Soy Wax Candles - Environmentally Friendly

Soy wax candles decay very easily and it is much safer to discard them once they have been used. This makes them the most environmentally friendly candles in the market. Lighting candles has been an old tradition across many cultures of the world. Even today we see candles being lit to show respect to the dead or to show unity to a cause or to pray. These are a good alternative to the traditional paraffin candles as they are friendlier to the environment. When a paraffin candle is burned, it produces two byproducts: the first one is CO2 and the other is soot. These candles produce less CO2 than paraffin while the soot it produces is almost negligible.

These candles are produced by hydrogenating the soy bean oil; it becomes a much softer wax. Pure soy wax cannot be molded into a candle due to its softness so it requires a hardening agent. Even with the cost of the hardening agent, the price is lower than bee wax candle.

Cleaning the spilling or dripping is very easy as the soy wax has a very low melting point. One wipe with a hot towel or cloth is enough to clean almost any stain. Soy wax can better absorb any added scent and when scented and burned, they give off more perfume then a paraffin candle.

Where the softness and low melting point has its benefits, it also has some problems. Soy wax candles can only be shaped into a pillar candle as in any other shape the candle does not hold up properly. It is very difficult for an untrained eye to differentiate between pure and unpure soy wax.

Soy wax candle making is very popular in many countries. Nowadays there are kits available in the market for making ball candles or pillar candles with different color and textures. Buying them is very easy because they are available in almost every big store, however for scented or designer candles, one might have to look for a gift shop or larger store. Nevertheless they are a very cheap and environment friendly alternative to paraffin candles.