What’s the big deal with soy wax I hear you ask? Well, until I became interested in the manufacturing of candles, I probably would have asked the same question. In fact, my question would probably have been “what is soy wax”?
Bear with me whilst I set the scene in scientific terms. Soy wax is a vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans. After harvesting, the beans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled, and rolled into flakes. The oil is then extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated.
The hydrogenation process converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated. This process dramatically alters the melting point of the oil, making it a solid at room temperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animal feed. Clever right?
Do you know what the candles you are burning in your house are made from? A vast number of suppliers have a primary base of paraffin wax (it’s cheaper, it gives a better scent throw so you can use less fragrance oil etc).
Paraffin wax is a white or colourless soft solid derivable from petroleum, coal or oil shale, that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms. To quote Wikipedia, paraffin wax is “a mixture of oil and wax, a byproduct from the refining of lubricating oil.” Yes, let’s just say that again. A byproduct from the refining of lubricating oil. We actually burn this stuff in our houses. Paraffin wax was invented in the 1800’s. It’s a product way past it’s sell by date but because it is cheap, large manufacturers continue to use it.
Solu candles are made from the purest soy wax available. The wax is branded as a renewable and ecofriendly product. We don’t add anything else to our products (other than amazing fragrance!).
Clean eating has been a hot topic for a few years now thanks to the likes of Joe Wicks, aka The Bodycoach. Clean living needs to catch up with this. We’re proud to offer clean burning candles. They burn evenly and don’t leave black marks around the edge of your candle container. That soot is potentially carcinogenic by the way. Again, how lovely.