| It's easy for beginning candle makers to become | | | | tremendous improvement over the tallow candles |
| confused by all the different kinds of candle making | | | | that were in common use at the time. Paraffin wax is |
| wax on the market today. While the following | | | | affordable and quite versatile - it works in any |
| description is by not encyclopedic, it does describe | | | | number of different candles - and it's performance |
| the waxes modern candle makers use most | | | | can be enhanced with additives. |
| frequently. | | | | Soy candle wax has only been invented in the last |
| Beeswax is a favorite of many candle makers. It is a | | | | decade or so. Soy beans are high in oil, which of |
| naturally occurring candle wax that's been used for | | | | course is a liquid. With the addition of hydrogen, |
| generations. Bees produce the wax to form the | | | | soybean oil becomes solid at room temperature and |
| combs in which the honey is stored. as it turns out, | | | | suitable for making candles. However, unless the |
| this wax makes an excellent candle. | | | | candle maker uses additives, most soy candle wax is |
| Beeswax has a long burn time and burns even more | | | | generally too soft to use reliably to make taper |
| cleanly than paraffin. It is suitable for making tapers | | | | candles or pillar candles. |
| and pillar candles. You can add scent to beeswax, but | | | | On the positive side, it is a great wax to use for |
| I prefer not to - it has a very subtle fragrance of its | | | | container candles. It holds scent and fragrance well. It |
| own. | | | | is extremely clean burning - significantly more so than |
| Unfortunately, beeswax is relatively expensive. This | | | | paraffin. And many people prefer to paraffin because |
| has always been. In the past, only the wealthy could | | | | it has no connection whatsoever to petroleum or the |
| afford beeswax. It's more affordable these days, but | | | | oil industry. |
| still more expensive than most other candle waxes. | | | | The waxes I've mentioned here are by far the most |
| Paraffin is the most commonly used wax today, both | | | | commonly used candle making waxes out there. |
| in commercial production and by the home hobbyist. | | | | many candle makers never use anything except |
| Paraffin is a residual of the process of refining crude | | | | paraffin. |
| oil. | | | | You may hear about other waxes such as palm oil |
| Paraffin works well as a candle wax. When it was | | | | wax or bayberry, but these are seldom used today. |
| first introduced in the 19th century, it was a | | | | |