| In years gone by the most popular type of candles | | | | more palm rainforests in areas like Malaysia and |
| were those made from refined petroleum, called | | | | Indonesia, huge areas have been cleared. This |
| paraffin wax. Due to creative people wanting to | | | | devastation was so bad and its effect on the |
| experiment with their candle making other forms of | | | | ecosystems so devastation that Funds have been |
| making candles has developed and candle are now | | | | set up to ensure the best methods of production |
| made in the gel form, with beeswax and soy wax, | | | | with the least amount of harm to the environment. |
| amongst others. Paraffin wax is still readily available | | | | Beeswax |
| and in fact many hobbyists still use this as their main | | | | This is another very popular type of wax for candles |
| wax source. | | | | but it does not lend itself to the vast amount of |
| Soy Wax | | | | creative variations that the paraffin wax does for |
| A natural wax that is growing in popularity is the soy | | | | example. It has become very popular for its scent |
| based wax. It is processed by hydrogenating | | | | and it is also a toxic free wax which is popular. |
| soybeans which makes them suitable for candles. | | | | Usually beeswax comes in yellow or cream, but some |
| One of the reasons that soy candles are so popular | | | | candle makers do bleach beeswax to end up with |
| is the fact that they are eco friendly and a | | | | white candle wax. |
| renewable resource. The United States is one of the | | | | Gel wax |
| main suppliers of the soybean so wax in the States | | | | Gel candles are relatively new in the candle making |
| is readily available. There are also other types of | | | | arena. It looks quite different to the traditional |
| waxes which are natural and refined from vegetable | | | | candles because it is a clear and rubbery texture and |
| or plant materials like palm or bayberry. | | | | is held in containers for burning. It is proving to be a |
| Palm Wax | | | | very popular wax to work with. |
| Palm wax is also a renewable and natural resource. A | | | | With these choices home candle making business |
| problem has unfortunately been created with the | | | | owners can offer their clients a range of products |
| popularity of palm wax in that to grow more and | | | | and corner a good section of the trade. |