Soy Candles – Three Reasons Why They Are Better
Article by Brian LaShure
Soy candles have made quite an impact on the candle industry over the past decade. An even newer development in the industry is soy pillar candles. To clarify, soy pillar candles are actually not 100% soy. Pillar blends can contain paraffin and/or other botanical oils to give the wax the ability to hold its shape. Here we will be speaking of pillar candles that contain no paraffin and are instead made with soy wax and other botanical oils. If you are purchasing soy pillar candles in order to avoid paraffin, make sure that the soy blend used does not contain paraffin. If you run across a site that says their pillars are pure soy wax, they are either lying, or more likely, they do not know that blended soy wax is not pure soy.
Below, I will point out three reasons why you may want to purchase a soy pillar candle as opposed to a paraffin based pillar candle.
1. A soy pillar candle will burn cleaner and longer.
As opposed to paraffin candles, soy candles do not release petro-carbon black soot into the air. Soy based candles are also less likely to produce allergies. Many believe that burning paraffin wax releases carcinogens into the air. Soy based wax produces non-toxic white soot, and when burned properly, soy candles generally release little to no soot.
Very few people have any adverse reaction to soy candles, and if they do, it is most likely because of the fragrance used. On the other hand, many people get headaches when they burn paraffin pillar or jar candles. This is thought to have to do with the fact that paraffin candles a petroleum based and therefore release carbon based soot into the air.
It is know that soy wax burns longer than paraffin. The reason for this is because the melting point of soy wax is much lower than paraffin. Because of this, the soy candle will produce fewer BTU’s, consuming less of the wax in a given period of time. The soy wax can last up to 50% longer than paraffin wax.
2. Soy pillar candles hold their shape more than their paraffin counterparts.
Soy pillar candles are very good at holding their shape even in the warmer months of the year because the botanical oils used in the soy wax blends make the wax more rigid as opposed to the natural viscous nature of pure soy wax. Paraffin candles will bulge out at the top when burned and can even lose their shape completely in the heat. Depending on the quality of the soy wax and the type of wick used, very often the entire candle is consumed as opposed to paraffin, where you can often have large amounts of wax leftover after the candle has completely burned down.
3. Soy wax distributes fragrance more effectively than paraffin wax.
Scent throw, or fragrance dispersion, is how well and how efficiently the fragrance is released from the wax into the air. It is believed that the scent throw of a soy pillar candle is much better than that of a paraffin pillar candle. Since soy wax burns cooler and more consistently, this is reflected in the scent throw. The scent is released more slowly, but also more consistently and therefore lasts longer in the air surrounding the candle. Soy pillar candles contain from 3 to 6 percent fragrance as opposed to jar candles which very often contain double that amount. Now if you want to scent your entire house with one candle, you may prefer this, but with candles that contain that much fragrance, usually soot is produced and the scent can be overpowering.
About the Author
Get more information about soy candles, handmade pillar candles and many other custom candles. Visit the Promethean Candle Boutique online shop for a complete list of products and information.
