxes since they are popular these days.Clever people have gotten some interesting effects with soy wax, but one of the basic ways it differs is that it makes creamy-opaque candles and you don't have a lot of range in terms of looks and styles you can get. It's especially good for making container candles, but there are blends that are hard enough for votives and pillars too (they are a little brittle though). Also, since it's made of hydrogenated vegetable oil (kind of like margarine), it's not quite as stable in appearance over time.Initially, soy wax was pushed as the good and healthy alternative to bad and unhealthy paraffin. There is still a lot of that around, but generally I'd say serious candlemakers don't put any stock in that. Good candles are made by good candlemakers and many do use both or a blend.It's simple enough to get into at a dabbling level, so if your wife is interested buy a bag of flakes and try pouring some.There is also a vegetable wax forum here on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soja Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Thank you all. You've answered my question with the usual generosity I've come to see on this forum.We are gonna start with 'regular' wax and get into some 'feathering' wax later (Astrolite) but only after we get comfortable with experimenting. Then, if we still want to experiment with soy... Who knows.I've ordered my supplies and am just waiting now.Soja & Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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