After a recent conversation with a friend, it occurred to me that I have never really explained why I use the ingredients I use, in particular my choice of wax.
I've got to be honest, throughout my candle making, I have never experimented with paraffin wax, due to the fact that using this wax has no appeal to me when there are natural healthier alternatives available.
You are probably already aware that the cheaper high street candles out there are made up of paraffin wax, yes it is cheaper but it also contains petro chemicals, why would we want to burn these in our home!!! Although surprisingly, its not only the cheaper end of the market where you will find candles containing paraffin. A proportion of the very high end and expensive candles are also made from this. I've got to be honest I cannot quite get my head around this!!
This led me to start experimenting with both soy and coconut wax. These are both great natural waxes but I finally decided upon soy due to the performance I was receiving after many hours experimenting... I really wanted to market a product which could stand up against those expensive high street brands at an affordable price but with absolutely no compromise on quality and luxury. I truly feel I have achieved this, but I also continue to constantly test and retest keeping an eye on the market, ensuring that i'm still 100% happy.
So, what is soy wax?
Soy wax is a natural, renewable source made from soybean oil. After harvesting, the beans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled and rolled into the flakes you see here. They remind me of flakes of white chocolate, with their silky texture and pure white hue.
The wax is biodegradable and cleans up easily with hot soapy water. This makes it super easy to reuse your jars or return for a refill.
Soy wax also has a lower melting point than paraffin, resulting in a slower, longer burn, with no petro soot, from where I'm standing that's a win win, right!!
As the soy wax burns slower, it tends to hold fragrance better than paraffin as the oils are realised gradually and evenly throughout each burn.
Along with paraben free fragrance oils that I use, the result is a non-toxic, clean burning, vegan candle for you to light, sit back, relax and enjoy..
Helen X