Soy Candle Making Supply

Building up your soy candle making supply is a lot like collecting supplies for any other candle making. The supplies you need for melting, pouring and molding a soy candle are the same ones you would use for a conventional paraffin candle. Still, there are special soy candle making supplies, particularly the wax. Read on for more information on soy candle making supply.

The main difference between supplies for paraffin candle making and soy candle making is the wax. Soy wax was invented in 1991, according to Soya, as a way to make a more economical natural candle, since beeswax is so much more expensive than paraffin. The Body Shop was the first large chain to offer soy candles, starting in 1995.

Since that time, soy candle making has really taken off. It’s a great place to start if you’ve never made candles before. Soy wax candles are sort of the same as melt and pour soap in the soap making world. They’re somewhat less complicated than paraffin candles, especially because the wax melts in the microwave and only requires one pour.

Before you go out buying all the supplies to make soy candles, you might wonder what advantage there is to making soy candles compared to paraffin wax candles. It mostly comes down to personal preference, but here are some reasons you might want to try playing with soy wax:

• Soy is all-natural and plant derived. Paraffin comes from petroleum by-products, so it’s not really a renewable resource.
• Using soy wax supports the farmers who grow soy.
• Soy is nontoxic, noncarcinogenic and is made with a renewable resource.
• Soy candles produce about 95 percent less soot than paraffin candles.
• Soy candles burn cooler and more evenly than paraffin candles.
• Soy candles only require one pour, saving you a little time compared to conventional candles.
• Because of the lack of soot, soy candles tend to be better for people with asthma or other respiratory problems.
• Soy candles also seem to hold fragrance and color a little better than paraffin candles.
• Soy wax can be melted in the microwave and cleaned up with just soap and water. You could even run your candle making utensils in the dishwasher (provided they are dishwasher safe, of course).

As a bonus, you get to explore a whole new world of candle making without buying a lot of new supplies. How great is that?

Soy candle wax usually comes in pellets or flakes, making it easy to measure out how much you need for a project. You’ll sometimes find wax in blocks, much like paraffin wax, but the smaller shapes are much more common.

Like paraffin wax, there are many different varieties of soy wax, depending on the type of candle you want to make. There are waxes made for votives, pillars and containers, as well as general use wax.

If you have access to a candle supply shop where you can try out various kinds of wax, do so. There are no stores where I live that carry soy wax (that I know of), which means I have to order mine online.

This is the major problem with soy candle making. The vast majority of supplies only sell wax in bulk, usually starting at 50 pounds. I found one place that was willing to give a “sampler” of 10 pounds, but that doesn’t seem much better when you’re just starting out with a new craft.

One place I found that offers smaller packages of general-purpose soy wax is KY Candle Supply. There you can buy three or five-pound bags of soy wax, or the 50-pound boxes if you decide you need that much.

The other consideration when making soy candles is fragrance. As mentioned earlier, soy candles hold their scent very well, so they are a perfect vehicle for highly scented candles. Check the label on the wax you are using to find out how much fragrance oil is safe to add to your candle, but around five percent fragrance to wax by volume seems to be the standard for most soy waxes.

The main thing to remember when choosing fragrances for your soy candles is to make sure you get scents that are safe for soy candles. Moonglow has a huge selection of fragrance oils and each one is clearly labeled as to whether it is safe for soy candles, paraffin candles, body products or incense.

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