A popular ornamental piece in many a home, candles help to set a calming and relaxing mood in any room. Yet there are so many choices of candles, scents and fragrances out there, it can be hard to know what’s best, or what you’re buying.
What should you be looking for in a candle, and what are the benefits of soy wax candles that make candlemakers like us choose soy over varieties of wax?
Types of Wax
The type of wax that makes up a candle has some important implications and effects on the candle, the environment, and potentially on you too.
Alongside environment considerations over the sourcing and production process, some other factors include the burn time, the strength of the fragrance or “throw” of the candle, as well as the quality of the air whilst the candle is burning.
Other than soy, alternative waxes include paraffin wax, bees wax and other sources of animal wax.
5 Benefits of Soy Wax Candles
At Sienna’s Rose we believe that soy wax addresses many of these factors, and is the reason why we chose soy for our new range of hand poured vegan candles. We’ve put together this article to help you to understand the benefits of soy wax candles.
1. Soy Candles are Vegan
As the name implies, soy wax is derived from Soybean oil, a natural vegetable oil. The soy beans are harvested, mainly in Brazil and the mid-west of the United States for the food industry. They’re cleaned, cracked and flaked ready for the soy oil to be extracted from the prepared flakes. The leftover flakes serve their own purpose, being used in the production of animal feed.
The soy oil / wax is free of preservatives, and the essential oils and fragrance oils that we use are additive-free too. Overall, the production of soy oil / wax and making of soy candles is vegan-friendly with zero product waste!
2. Soy is A Renewable Source
Soy is a globally traded commodity produced in the Americas and Asia. It is pervasive in our lives, making up food products for both people and animals. Organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund work closely with soy plantations to support better production and to improve policies within the market.
Without such organisations helping to safeguard soy wax productions, the increased demand over the soybean crop can have detrimental effects to the environment. Effects like those caused by uncontrolled palm oil production, such as widespread deforestation and displacement of smaller farmers are just as few.
Sienna’s Rose pays close attention to these concerns and as such, we only use soy wax from suppliers that are verified, ethical and sustainable sources.
We also donate £1 from every sale of our 30cl soy wax candles to Tree Planting charities, to help offset and combat the effects of the industry on our planet.
3. Soy Wax is Biodegradable
Being a natural substance, without any synthetic substances mixed in, soy wax breaks down quickly and easily. Residual wax in the vessel can be washed away with warm soapy water, allowing the containers to be reused.
The glass vessels themselves are made from recycled glass, and we’ll soon be adding some tips on reusing the glass vessels once your soy candle is spent.
Sienna’s Rose is taking steps to avoid adding to the world’s problems, and try to reduce them, therefore enabling us to source and produce guilt-free, ethical products.
4. Soy Burns Cleaner and Slower
Soy wax has a lower melting point than paraffin wax and because of this, soy candles will burn slower or last longer than paraffin candles. As hand poured soy candles are a little bit more expensive than other wax candles, this slower, longer burn time gives you more value for money.
Our range of 30cl / 300ml soy wax candles have an approximate burn time of up to 50 hours. Please be sure to refer to the instruction labels on the base of your candle to get the best and safest burn from them.
Soy wax is clean burning and does not release toxins, carcinogens or pollutants which means it’s less likely to trigger allergies. With little to no black / carbon soot being released, you won’t get any of the black oily marks that are common with paraffin wax candles.
Paraffin wax is a by-product of the petrol-chemical process. This means paraffin contains the hydrocarbons found in all petroleum-based products. Alongside the carbon, paraffin wax candles also contain additives to make them look and smell more appealing.
The result is paraffin candles combust and produce a dark soot that can get into linens, stain walls, and can lead to respiratory problems.
5. They Smell Great!
All the above are some great reasons to choose soy wax candles over alternative wax products.
One final reason we love soy wax for candle making is the fact that they smell great too! Soy wax is an excellent fragrance carrier that does not require chemical amplifiers. This means soy candles have a good “throw” of their scent, both when lit and unlit.
Whilst testing scents and combinations of essential and fragrance oils, we found that a single 30cl candle can fill the average sized family room with a well-balanced fragrance. Often, our candles can be smelt from different rooms within the home!
At Sienna’s Rose, we’re confident that you’ll love our range of hand-poured, vegan soy wax candles as much as we do. We have a range of fragrances for men and women, as well as seasonal and topical candles too.
We’re always introducing new fragrances, so be sure to sign up to our newsletter below, or follow us on Facebook or Instagram to stay up to date.
Until next time!
Sienna's Rose
Sienna's Rose