Why did you choose paraffin or soy?

[TFCbrooke]

Why did you choose to go with paraffin or go with soy?

just wondering...no real reason...

[kimmeroo]

Well, I started out just selling paraffin..then when the "soy craze" started alot of my customers were asking me all kinds of questions about it.I thought I had better give it a try..so I ordered a small amount of it to test...got the jars and wicking and only offered a few fo's in it after testing them, of course. They sold pretty good for a while then it dropped off..ppl are strange..so what I did is offer both..still do. I guess the why part of your question would be..it is what the ppl wanted. HTH.

Kim

[Blest2BAmerican]

I started with parrafin and then soy and now use a mixture in my candles. I like the idea of using soybeans because it supports the farmers who grow it.

[Judy, USMC]

Another started with paraffin - and then added soy. Of course when I started paraffin was the only option. Soy candles weren't heard of back then. (OMG - does that make me sound old!)

Still make & sell both. I personally prefer burning paraffin. Get a larger variety of fragrance oils that will throw well. Soy can be very finickey.

[Howard]

I tried candleing some back in the mid 80s then did nothing until my wife enjoyed a batch of Nancy's Soy candles. After she purchased some poorly made soy candles on eBay I did some reading and research and made my first batch of soy candles...now I'm hooked!

I'm going to stick with soy containter candles for now. I would love to make pillars one day.

[NaturallyTru]

I started with gel and paraffin. Then a friend asked me to help her with a soy kit she bought. I fell in love with it. Took a few to a show and sold out. Got a wholesale account from that show also. I, personally, love the frosty look to soy; my customers do not care one way or the other. I love that it can help American farmers (my grandpa was a farmer) and I like how cleanup is very easy. I have been able to easily find scents with great scent throw and I have been able to achieve any color I desire with soy.

Trudi

[LuminousBoutique]

Soy is what I was asked for so Soy is what I bought to test/play with.. and I fell in love. I love that it can be washed out of my melting pots with soap and water.. I love the throw I get from most FO's, I love GB 464 (I very rarely have a problem) and I love that the wax melts at a lower temp and that its made from soybeans and is biodegradable. that makes me feel safer with my two toddlers. Even though I pour when they are gone or asleep, I am always paranoid about products I have around them and in their enviroment.

I havent sold my candles at shows yet, I just give them as gifts and sell to friends of friends.. but I'm hoping they do well this summer. We'll see!

[topofmurrayhill]

I didn't entirely choose one or the other.

Paraffin is the universal candlemaking material. As soon as it was discovered it became the best material available for that purpose. It's still unrivaled for its versatility and performance. Not using it would disconnect me from the long history of candlemaking art and science that is my passion. That would be way too limiting for me.

There has been a tremendous amount of work and interest lately in combining paraffin and related materials with vegetable oils like hydrogenated soy. It works well and I gladly participate in that.

I don't use soy by itself because the quality factors I focus on require the candle to remain pretty much the way I made it. Soy isn't stable enough to satisfy me. No matter what you do when making them, the candles will change to some extent over time and in response to storage and shipping conditions. Both the appearance and performance tend to change.

Soy alone also doesn't allow for a variety of different looks or lend itself well to molded candles. Soy votives are relatively delicate and soy pillars just burn like container candles without the glass.

Honestly, I don't really care about soy farmers. Corn and soy are grown in massive quantities to feed factories. The farmers I worry about are the ones who grow real food that you can buy in the produce aisle. It seems more and more of that stuff is imported from other countries.

Edited December 14, 2009 by topofmurrayhill

[Scented]

Have stayed with paraffin, because I can play in it. When I started, it was the only wax out there. Played a little with the palm waxes, but I missed experimenting with poking and prodding and didn't have the patience to get the wicking down. Maybe some day I'll go back to it. Maybe some day I will play with soy, but the likelihood is pretty slim.

[Stella1952]

Apparently, because you said soy or paraffin (which always threatens to reignite the soy vs paraffin battles), you must not realize that there are other waxes besides those two. There is insect wax - beeswax and palm wax, another veggie wax. In addition, some folks use coconut wax, so ya see, your question was quite incomplete.

I use veggie waxes exclusively, especially palm and soy-based. Since there are plenty of folks using paraffin (petrochemical wax), I figured I'd look into something new and more challenging.

[RichardLOZ]

We use both soy and palm for our candles. Palm for our melts, pillars, votives and anything molded and both soy and palm for our container candles.

We started with soy, and having spent so much money in testing I was determined to make it work. We like the "natural" fact (highly debatable - so I wont go there), and everything on our market stall is either recyclable or recycled so we have stayed with that direction.

Paraffin has never really called me so to speak. I also like the frustration and challenge that goes along with vege waxes. maybe one of these days I will try the microcrystaline waxes to make hurricane shells as they would be fun to play with, but for now the vege waxes keep us busy enough.

[TFCbrooke]

Actually, I do know that there are other waxes and I did not intent to start a debate either way.

I suppose the better question would have been why did you choose the medium you did, but too late for that since I can't edit my post! :smiley2:

So why did anyone choose what they did?

and I'll go ahead and answer my own question now...I chose Soy because I had a lot of people asking for it. I also have palm wax and beeswax. I'm more for the natural items (not interested in the debate on whether soy is "natural" or not...I've done my research, I know there are new results coming out every day about soy).

Apparently, because you said soy or paraffin (which always threatens to reignite the soy vs paraffin battles), you must not realize that there are other waxes besides those two. There is insect wax - beeswax and palm wax, another veggie wax. In addition, some folks use coconut wax, so ya see, your question was quite incomplete.

I use veggie waxes exclusively, especially palm and soy-based. Since there are plenty of folks using paraffin (petrochemical wax), I figured I'd look into something new and more challenging.

[grama]

I started with paraffin, didn't know there was anything else, and that is what I use. Have tested with soy and palm in past and offered them for sale but paraffin always won out so paraffin it is!

[Judy, USMC]

Actually, I do know that there are other waxes ...

I think you told us what waxes you used in your first post on this forum! I don't think that this thread will turn into a grand debate ... I noticed the re-wording of the new thread. :tiptoe:

[lsbennis]

I started with 100% Soy and also liked the idea of the "Natural" wax but quickly realized that if I wanted to produce candles on any consistant level for resale that 100% soy was not going to work for me considering its many variables and inconsistancies that come with it.

Soooo with that in mind I went to a 70/30 soy par mix and finally ended up with a 50/50 parasoy mix and could not be happier and do believe, at least to me, that this is the best of both worlds.

[Candybee]

I started out with parrafin and really loved how well it threw and how just about any FO I added to it would work.

But then I switched to soy as that was what customers kept asking for. I eventually ended up using a parasoy blend as I got a consistent candle with no frosting, great color, burn, scent throw, etc.

Then I started working with some palm wax and found I had what I really liked; some of the qualities of a vegetable wax and the great throw I missed from parrafin. I really love palm but like any other wax it takes time to get a good candle that burns well with the right wick, etc.

Out of the waxes that I have used parrafin is still my fav. I may go back to it but for now I am sticking with palm for my customers.

I still have parrafin and soy to play around with so every now and then I make some tarts, pillars, votives, or container candles with them just for fun or trying a new experiment which is also fun.

[Jane42]

We started with paraffin and then added soy when people started asking for it. Soy never really took off and I guess I am the only person that does not like working with it.

Since nothing goes down the sink, I wipe my pots with a paper towel - and I find the soy greasy and messy. I also do not have to heat up, then wait for it to cool down to pour. FO's seem more vibrant in the paraffin and, last but not least, our soy votives and jars started taking on a life of their own if they were not sold within 6 months - but our paraffin votives and jars looked exactly the same a year later as they did the day we made them.

We have been using soy for small shower and wedding candles, but if someone wants a certain color to match the color shades they have picked out, paraffin is much easier for us to match than soy.

Luckily, in our area, people don't care one way or the other....

[chuck_35550]

It's always about the search for a better throw. J waxes were great until they changed formulations. I never went 100 % soy but settled for a parasoy blend that seems to be the best of both worlds. If a wax came along that offered a better throw and fewer quality issues; that would be my next wax. I don't think its ever been about natural or soot or any of those issues. Does it fragrance up the house on 6% of fo? I find that customers take little notice if the candle has color or a nice label or an unusual container. They take off the lid and put it in their face and buy it if it smells good. Take it home and come back and buy another if it fragranced up their house. Simple.

[Circle]

Palm and soy are different creatures, but parrafin is always going to have a good scent throw. I might add that I hate colouring the parrafin as it does sweat and cause colour all over everything. We are going the sustainaible waxes due to customers request. My personal fav is now soy as there is no cleaning of molds, etc.